Here’s a board I just completed that I had been working on for quite some time. I do find the time now and then to come up with new boards outside of commissioned ones. This new design is a 4-player board of Paua Rosa inlaid with Maple Burl. The large cabochon as well as the smaller ones in the skunk points are Lapis. It measures 18 3/4” x 6 1/4”.

When I create a new design for a cribbage board I like to think outside the box. Every cribbage board I’ve ever seen has been a flat rectangle. I thought of creating something more three-dimensional and this design flashed into my head. Using my favorite combination of Amboyna Burl and Gabon Ebony it also includes Applewood for the posts and joints.

This cribbage board is made of ancient Kauri wood. This wood is harvested from peat bogs in New Zealand from forests that were buried during the last ice age 30,000 to more than 50,000 years ago. I aquired this wood from Ancientwood. It is inlaid with Walnut Burl, Pommelle Sapele, Carpathien Elm Burl, Madrone Burl, Quilted Maple and Curly English Sycamore. It is also inset with 22 Amber cabochons and 2 Carnelians. There is a keyhole hanger on the back so it can be hung on the wall. It measures 22 1/2” x 5”.

This is the most complex inlay work I have done. This commissioned cribbage board has a base of Chenchen inlaid with figured Bubinga and Maple Burl. The trim around the sides is also of Bubinga. There are two ruby cabochons at the “skunk” points. It was finished with Formby’s Tung Oil finish.

This cribbage board is my most requested design. This particular one is the most exquisite combination of woods I have used for one. The base is Gabon Ebony inlaid with Amboyna Burl. It’s finished to a nice gloss with Formby’s Tung Oil finish. It measures about 14” x 5”.

This was my first attempt at making a box. It was commissioned as a birthday present for a woman’s husband who played dominoes as well as cribbage and wanted storage space for them. The box is made of Tiger Maple and the cribbage pattern on top is inlaid with Pomele Sapele. The keys on the corners are Gabon Ebony. It measured 14” x 5” x 3” high. I’m particularly proud of this one because it is featured in the “Show Off” section of the May 2007 issue of Woodcraft magazine.