As you probably know, darts items can be costly. Particularly in case you’re searching for a more excellent thing from a reputable brand.
In my case, I was searching for a brand new backboard for my dartboard. Mainly for tasteful purposes, yet to also save the purposes of my darts from the encompassing wall. Additionally, shield the wallpaper from any further damage! (oh no).
In which case, rather than fork out for a brand new backboard, I concluded that I’d attempt to save a couple of dollars and build one myself. After watching a few tutorials on YouTube I thought it looked easy. I mean, how hard might it be able to be?
Goals:
For this ‘venture’ I had two main goals:
- Keep costs as low as conceivable
- Make it look somewhat presentable
- Secure my wall/darts from further damage
Thus, right off the bat I took an excursion to Home Depot, in anticipation of finding a large part of delicate material, that’s relatively cheap. To which I found a large sheet of insulation that was approximately one inch thick. This cost me about $15.
As a test I punctured the insulation with one of my own darts that I brought along. The dart stuck into it incredibly well! Furthermore, they don’t go all the way through. Great!
When I got back home, I cut the insulation into a large rectangle while sitting the dartboard into the center to make sure all sides were ensured. I at that point drew a line around the dartboard, evacuated the board, and started removing the opening with an utility blade.
Stage 1. removing a gap for the board
After cutting around the board, this is what we were left with (above).
I saw this as a tight fit, especially since I’m planning to add a layer of felt across the face of the insulation and around within the edge, making it considerably more tight.
In this way, I looked to sand down the internal ring, while at the same time testing the opening over the board, persistently, to guarantee I didn’t sand too a great part of the insulation away. I want a cozy fit, and yet I want to guarantee there’s sufficient space for when we add the felt.
Stage 2. sanding down the inward dartboard ring
Dartboard Backing Thickness
Before purchasing the insulation it’s important to check the thickness utilizing a dart, just to guarantee it can’t make its way through to the opposite side. See beneath.
dart penetrating the backboard, demonstrating its thickness
As it goes in, it almost reaches the stopping point. Furthermore, it’s improbable that any stray darts would stick in impeccably horizontally, as shown in the example.
I found that the darts actually stick in entirely well, remaining in the backing, rather than falling out, which ought to forestall any unnecessary damage to the darts.
The best thing about this is that you could chop the backing down to whatever size you like, contingent upon how accurate you are. Personally I’ve utilized a particularly large part of backing to cover more space underneath the dartboard, as my children regularly play and will in general toss beneath the board, as a general rule.
All things considered, I could decide to cut this off later, which obviously wouldn’t be conceivable with a standard backing.
Along these lines, here’s a brief glance at the openings left in the backboard. As you can see, they don’t quit for the day, yet I get it carries out the responsibility of ensuring the wall.
Just to show you, I took the insulation backboard off and, shockingly, there’s no marks on the wall. Which discloses to me that the insulation is sufficiently thick.
Wrapping the Backboard
Okay, so stage 3 leads us to making the backboard somewhat more esthetically pleasing. To do this, I’m wrapping the backboard with a layer of black felt. Although, you can utilize whichever shading you pick.
The paste of decision – Contact Cement
This is the paste I’m going to utilize (right). You can utilize almost any sort of paste for this, although it may be ideal to check whether it’s suitable for felt cotton.
I did a small test sample to show you (underneath). As you can see, it actually looks as however it eats the insulation somewhat. Although, it stopped eventually and I discover it causes the felt adhere to the insulation really well.
It will be in a bad position, so the idea is to keep the felt tight. Also, I’m just going to stick the backside of the board, so I’m not very worried about it softening a tad.
I have the insulation laid out on the table, with the felt underneath.
the got a handle on laid on the table with the backboard on top
My idea is to apply stick all along the edge of the insulation, and then I’m going to overlap over the felt from the opposite side and let the paste set for a couple of moments.
After applying the paste, I utilized two or three claps to immovably hold the felt onto the insulation. I left the paste to set for around 3 minutes, and then moved onto the opposite side. I’m at that point going to pull it tight on the opposite side and do the same thing.
Tackling the Corners
I’m not a fabric master using any and all means. So I’m not so much certain about the most ideal way to approach this. By the by for the corners, I’ve cut down the overhanging material, and collapsed it over, as so (underneath). Repeating this procedure for all four corners.
Cutting a Hole for the Dartboard
When it’s all dried, I’ll at that point move onto cutting a gap so the dartboard can fit through. To do this, I cut various cuts from the center to the edge of the insulation, so I could then overlap it over and wrap it around the edge of the opening (underneath).
I’ve at that point collapsed the flaps over onto the back of the backboard and cut down any abundance felt. You can see within some white spots where it doesn’t cover totally, yet with regards to placing in the dartboard, you’re not going to have the option to see that.
When I’d managed to stick all the flaps down to the underside of the backboard, we’re basically done.
Okay, so here’s the completed piece from the back. Lets perceive how it fits!
To test it out, I tossed a dart into the backing and it stuck in there really well. I could see a minuscule gap where the felt objectified to be, however it’s barely noticeable from at the oche.
So this little analysis turned out significantly better than I suspected it would. In summary, it wound up costing a grand total of $20-$25 at the most. Also around 2 hours of my time. Overall I think it looks quite great! By the by, on the off chance that it doesn’t last, it’s cheap enough just to build another one.
I trust you preferred this track with custom dartboard backboard tutorial. Why not check out it yourself? It’s cheap to do, so regardless of whether you make a couple of mistakes, it’s no biggie. Don’t hesitate to post your attempts down in the remarks area.