Many of you are familiar with such a game when a ball rolls along a wooden or plastic maze, and its trajectory is controlled by the angle of the plane of the board.
In this article, the author of the YouTube channel "NightHawkInLight" will try to recreate a similar game using a minimum of tools and materials. But this game will have one noteworthy highlight - the surface on which the ball usually rolls will be made of hydrophobic material or painted with water-repellent paint. And the ball itself will serve ... a water drop! Intriguing? Read on ...
This homemade product is very simple to manufacture, and can be repeated inhome conditions.
Materials
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- Wooden planks and dowels
- Perforated Fiberboard
- PVA glue
- Masking tape.
Instruments, used by the author.
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- Hacksaw, carpentry knife, ruler.
Manufacturing process.
The author of this article will try to recreate a similar game using a minimum of tools and materials.
But this game will have one noteworthy highlight - the surface on which the ball usually rolls will be made of hydrophobic material or painted with water-repellent paint. And the ball itself will serve ... a water drop! Intriguing? Then read on ...
Such an unexpected substitution radically changes the rules of the game. The fact is that a water droplet modifies its shape, like an amoeba. It ricochets off the water-repellent walls like a rubber ball, and if one drop falls into a trap, then part of it can “survive” and continue the game.
For this game you need a perforated fiberboard. Holes in it will be needed to attach various elements of the maze. The same holes will serve as traps in the maze.
The author cuts off the excess, leaving a grid with 10 × 10 holes. Accordingly, the plane of the square itself will have a size of 12 × 12.
One row on each side will be covered by external walls. The borders of the maze are cut out from half-inch planks that are glued to hot glue.
The inner walls are made of narrower sections in the cross section, but which at the same time close the holes. In this case, they will be 6X6 mm.
Round dowels of the same diameter as the small trims will also be required. They will be used as pegs, inserted into holes. The strips themselves will be glued on them.
Since there are many such shkantiks, the author came up with the simplest way to cut them. Here in this wooden block there is an opening of the required diameter. A dowel is inserted into it so that it does not protrude beyond the bar. Then, with a hand saw, the author cuts the bar from above and cuts the dowel in the right place. Now, using this mark on the bar, he saws the rest of the dowel at a given length. Five minutes - and you're done!
But there are also rectangular bars. They also need a sufficient amount. In this case, it is advisable to craft a small device.
Two bars are glued to the bar. The distance between them corresponds to the dimensions of the rectangular bar. Thus, an improvised miter box is obtained.
With a beam saw, right in the middle, he makes a cut. This will be the mark where you want to cut the section of the bar.
In this game, “Start” is easiest to do in the corner of the board. Then the bar is adjusted to the size.
So, two pegs are inserted into the holes, on them a drop of glue and a plank on top.
The author deliberately made the round pegs a little longer than the height of the game board itself so that the walls would rise a little above the surface and would not finally stick to the base in case excess glue spilled out from under the joints.
Initially, before putting on glue, the author arranged the planks in an arbitrary way, forming the outline of the maze. They can also be positioned at an angle to each other, sawing off the corners with a shaving blade or grinding them with sandpaper. In this case, you get a more interesting design. Some sections of the passages can be made very narrow, but such that a drop can seep through them.
You can make the game even more exciting, and use the blade to combine the two traps into one.
After the author has decided on the design, he glues the trims on the pegs.
The next step is a water repellent coating. The board itself and the walls are painted separately. In order not to forget the drawing, the author transfers the outline of the maze to a neighboring, empty board.
Water-repellent coating can be bought at any hardware store. It is applied in two stages. First, the first layer, and then, after 30 minutes - the second.
It is important to carefully, and from all four sides, spray not only the base, but also the walls. Separately, the demarcation slats are opened. It can be difficult to get all the zones of the volume strips, but to do this is extremely important.
Next, the author turns the game board upside down. The easiest way to make sure that the board can be tilted to one side or the other if necessary, is to install a spring on each corner of it. The springs are fixed with hot glue.
Now all segments are back in place. Of course, you can make segments of various shapes, and each time change the configuration of the board, as when playing with the designer.
At the beginning of the game, a drop is placed in the corner of the board. With both hands, the player tilts the board in the right direction and moves the drop. This is like meditation! It is worth trying to make such a game for your children!
Thanks to the author for the simple but very unusual idea of a hydrophobic maze, this game will be interesting for both children and adults.
All good mood, good luck, and interesting ideas!
Author video can be found here.