Making the tic-tac-toe game in a wooden case from old wood Making the popular tic-tac-toe game from old wood can be an enjoyable project which allows you to express your creativity and show off your woodworking skills. Follow the steps below to create your own version of this fun and timeless game that will liven up your summer evenings. Let’s get started! To make a tic-tac-toe game from old wood you will need: old scrap wood, measuring tape, a pencil, a saw , (fine and coarse) sandpaper, wood glue, two paintbrushes (thin for painting shapes and thick for coatings), nails or screws, a hammer or screwdriver, Belinka Interier water-borne wood stain, and Belinka Interier lak wood varnish. The method of making a tic-tac-toe game from old wood 1. Planning and design Before you start cutting any wood, decide on the dimensions of the blocks and wooden case for the tic-tac-toe game. The standard playing surface is a 3×3 grid, so you will need to divide the available space into nine identical squares. Use measuring tape and a pencil to mark the lines that will form the grid. 2. Cutting out the playing blocks Once you have marked the lines, carefully cut out the playing blocks with a saw. Take your time to ensure the cuts are clean and straight, especially if using a hand saw. Having cut the blocks, sand their edges with coarse sandpaper to remove any flaws. 3. Surface smoothing To give the wood a polished finish, sand its entire surface with fine sandpaper. This will make it feel smooth to the touch. For best results, sand in the direction of the woodgrain. 4. Making a wooden case for the game Now it’s time to make the wooden case. Decide on the dimensions of the case, taking into account the size of the blocks: measure the required length, width and height with measuring tape. Select some wooden boards and cut them to the required length and width. This case needs four sides and a bottom piece. Each side should match the length and height, but it should be shorter by the thickness of the wood to leave space inside the case for the bottom. Mark the length of the sides on the wood with a pencil. Cut out the sides using a saw and then smoothen their edges with sandpaper. Attach the sides to the bottom of the case with wood glue or screws. Once the glue is dry or the screws are in place, check how strong the case is. If necessary, fixate the sides with additional screws or nails. 5. Painting and varnishing Before the wood is painted and varnished, it must be dry, sanded and clean. Use a thin paintbrush dipped in Belinka Interier water-borne wood stain to draw the desired design – noughts and crosses – onto the playing blocks. Interier is an environmentally friendly water-borne wood stain designed particularly for wood in interiors. With no unpleasant odour, it protects wood and enhances it. It is available in 9 standard colour tones and also within the HGMIX mixing system. It is resistant to a range of factors. Touching with hands covered in sweat or cream will damage most coatings, but Belinka Interier water-borne wood stain is resistant to such factors, so it’s the perfect choice when making board games. In this step, you can give free rein to your imagination and creativity. You can either select one colour to paint the blocks or play around with colours and choose one for the crosses and another for the noughts. Apart from colouring, you can add your own creative touch to the style of the design. When the wood stain has dried (the coating is dry in 3 to 4 hours in normal conditions – 20 °C, 65% relative air humidity. At lower temperatures and/or very high air humidity the coating takes longer to dry), you can start varnishing the blocks and wooden case. To varnish the game, use Belinka Interier lak, a colourless coating designed for the protection of simple wooden elements in living spaces. It has high mechanical resistance, no unpleasant odour and it gives surfaces a colourless and glossy finish. The natural structure of the wood will remain visible, and its surface will become glossier with each additional layer. It is resistant to sweat, fats and hand cream, making it the perfect choice for protecting wooden games. Let the wood dry thoroughly (the coating is dry in 2–4 hours in normal conditions – 20 °C, 65% relative air humidity. At lower temperatures and/or very high air humidity, the coating may take longer to dry) before you start placing the blocks with noughts and crosses inside the wooden case. Tic-tac-toe made from reused wood in a wooden case is guaranteed to provide hours of fun for all the family and friends. Be inspired by your imagination and get creative. Have fun!
