DIY Wood & Acrylic Travel Size Connect Four

This Connect Four game was made by College Students in the Department of Technology at SUNY Oswego. We chose to make this game as a part of the Manufacturing Competition for the Technology and Engineering Education Collegiate Association (TEECA) at the 2022 annual International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) conference in Orlando, Florida.

Materials:

2 - 8x12 sheets of 1/8" acrylic sheets in different colors

3 - 8x12 sheets of 1/8" plywood

16-18" of a hardwood 1x6

3/8" 23ga pin nails

Wood Glue

Finish of choice

Equipment:

Laser Cutter/Engraver

Planer

Table Saw

Miter Saw

23 Gauge Pneumatic Nailer

Sanders with assorted abrasive discs

Draw the cut layout for 24 1” checkers in a CAD software compatible with your laser cutter.

Laser cut 24 1" diameter checkers from each color of 12” x 12” acrylic. Store checkers until later.

Draw the cut layout according to the dimensions provided on the technical drawings for the grid in a CAD software compatible with your laser cutter.

Cut the grid panels from the ⅛" plywood with the laser cutter. Store panels until later. You will need to cut two of these for each game.

Cut base panels from the ⅛" plywood on the table saw. Start by cutting the board lengthwise to the width of 6", then rotate 90 degrees and cut to a length of 8-¼ ". Save the 6" x 3-½ " scrap to use for grid spacers. Store bottom panel until later.

Using the extra piece from cutting the bottom, cut the 10 vertical spacers to a width of 3/16" on the table saw.

Glue two of the vertical spacers together on their faces to make pieces that are ¼" x 3/16" x 6” and use a clamp or heavy object to make sure they will be flat and wait for glue to dry.  Two of these are needed per grid.  Store both glued and single vertical supports for later.

Plane the 1” x 6” hardwood for the base to ½” thick.

With a Miter Saw, set up stop blocks to cut a section that is 6-½ " for the sides. Store this piece for later.

With a Miter Saw and set up a new stop block at 8-¼ " to cut the piece that will be used for the front, back and spacer. Save this piece for later.

Move to the table saw and set to 2.5 inches. Cut the back and side pieces to this width. Save these pieces for later.

Move to the table saw and set the fence to 2-½" inches. Rip the 6-½" piece into two 2-½" side pieces then rip one 2-½" piece from the 8-¼" piece to create the back. Save these pieces for later.

Using the remainder of the 8-¼" piece, move the fence on the table saw to cut the front piece to a width of 1-½” and cut the spacer to a width of ½”. Save these pieces for later.

Change the blade on the table saw to a ½" dado stack and set the blade to a height of ¼". Set the fence to ½". Cut grooves on back and side pieces.

Move the fence out of the way, and use a miter gauge to cut a dado in the center of the side pieces on the same face as the groove.

Keeping the height at ¼", change blade to ¼" dado stack. Cut the rabbet on the ends of the sides, front, and back pieces. Be sure to keep the cuts on the same face as the grooves and dados.

Change blade to ⅛" blade. Cut rabbet 2 at a height of ¼".   This will become the bottom edge of the sides, front, and back. Be sure that this cut is also being done on the same face as the grooves, dados and rabbet 1.

Move to the Sanding Area and lightly sand all pieces except grid spacers with an orbital sander, we used 220 grit. Use abrasive paper to remove any excess dried glue from the vertical edge spacers.

Make the fixtures for grid assembly, these can be 3D printed or made of wood using the tools you have available.

Gather the grid spacers, grids, grid edge spacers, pneumatic pin nailer, pin nails, and the vertical grid fixture. Start assembly of the grids by using the fixture and put one nail at the top and bottom of each vertical spacer and an extra supporting nail in the center of the edge spacers. You can use some of the checkers or a second fixture to ensure the spacers are lined up in a way that they can easily slide up and down. We lined the end of the spacers up with the bottom of the grid (where the holes are closest to the edge) and the top edge of the grid is flush to the back of the fixture. Store the grids for later.

Gather the bottom, sides, front, back, and spacer pieces as well as the box fixture, wood glue, pneumatic pin nailer and pin nails. Using the box fixture, put the base together by gluing and then nailing the pieces together starting with attaching the sides to the front and the back, then attach the bottom, and finally insert glue and nail the spacer. Save the bases for the next step.

Apply the finish of your choice to the assembled grids and bases according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. We used spray lacquer for our game.

 Once the pieces have fully dried, use 400 grit or 600 grit abrasive paper and lightly sand them to a glass like finish.

Print out the instruction booklet and then cut it to size. Make sure it is double sided and then cut horizontally to create two copies.

Get the acrylic checkers, set up the board with the narrow side on the bottom, and play Connect Four!