Monday, September 4, 2017

Easy Version - Knuckle Bones (Part V)

In my research of The Royal Game of Ur, I found out that often this game was played with knuckle bones from goats. I find it hard to believe that such a simple game most often used the tetrahedron dice when they aren't easily made.

All this game really takes is an opportunity for all four dice to show either a one or a zero. This could be done with traditional six sided dice. A roll with an odd number is one, and an even number is zero.

I would much rather have something a bit more traditional than plastic dice, though. One video I saw of a guy who was making game sets from cardboard had little rectangular shapes, which I immediately recognized as his version of the dice.

I could do better than cardboard, though.
My version of knuckle bones. Yes, I made an extra.
This was dead simple to do. The hardest part is accurately planing my stick. I used some mystery wood, which could be goncalo alves, but I think probably not. It is very heavy.

Once I had the stick planed as accurately as I could at somewhere near 1/2", I marked out six points on a centerline with my dividers.
This stick is long enough to make five, just in case I screw one up.
I drew layout lines at each of these points, and then marked the centers of each piece on a centerline for my inlay. I did this on both sides.
Here I am drilling holes.
I had some big 5mm bamboo skewers, which should make Greg happy. After drilling in each piece from both sides, I glued in a bamboo peg in each of the holes.
Mine go all the way through. Much easier, and it isn't likely they will pop out.

Waiting for the glue to dry.
After these set for a bit, I got impatient and cut them off with my flush cut saw. Yes, I know hide glue takes 24 hours to cure, but these pegs aren't going anywhere.

Probably.
Flush cutting.

Here's what it looks like.
I also chamfered each corner with two swipes on my block plane. Doing that now will make them much more uniform.

Next just cross-cut as accurately as possible. I still cleaned up each end with a shooting board.
Done!
I'll wait until tomorrow to polish the faces and apply finish.

Two positives regarding this style are they are much easier to construct, and being easier to make, they are likely much more accurate.

The only negative I can see right now is that they are a lot bigger, which might be a challenge for players with small hands.

I'll report back after having played the game several times with each set of dice.

Just in case you are wondering, I haven't given up on the tetrahedrons. In fact, I finished cutting out one of those today, too.
Progress!
UPDATE:

I found this video, which shows the game played with replicas of actual knuckle bones.

18 comments:

  1. with your "knuckle bones" each die has a 1 in 2 chance of showing the dot. with the tetrahedron each is 1 in 4. how will this affect the flow of the game?

    regards,
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The tetrahedron has two white pips. 2/4 chance.

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    2. No problem, Mike! I think I probably haven't mentioned it yet.

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  2. The chance that those "bones" stand up on the small end is small but not null. You might want to round them a little bit more.
    I had previously suggested coins. Not round coins because they would tend to roll off the table. Hexagonal coins with the edges rounded would be nice. (now any number of sides would do: 3, 4, 5, 6, ...)
    Sylvain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coins are a good idea, too. The advantage of round ones is you probably already have them in your pocket.

      :o)

      Cheers!

      Delete
  3. You might want to find 50 pence heptagon coins from UK.
    Sylvain

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  4. I don'tknow how big those are:
    http://www.whitehousegiftshop.com/United-States-Navy-Pentagon-Challenge-Coin-p/34700-navy.htm
    Exist also for other forces.
    Sylvain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Typically those military coins are pretty big. And, they are about $3 each.

      Delete
  5. LOL...yep, glad to see someone getting to use a bamboo peg. It has been so long since I have used one I'm stating to go through withdrawal.

    I like this simpler version of die. I wonder how short they could be before you run the risk of them landing on end?

    I've been thinking about this and it seemed that the tetrahedron was a bit complicated to make to have been popular. Of course there may be some long lost way of whipping them out by the thousands.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! I knew you'd like the bamboo.

      Sylvain mentioned rounding the ends. I bet a bigger chamfer on the ends would even work. We'll have to see in use if it is at all a problem. Of course, you could also add a rule that something special could happen if one landed like that. Who knows?

      I have no idea how they made the tetrahedrons original. I don't even know if they are made of wood. But, they aren't technically that difficult to make. I think getting them all the exact same size and the pips looking even could be a trick. And, I don't know what kind of saw they had access to. Maybe they shaped them with a plane and some kind of jig to hold it at consistent angles.

      Cheers, Greg!

      Delete
  6. So it wouldn't be woodworking but what about asking The Frau to put a whole goat on the menu this week? How often do you get to eat the offcuts from a project? Not to mention another use for bamboo skewers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now you're talking! What we do for research for our loyal readers.

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  7. You might try the same as you did for the "bones" for the tetrahedron. Ones you have made the layout (whether Tim's method, mine or any other) choose two vertices and bore holes toward the center of the would be tetrahedron; glue skewers/dowels of a contrasting color in them; cut them flush and finally cut the tetrahedron itself.
    Do you plan marquetry for the board?
    The original on the picture seems to be done with ceramic tiles.
    Sylvain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sylvain!

      You've spoiled my surprise!

      That's exactly how I had intended to make the pips. I think this method would be a little more durable than just gluing something on the end, or even just painting it.

      I will not be inlaying much or any marquetry. The original survived so well because it had a lot of non-wooden materials used. I, however, will try this as my first chip carving project.

      Cheers!

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  8. You could always just find a butcher with access to goat knuckles and call it done, mate.

    I'd still be interested in how you go about with the pipping on the 4-sider while it's still in cube form.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't even know goats had knuckles before I started this project.

      Sylvain suggested a way to do it, which happened to be what I was planning: I mean to plane off a little of a corner so I can find purchase with a brad point drill bit, then insert a contrasting dowel. Plane and sand flush. This will give a stronger bond that should hold up better to the abuses of a drunken game with all the violence it entails.

      Cheers!

      Delete