# Catan board



## synecdoche (Jan 15, 2012)

I want to make my own board for Settlers of Catan (see http://www.catan.com). Basically, I need to make a bunch of little, uniform hexagons that will fit together perfectly, and then a frame into which they will fit snugly when the board is assembled. What's the best way to do this with a table saw? Is there a jig I can make? Any ideas?


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## Cobalt (Nov 24, 2012)

You may want to check Instructableshttp://www.instructables.com/tag/type-id/?q=Settlers+of+catan&sort=none. It appears most of the boards made there with regular woodworking tools (i.e. not laser cutters) made a template for the hexes.


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## bmh032 (Mar 26, 2008)

A jig would certainly allow you to make the hexagons quicker and easier. I would personally would avoid laying out each pice if possible. My first thought would be to take a long and thick board and make a one long hexagonal board/pole out of it, and then cut the hexagons off the end with a saw. They don't need to be structural so the end grain might give you a really cool look. You could also do a glue up of a few long boards to give you a really cool pattern when they're cut like many inlayers do with their banding. As far the frame, I would think about taking a board the size of the game and using a router hog out the middle so the pieces will almost be inlayed into the board. I know the actual game is a pain to keep together so good luck. Are you going to glue the pieces to the your new hexagons or paint on your own custom background for each resource? Good luck, hope to see a finished product some day. How about storage of the pieces, have you thought about how do to that?


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## synecdoche (Jan 15, 2012)

Ben, I was thinking about creating a hexagonal pole, as well. That was actually my first thought, but I had seen another Instructable that had made tiles with a miter saw and thought it might be better.

I was thinking of getting some thicker lumber and creating a base for the board, and then building some drawers into it for storage of the pieces. My inspiration is something like this. However, I'd like to make custom pieces so they'll last much longer. I am still on the fence about painting my own or finding images I can glue to them. I'm not very artistically skilled when it comes to painting and so I was leaning toward finding some art on the Internet and incorporating it somehow. The nice thing about doing it this way is once I get the knack for it I can make as many pieces as I want and even switch it up down the road.


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## bmh032 (Mar 26, 2008)

good luck on making the tiny pieces. You would definitely need a jig for those, but again you could probably make them out long stock again. It looks like all they did in the picture was make a frame for the actual game, but I definitely agree with you on the design. I have a love hate relationship with that game. I love playing it, but it hates to let me win. You could probably finish what you're making before you could finish a game .


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