So I am a den leader of our Bear Den this year. I'm trying very hard to get all the bear requirements done by March.
One of the new changes or modifications for the requirements is that they changed Grin and Bear it to an elective and made Baloo the Builder a requirement for rank.
So, since most packs are on a budget and I'm not very knowledgeable with working with wood, I had the great idea to make the Tic tac toe board on page 131 in the handbook.
What you need:
Saw (we used a table saw)
Drill
Different size drill bits
2 x 4 wood (to be cut into 4-5 inch blocks
Sand paper
Safety glasses or goggles
1st aid kit
Latex gloves (or latex free gloves)
Paint brush
Rag
Wood stain
Polycrylic protective finish
Something to protect work station (drop cloth or thick cardboard)
Golf tees at least 2 colors (5 for x and 5 for o's)
I asked a friend for some left over 2 x 4 wood they had.
Then I asked my hubby to cut them to 4 inches. He used a table saw and they were not all the same size and some were uneven. But we work with what we have.
So next I measured where to add the lines. Well, since every single one was not uniform, after awhile, i just started guessing. I mean, i have drawn so many tic tac toe boxes in my life, it wasn't hard. I even had a line to write the name of the game at the top. The block was bigger than 4 x 4..
Next I predrilled some wholes in the middle of the boxes drawn. I only predrilled because I wanted the boys to drill only once due to 1 drill and 5 boys in a den meeting. Plus, my husband said if i drilled the bigger hole first, it would split the wood.
So now everything is precut, predrawn and predrilled.
So at the meeting, the boys drilled each hole once with a thicker bit ( I made one at home 1st so I knew what drill bit to use. I drilled it bigger and bigger until the golf tee fit nicely.)
NOTE TO LEADERS- I was told afterwards that the boys couldn't use power tools for BSA projects. Then I had them sand all the sides so they were smooth. I explained they didn't want a splinter later. Remember they HAVE to wear safety glasses or goggles. Also, when they drill, make sure you are holding the wood hard so the wood doesn't spin and hurt them. I had some boys hold it themselves and I had some that didn't hold it hard enough and it spun. Only 1 Band aid used during this meeting. Not bad!
After drilling and sanding, I had them choose 10 pegs from a bag of golf tees (5 one color for "x" and 5 another color for "o"). Then I explained they should finish it at home. They can stain it, paint it, whatever they want. And they have to put a finish on it.
My son loved this so much that he asked if we can use the extra wooden blocks for Christmas gifts. So on December 23rd, we were drilling and sanding.
We also bought a dark stain for wood and a sealer at Walmart .
We wanted it dark .. so we used latex gloves (you can get the latex free gloves if someone is allergic), and sponge brushes for the stain And an old white t-shirt cut up as a rag.
Follow directions on can for each product.
We painted 1 side with stain and wiped off with rag. Make sure you have a work place with something to protect your surface. We used an old popcorn box from the scout popcorn that we just delivered. Have them do each side. Of the block. Set aside to dry. We let it dry 3 hours.
Next we traced the square and words with white paint ( we used acrylic paint). We also wrote on the back who its for, who made it and the year. Let dry.
Then we used the sealer with a soft paintbrush. We left 1 side unfinished so we can place it down without sticking to the cardboard. Then 2 hours later, we would repeat the process but this time we made sure to get the side not sealed. We repeated this 4 times with 2 hours in between applications.
Now grab your "x"'s and "o"'s and your set.
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