Project:TAC

ProjectInfoBox "TAC" Boardgame
Status:	final tweaks & documentation
Release Date:	(mainly) summer 2018
Initiator:	Flo
Team:	Daniel, Lukas
Materials Used:	glued laminated timber (Eucalyptus diversicolor/"Karri" for 4 players, spruce/fir for 6); TAC cards & marbles, (optional) felt, olive oil
Tools Used:	CNC router, table saw, router table, rotary tool, sandpaper
Software Used:	Fusion 360
Approx. Cost:	40 €

One of Lukas' colleagues kept talking about the game TAC whose inventors offered really nice & expensive deluxe boards but also sets of everything except the board, so they started to make some boards of their own.

intended mainly as a rough inspiration page for now, but please ask if you have any questions!

Gallery

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  preparing to cut a practice piece from one of our stock boards

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  design of the practice piece with all the needed shapes in Fusion 360

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  (partially) failed practice piece: one of the tool changes caused the CNC router to move along the X axis - always home after a tool change!

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  on to the full game - design in Fusion 360

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  partially routed 6-player board on the WorkBee

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  we took care to remove the sawdust in between routing passes to avoid overheating the end mill (dust extraction was still a work in progress at the time)

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  back to pictures of the 4-player game: undecorated version completely routed

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  the decorated version required some manual corrections with a rotary tool because the warped board was not engraved evenly by the CNC router

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  since our end mills were too short to cut all the way through the workpiece at the edges, the rough shape was cut out on the table saw...

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  ...and trimmed to the partial-depth outline with a flush-cut router bit

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  after the outline was finished, the edges of the 4-player board were prettified with a roundover router bit

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  4-player board ready to leave the workshop with only minor steps left

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  a chamfer bit was used to finalize the edges of the 6-player board on the router table

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  chamfering the edges of the 6-player board on the router table

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  chamfered edge of the 6-player board (before sanding)

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  the soft spruce/fir wood was best cleaned up with sandpaper after routing

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  completely sanded area of the 6-player board

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  finally, the 6-player board (spruce/fir) was finished with olive oil

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  since the 4-player board's hardwood fibers were easily cut by a knife, sanding and the resulting brightening of the Eukalyptus wood could be largely avoided during the cleanup process

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  partially cleaned up area of the 4-player board - without sanding marks because a knife could be used on this wood

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  cleaned up area of the 4-player board

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  the center of the 4-player board ("card pit"?) was covered in green felt for a nice look

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  Alleskleber was used to stick the felt to the board

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  for nice and even adhesion in a round cutout, it works well to apply pressure with something round (like a CD)

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  finished 4-player board

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  finished 6-player board in use

Next Steps

• make a card holder
• make a nice rulebook