Build a giant jenga game

I started by laying 3 2x4's side by side and measuring the width. I used my miter saw to cut all the pieces. You can stack the pieces however you'd like to in order to measure for a case. I chose to stack mine 6 pieces side by side, 2 pieces behind that end to end, and stacked up until I ran out of blocks. This will give me a little wiggle room inside and also some space for my fingers to fit in the holes I will be cutting as handles in each end of the case.

I cut this larger piece in to 2 smaller pieces for the top and bottom that were both 24 inches long. For the front piece I cut a piece that was 24 inches long also, but I cut two 4 inch sections off each end. The two 4 inch sections will go at each end of the front and the center piece will act as the door. For the layout of the handles I first found the center point of both the left and right side boards. From the center I measured 3 inches in each direction, marked 2 lines, measured down 4 inches from the top and marked a line across the board, measured 2 inches down from the top and marked another line across.

For the handles I first laid out a rectangle that was centered on each of the side boards 6 inches wide, 2 inches tall, and 2 inches down from the top of the board. I marked a center line horizontally across the rectangle and marked a point 1 inch in from each side. These points will act as center marks for the holes that will be drilled. Using a 2 inch forstner bit I drilled 2 holes in each board on the 2 center points I marked on the rectangle that were 1 inch in from the end.

Once the holes are drilled I cut along the outside lines of the rectangle with my jig saw and connected the two holes to make one large handle hole in each of the boards. Using whatever saw you have access to, cut the 2x3s into 7. To make this process faster I set up a stop block on my miter saw. While this was the most time efficient method the same job can be done with a hand saw.

To match the cut edges with the factory round over I used my router to chamfer the edges and make the blocks a little easier on the hands. While this is totally unnecessary it can be done with heavy grit sandpaper.

Depending on where you got the lumber from it could be pretty rough being that it is sold for construction. So a sanding is pretty important. Being that there can be many blocks this can be a pretty time consuming process. I used my orbital sander with 80, , and grit sandpaper to leave a nice smooth to the touch finish. Although you can use regular sandpaper sheets and some elbow grease to get the same results.

Now finishing is all up to you but I left the blocks raw because people would be writing messages on them at the wedding. Although I did brand my logo on all the pieces with a hot iron. Thanks for the tutorial! I think this is the only one I can fine that details the wood process and painting. I am planning to paint half the blocks white and the other half black. Do you have any recommendations for a nice durable gloss finish that wont stick? Chad- These are optional. You can add some drawer pulls that are simply screwed into the wood.

So sorry. Hope you end up making it! Zay- I am not sure how tall it is. This is a guest post on my blog. Where did you purchase the drawer handles? Karen- This was actually a guest post. Thanks for the measurements. Sherry- This is a guest post. Meaning it is not mine. Not sure if there is a printable version of this. You may just have to copy and past it into a word document. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Amy is the author of The Idea Room. Read More…. Check Out Our. Click to Learn More. There was an error submitting your subscription. Be sure to watch the video above , as it shows a lot more of the how-to steps and details of this project.

Using either an orbital saw or a benchtop belt sander, we sand each piece smooth on the ends and the sides. We had a pretty good assembly line going between me cutting the pieces and passing down the line to my brother and his fiance who were sanding.

This is a great, fun project to make with a friend or family members. This Giant Jenga Game is a hit at wedding receptions, family reunions, bbq's, or any other get together.