Marble Solitaire

Some time ago, I was asked whether I could make a solitaire game; here is the result.
The black one is ebonised oak; the other is beech. The box that comes with them is also ebonised oak and was made entirely from scrap parts from the solitaire itself. I didn’t plan to make the box, but I found it handy for the recipient to store the marbles (or other items). All the pieces have been finished with linseed oil and a bit of wax.

I made this project entirely by hand, with no power tools except for a drill, which I used to make the « holes » into which the marbles are inserted. These holes are in fact conical and were made with the help of a countersink bit.

Also, for the oak one, I needed to split a plank in two to get closer to the final thickness (from 4 cm down to 2 cm). This project was a good opportunity to build two tools useful for this task.

The first is a kerfing plane I used to make kerfs all around the plank.
The plane body is beech and the fence is oak. Don’t pay attention to the sketchy design of the body (more like a Renault Twingo than a plane!). I also realised a bit late that the fence wasn’t big enough, hence the added piece. In the end, it’s kind of ugly in form, but it works—I can’t ask for more from a first plane build.

The kerfs then guide a frame saw to split the plank in two.
This frame saw’s design is very simple. The frame is oak, held together by a mortise-and-tenon joint. The blade is mounted between two threaded rods that pass through the frame. Tension is applied by a nut and a wing nut.

I’m not used to it yet, and I find it a bit bulky.

That’s all for this project(s) ; see you !