We recommend an occasional polish with a soft cloth using Pledge or something similar.

NEVER USE AN ALCOHOL BASE CLEANER,     YOU WILL END UP STRIPING THE FINISH

Protected from the elements, your board should last for many, many years.

We do see the appearance of “character” as a positive for the board. Small dings, dents, and scratches add to the sense of history of a well-used and cherished board.

Most boards are finished with shellac. Brushing or spraying on a light coat of shellac will probably restore the finish like new.  Light sanding with fine sandpaper, such as 400 grit, before and between coats will help, too.

Should you wish to strip the finish completely, shellac dissolves in alcohol.

Please beware that we apply any paint on your board between layers of shellac, so stripping back the finish may remove paint, too.

We rarely use polyurethane to finish boards, particularly those with pad auk wood and similar alcohol-soluble natural coloring.  Even with this finish, a fresh layer of shellac on top should work fine.

REMOVING THE FINISH WHILE THE PRODUCT IS UNDER WARRANTY WILL VOID THE WARRANTY

As long as you have permission to use the logo, we can usually add it to your board.

If you contact the team​​ or organization directly and ask for permission to have a craftsman create a one-off custom cribbage board, they will often grant permission.

If you want us to get permission for you, we now offer that service here

If you can’t get permission, we can alternatively make a blank board for you to add a logo to yourself or a photo board to which you can add a metal print.

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The first hour of basic artwork, mock-ups, and computer-aided hole layouts, is free and included in the cost of the board.

Most boards can be completed within this hour and no further artwork is needed.

Click here for a full description of the hole layout process.

Some complex designs or multiple mockups, that take longer than the free hour, can incur artwork charges at $35 per 30 minutes.  You can purchase extra artwork here.

We’ll also be happy to provide a quote for you.

For all other boards, we convert photos to a format that we can use to engrave using a traditional router and v-bit.

We don’t use a laser or silk-screen printing so there is a limit to the detail we can capture in the wood.

We engrave, then hand-paint the image.

The larger the photo, t​​he better – try for at least 1Mb in size and as clear a photo as possible.

Most formats are OK, such as a jpg, bmp, pdf or other picture file formats.

If in doubt, please send what you have and we’ll advise.​

We can add most images and logos onto your board.

The key to a good image is a quality source image – ideally large with clear outlines and edges.

We use a traditional router and v-bit to engrave, then hand-paint the engraving, so half-tones and light shadows are not going to work.

We can now also add actual photos onto boards: admin@clearwinner.live-website.com

If you are not sure, please send us the highest-resolution version you have or provide a link to it and we’ll work from there

Absolutely just send us your dimensions and requirements on our custom woodworking query and we will be glad to help you out.

It comes with everything that you need to install it as detailed instructions on how to install it all you need are your tools you’ll be go.

These faux barn beam mantels are suitable for both interior applications as they are made from Local Maine Fir and are finished with 5 coats of polyurethane. They are suitable for all climates ranging from extreme cold and extreme heat. They can be installed around a fireplace, however, they are not fireproof and should not be installed anywhere where they would come in direct contact with an open flame. Best of luck on your project!

Trees are typically cut into planks, which are oftentimes cut into smaller strips (or rails) of wood. In constructing a butcher block, the woodworker must decide which grain of these wood strips will face upward: its face, edge or end grain.

FACE GRAIN – The two broad sides of the wood plank are referred to as its faces. Face grain is also known as flat grain. Butcher Block Co. plank-style countertops showcase wood’s face grain.

EDGE GRAIN – The two narrow, vertical sides of the plank – its edges – show the wood’s edge grain.

END GRAIN – And finally, both ends of the plank reveal the wood’s end-grain. End-grain wood is the most distinctive, largely because it shows a slice of the tree across its growth rings.

We recommend an occasional polish with a soft cloth using Pledge or something similar.

NEVER USE AN ALCOHOL BASE CLEANER,     YOU WILL END UP STRIPING THE FINISH

Mahogany is fairly hard and has a nice warm, reddish wood tone. It shows engraving and images very well and is often available in wide planks making it suitable for larger boards. We use many types of mahogany, that vary quite considerably in tone.

A kit containing a brass sheet and both types of feet is available.  Alternatively, you can get brass sheets and felt or cork pads from most High street hardware stores.  We cut our peg covers using ordinary kitchen shears, and you can easily trim them to size.

Unfortunately, we no longer accept customers’ wood for making custom boards.

We have found that the time needed to prepare the wood to the correct moisture content, preparation for drilling and engraving, making and finishing, and the risk of damaging a special, meaningful piece of irreplaceable wood puts the price way above our regular custom work.  This can delay our regular work and is very disruptive to our scheduling.

Some woods do not drill well, engrave poorly, and resist good finishing, and others have internal stresses and faults that only become apparent during the making process.

Although some customers have a much larger budget than others, we have decided to stick to what we know we can do well.

However, with a good top-down photo with measurements, we would be happy to work with you on a custom template so you can drill your board yourself.

All of our boards include peg storage pockets sufficient to hold enough pegs to fully use the features of the board.  Nearly all of our boards use a pocket with a sliding brass plate for closure except for our travel folder and 4ft split boards.

We use 3/4″ inch thick planks to make our boards.  A deck of cards is also 3/4″ thick, so we can’t put card storage in a single-layer board.  Solutions include our folding boards and also boards with two layers, held together by magnets or hinges.

Below is a folding board that stores 2 decks of cards and the pegs (brass cover not shown)

As long as you have permission to use the logo, we can usually add it to your board.

If you contact the team​​ or organization directly and ask for permission to have a craftsman create a one-off custom cribbage board, they will often grant permission.

If you want us to get permission for you, we now offer that service here

If you can’t get permission, we can alternatively make a blank board for you to add a logo to yourself or a photo board to which you can add a metal print.

The Skunk marks are found on most standard boards, placed at the 90 score point. In tournament or gambling play, it counts for double, making for a two-point win or double stakes.

A Double Skunk mark is usually placed at the 60 score point, and counts for triple!

Getting “skunked” can be a point of embarrassment for a good player and is part of the fun of cribbage.

Some people though see “skunking” as unfriendly and unnecessary.

We sometimes leave them off but are happy to follow any special request you have.

Please check your mock-up to make sure they are as you want them – We often use painted or unpainted lines, dimples, or sometimes painted small skunks themselves.

On mass-produced boards, numbers are often placed between each set of 5 holes to help people count.  We feel that they are unnecessary as most people can count out the holes perfectly well without them and they do clutter the design.

Our engraving method, using a router and v-bit, is not at all suited to making the tiny numbers needed between holes. Most numbered boards are screen printed instead of engraved as the wood often can’t hold such detail when engraved.  The time taken to hand-paint each number, once engraved, is quite considerable. Except in rare circumstances, we do not add these numbers.  If we do include them in a design, please expect the price to increase significantly.

We try to keep our designs clean and simple, uncluttered as far as possible.  Tournament boards are, of course, a little more formal in nature, but the rest we like to think of as casual-play boards, designed to look nice but still play well.

All of our boards have well-placed holes, in straight lines where they are supposed to be straight, and with smooth curves when needed.

We used to make inlays, but in some climates, the humidity and temperatures reduce the life of the board considerably.  We have decided to not offer inlays any longer.  We do still make laminates, where the different species are glued together and clamped until dry.  All woods change shape throughout the year due to climate changes and some movement should be expected of all our boards. So far we have had an excellent record with our laminates, but as all species move at different rates and in different ways, laminates should not be expected to last as long as a solid plank from one species.

Below is a maple-padauk laminated board.

Our drilling and engraving occur in dust cabinets to protect us from the fine particles.  This restricts us to boards 23-24″ long.

When it comes to hole placement, we adhere to a meticulous approach, ensuring a good gap between holes, even in the corners. This precision is crucial to prevent players from getting lost.  Our engraving methods are traditional, involving the use of a router and v-bit, which does impose some limitations. We refrain from using lasers or screen printing, which means halftones and tiny text are not feasible. Additionally, our hand-painted engraving method restricts us from creating full-color illustrations.

Even with those restrictions, we made many beautiful boards that people love!

When your order is placed, you should receive two emails, one of which is your invoice with your order number.

You will also be taken to a “Thank You” page on the website which shows your order details.

If this doesn’t happen, please contact us at admin@clearwinner.live-website.com

The cover is designed to be held in place by a bend towards the middle.  If it slips out, carefully add a little to the bend.  If it is too tight, you can flatten it out a little.

Protected from the elements, your board should last for many, many years.

We do see the appearance of “character” as a positive for the board. Small dings, dents, and scratches add to the sense of history of a well-used and cherished board.

Traditional boards had 61 holes, but more recently, play goes to 121. The longer game is more likely to be won by the better player as a lucky streak is less likely to change the outcome.

Many boards still have 61 holes due to space restrictions or design considerations – simply play around the board twice to make the 121 total!

Below is a picture of a two-track 61-hole board.

Our boards come with 2, 3 or 4 tracks.

2 track boards are ideal for regular games, between two people.  2 tracks also work well for two teams of two.  We also recommend 2 track boards for engagement and wedding gifts where the accent is on two people!

3 track boards add the option of an extra player in a three-hand game but also still works for four playing as pairs. It can more difficult to fit in the extra track on some layouts though.

4 track boards are the most flexible of all, suitable for 2, 3 or 4 players, individually or in teams. If the track has curves, it can be very hard to bend them and still maintain good spacing on the insides of the curves.

Choosing between these options is largely a matter of personal preference, but is sometimes influenced by the board shape and track layout.

The first hour of basic artwork, mock-ups, and computer-aided hole layouts, is free and included in the cost of the board.

Most boards can be completed within this hour and no further artwork is needed.

Click here for a full description of the hole layout process.

Some complex designs or multiple mockups, that take longer than the free hour, can incur artwork charges at $35 per 30 minutes.  You can purchase extra artwork here.

We’ll also be happy to provide a quote for you.

Most boards are finished with shellac. Brushing or spraying on a light coat of shellac will probably restore the finish like new.  Light sanding with fine sandpaper, such as 400 grit, before and between coats will help, too.

Should you wish to strip the finish completely, shellac dissolves in alcohol.

Please beware that we apply any paint on your board between layers of shellac, so stripping back the finish may remove paint, too.

We rarely use polyurethane to finish boards, particularly those with pad auk wood and similar alcohol-soluble natural coloring.  Even with this finish, a fresh layer of shellac on top should work fine.

REMOVING THE FINISH WHILE THE PRODUCT IS UNDER WARRANTY WILL VOID THE WARRANTY

Drilling and engraving oak and the subsequent painting is much more difficult and we price oak higher to cover the extra work involved.  It’s a porous wood with open pores but very strong, with a warm tone and often clear grain.

Yes – we use mainly black walnut which is usually very dark although we do sometimes find lighter planks. Engraving is usually filled with black paint to help visibility but the dark wood keeps the contrast low.

For all other boards, we convert photos to a format that we can use to engrave using a traditional router and v-bit.

We don’t use a laser or silk-screen printing so there is a limit to the detail we can capture in the wood.

We engrave, then hand-paint the image.

The larger the photo, t​​he better – try for at least 1Mb in size and as clear a photo as possible.

Most formats are OK, such as a jpg, bmp, pdf or other picture file formats.

If in doubt, please send what you have and we’ll advise.​

Cherry is very popular and a good compromise color-wise between the darker mahogany and lighter maple.

Maple is even harder than mahogany and has a light, creamy color. It engraves very well and dark engraving is very easy to see with great contrast.  Maple is recommended for those with vision issues as the dark holes show up very well.

Scoring holes are a separate set of optional holes provided to keep track of the number of games won.  They are useful if you have a habit of playing “first to 5 games” or such although many players simply keep a mental count.

From a design perspective, sometimes they fit well but often make for a more confusing and clumsy design.

Below is a two-track continuous folding board with 5 scoring holes on the left-hand edge.

Pegs, bags, and Good-to-Go Boards usually ship within a day or two.

Gift Certificates and electronic templates are delivered by email upon ordering

Our boards come with metal pegs as standard.  Materials include Stainless Steel, Black Steel, Brass, Copper, and Aluminum.

We also have a range of painted and natural wooden pegs which we can swap out if requested.

You can see our pegs on the Pegs and Accessories page.

You can specify which wood species you would like used for your project when you order your board.

We usually pick the plank we think works best for the design, but if you wish to have more control over the individual plank, we do offer a service where you can choose the actual plank used:

Sometimes, the wood surprises us during the finishing stages and it is only then that the full beauty is revealed!

We use brass sheets for our peg doors

Most of our boards are drilled with a standard 1/8″ holes. Our giant boards use a larger 3/16″ hole.

We can add most images and logos onto your board.

The key to a good image is a quality source image – ideally large with clear outlines and edges.

We use a traditional router and v-bit to engrave, then hand-paint the engraving, so half-tones and light shadows are not going to work.

We can now also add actual photos onto boards: admin@clearwinner.live-website.com

If you are not sure, please send us the highest-resolution version you have or provide a link to it and we’ll work from there

A lapped layout is a board with 61 holes – play two laps to make the now standard 121 total!

A continuous layout has 121 holes in a row – no laps needed.

Both designs are quite capable of scoring a game of cribbage, and the preferred method is an individual choice.  Some people have trouble remembering which lap they are on – a continuous board may be the answer.  Sometimes the design just can’t be made with a continuous track.

Below is a picture of a continuous two-track board with 121 holes.

We usually start with Lucida Handwriting when designing a board.  This has a friendly, personal look to it and engraves very well.  The method of engraving we use lends itself better to fonts that have bold lines as the wood has to be engraved and then hand-painted.

Tiny serifs (the points at the top and bottom of letters) and thin lines can easily get lost during the sanding stages of board preparation.

If you have a particular font you would like, please let us know as soon as possible and we’ll see if we can work it into the design for you.

Mahogany is by far the most popular, with the cherry second, then pine, walnut, and maple pretty close, and oak a distant sixth

It’s tough for us to locally Source 15 inch round so We only use pine for our 15″ diameter round pine boards which we get already round from our wood supplier.  That saves a lot of work as with other species, you either have to find a rare 16″ wide plank to cut it out from or you have to glue and laminate pieces together and spend a lot of time sanding it smooth.

Wood will do what wood will do!  We drum-sand each board completely flat before we drill and engrave it.

However, when we add hundreds of holes, engraving, pockets, and finishing, sometimes the wood reacts, especially well-figured and wide (over 12 inches) boards.

Wood can do all kinds of crazy things – warp, twist, cup, crook (wain), kink, and even crack – as the internal tensions are released and the moisture content re-settles.

Sometimes this happens within hours and sometimes not for years.  Changes in climate – humidity, and temperature – can also instigate these changes.

Again, we can do little to correct this natural occurrence, except to offer extra felt pads that can be applied underneath to re-balance the board.

Often we use a smaller pad or two under a larger one to add even more depth where needed.

If you have an issue with movement in your board, please get in touch with us and we’ll arrange for a selection of felt pads to be sent out to you.

If we notice the beginnings of movement in your board before shipping, we’ll include extra pads for you with the board.

Sometimes, giving the board a little time to acclimatize is all that is needed. if the movement becomes too much for you and there’s an email and we will carry placement with you send an email to  admin@clearwinner.live-website.com