How to Make DIY Yard Dice from a 4x4 Scrap
It's cheap and easy to make your own DIY giant yard dice to use for dice games like Yardzee or Farkle. You need only about 2 feet of 4x4 to make the 5 dice needed, so this is a great scrap project - or a full 8-foot 4x4 post will make 5 sets of 5 dice (or 4 sets of 6 dice, so you have an extra dice to play Farkle). Make a set for yourself, and a few for friends and neighbors as Christmas gifts or housewarming presents.
Ingredients
- 5-gallon bucket with a lid for storage
- Approximately 20" of 4x4 wood actually 3.5" square
- Craft paint, permanent marker, or wood burning tool to mark dots
- Sanding block and sanding paper or electric sander
- Stain and/or wood sealer optional
- Printer for scorecard and label
- Home laminator machine and lamination pouches
- Yardzee printables from the Remodelaholic Shop link in notes
Instructions
Step 1: Cut the Dice Cubes
- Set up a stop on your miter saw at 3 1/2". This is just a fancy way of saying, clamp a scrap board to the fence. By creating a stop you can guarantee that each dice is exactly the same size, and it saves a TON of measuring and time.
- Simply push the 4x4 until it hits the stop, then carefully cut according to the directions on your machine to make 5 wood cubes (or 6 if you'd like to play Farkle or other games).
Step 2: Sand
- When the yard dice blocks are all cut, it is time to knock down the sharp edges of the new cuts. You can use a hand sanding block with sandpaper, orbital sander, or whatever kind of sander you have available.
- The goal is to soften all the corners to match the pre-cut, filleted (or rounded) edges of the 4x4. This will also be a helpful safety precaution since you don't want those sharp corners to land on any toes when you are playing Yardzee, so don't skip this step.
Step 3: Print the Template & Transfer to Blocks
- Once the blocks are sanded smooth, print the free dice stencil template. You can use the template as a general reference, or you can be a perfectionist and use it to mark the exact layout. Opposite sides of the die add up to 7.
- There are several ways you can transfer the template to the blocks:
- Use carbon transfer paper between the template and the block to trace the shape on the blocks.
- Make your own transfer paper: Rub a soft lead pencil or chalk on the back of each template dot, then place that side down on the block and trace the circles with a fine point pen or other sharp object.
- Use a ball point pen to trace the outline of the shape and indent the soft pine.
- Use an awl or other sharp point to locate the center of the dot, then use a drill press or forstner bit to drill out the hole. (This is what we did.)
Step 4: Mark the Pips (Dots)
- There are several options to fill in the marked dots:
- Use a sharpie or acrylic paint to fill in the dots.
- Use a wood burning tool to fill in the dots.
- Use a drill press set at about an 1/8th inch depth (or a Forstner drill bit). Drill the holes and then use black acrylic paint fill in the holes.
Step 5: Stain and Seal the Wood Dice (optional)
- Stain and seal with polyurethane or oil if desired. We skipped this step because I liked the light color of the wood, and sealing will always darken the wood.
Step 6: Play
- Print and laminate the printable game rules and printable score card to add to the bucket, and you're ready to play!