Teak and Walnut Inlaid Domino Set

I am a graduate of Texas A&M University (BSEE Class of 1982). It was during my time as a student that I learned to play a domino game called 42. It is a trick taking game that uses a standard set of double six dominoes and it is very popular in my home state of Texas. In fact the game was invented in the small town of Garner, Texas back in the late 1880s by a couple of the local boys. Apparently, at the time, people took a dim view of folks who played cards and there was a stigma associated with card games in general. The boys came up with a game similar to cards using dominoes so that they could play and not get into trouble with their parents. It has since taken off and it is very common throughout the entire state and there is even a state championship held every year in Halletsville. Also it is the official state domino game of Texas. I spent a lot of my time during my college days at the local watering hole in College Station called the Dixie Chicken... drinking beer and playing 42. And while that was a lot of fun... it was a little detrimental to my GPA.

So as a result of my love of dominoes and the game of 42 I have decided to build a fancy double six set using teak and walnut. I think they turned out great. Obviously you wouldn't want to use these in any type of a serious tournament since each domino has a unique grain pattern but they're fine for casual games amongst friends. I decided to make them oversized and ended up with dominoes that are 1.5 by 3 inches and around a half inch thick. I think these are about as big as you would want to make them... otherwise they might be a bit clunky to play with.

The set is cut using a laser cutter but you could also use a scroll saw and drill press. If using the latter then you would need to cut sections of a dowel rod for the pips. But man... that would be a lot of tedious work with the scroll saw!

You want to use two contrasting types of wood to get a good result. I used quarter inch thick sheets of teak and walnut. Thin super glue works great in this application and it certainly speeds up assembly time. Once the pieces were assembled and sanded smooth they are finished with several coats of a wipe on polyurethane.

I have an xTool S1 40 Watt laser cutter. It does a fine job and will cut 1/4 inch thick pieces of hardwood in one pass. Other tools that I used for this project: Miter saw, table saw, random orbital sander, drill press, sand paper (80 and 220), and surface planer.

The teak that I'm using is five inches wide and one and a half inches thick. I cut it into 13 inch pieces first with the miter saw. Next it is cut into thinner pieces by progressively running it across the table saw and then raising the blade between passes. Finally it is planed to one quarter inch thickness using the surface planer. The walnut pieces were handled in the same manner.

I included the basic DXF file I used for cutting out all of the domino parts. If you really wanted to be efficient you would cut out enough pieces from the teak and walnut to make two contrasting sets. One set would have teak back, sides, and pips with walnut faces. The second set would have walnut back, sides, and pips with teak faces.

In the first five pictures as a trial run I assembled the first domino with super glue gel and figured out that I didn't like using the gel. It is a bit of a challenge to get the sides aligned with the back before the glue sets. So I tried aligning the pieces first and then applied thin super glue... that turned out to be much easier. Once the sides were bonded to the backs I added the faces and then the pips. Then I'd drip the thin super glue over the face making sure it seeped into all of the joints.

When the glue set I sanded down the face side of the dominoes until everything was flush and smooth. Next I used the sawdust powder from the random orbital sander pouch to fill in any gaps on the face. Once again I dripped thin super glue over the face to bond the sawdust powder in place. The faces get sanded again... first with 80 grit then 220 grit.

The sides are sanded using a sanding drum mounted in the drill press... pic 6.

Finally, several coats of Minwax wipe on polyurethane are applied for a nice glossy finish.

I designed the domino box in the first video a number of years ago and have made a lot of them for several of my 42 domino playing Aggie friends. I think I'll build one for the new wooden dominoes but I'll need to scale up the dimensions first. I'll update this Instructable when I get around to making it. Although... I have another idea that I've been thinking about that I might do instead.

Ha! I just noticed you can hear my Eclipse Clock ticking in the background.

Update: The other idea I had is making a cover for the domino box like in the second video. The lid closure seems to work. Next update will show the completed box.

Update: Box is mostly done. Haven’t permanently installed the pivot pins and cut them to length… but happy with the results. It’s unique.

Last video is the completed box.

Looking forward to playing some 42 with my friends using my brand new set of handmade wooden dominoes. I'm headed to my buddy's lake house on Grand Lake in Oklahoma in a couple weeks. I figure we'll get a brisket going on the smoker, ice down a case of beer, and have a few marathon rounds of 42. Can't wait. We'll be running my catfish noodle juglines too! Check out the monster we caught last year in my Catfish Noodle Instructable.

If you think you might be interested in learning how to play 42 then here's a pretty good book on the subject.

Hope you enjoyed this Instructable. Comments and questions are always welcomed. Post pics below if you end up making your own dominoes!

Until the next Instructable...

SW