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Post by hasbinbad on Nov 4, 2012 12:58:11 GMT -5
These are some measuring sticks I made for my campaign for times when we go gridless. There are five 6", 2 10", and 2 20" sticks. They are poplar hardwood square doweling. I cut the pieces to length, and then used a small saw to cut the grooves. The grooves were done "several at once" so a few of the marks are a mm or two off, but the overall effect is one of "good enough by far for the job." I sanded the pieces with 120, 200ish, 400ish, then some 1500 i had laying around (kind of just for fun to see how the poplar would polish). Stained with dark walnut oil stain (to contrast light wood/dark stain highly in the roughed areas, which would absorb more stain) then given some teak oil. I may end up coating them with some polyurethane, but i kind of think the patina will be better. These took quite a bit of time, and my arms are sore from sanding, but I feel like they are cool and something I'll be able to keep for a long time. Knowing now just exactly how much time and effort go in to making something like this, I would probably plonk down the extra cash to buy some sticks of a more exotic hardwood. I figured they would take a few hours of work, but they ended up costing about 12 hours of my life altogether. Total cost: $8
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Post by danielc on Nov 4, 2012 16:30:03 GMT -5
Wow, these look great. I love the finish on them.
I agree, these look like something you would want to keep for a long time.
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Post by dm1scotty on Nov 4, 2012 20:59:57 GMT -5
Cutting the measurements into the sticks is a great idea. You put a lot of work into these but you can be proud of them and they will most certainly last your DMing career.
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Post by hasbinbad on Nov 5, 2012 2:04:04 GMT -5
168 light but precise saw cuts lol.. PITA but worth it now that it's over
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Post by anthonyroma1969 on Nov 5, 2012 8:20:56 GMT -5
Dude, Nice Sticks......Makes me want to upgrade now
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Post by dm1scotty on Nov 5, 2012 14:32:22 GMT -5
DM Scotty is commanding you to make some more and send them to me...lol
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horned1
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 1
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Post by horned1 on Dec 21, 2012 21:14:32 GMT -5
Art stores sell flexible rulers that would be great for a gridless system since you could measure any path no matter how curvy.
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Post by chrisfitz71 on Feb 20, 2013 5:49:11 GMT -5
Has anyone made 6" sticks that are 8"? Hah. What I mean is, I would think you'd want a place to hold it and still have 6" sticking out. If I took the time to copy Hasinbad's beautiful results, I might use a darker stain just on the extra 2" handle part. Or, am I over-thinking it?
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Post by unclebilly on Feb 20, 2013 7:38:22 GMT -5
Has anyone made 6" sticks that are 8"? Hah. What I mean is, I would think you'd want a place to hold it and still have 6" sticking out. If I took the time to copy Hasinbad's beautiful results, I might use a darker stain just on the extra 2" handle part. Or, am I over-thinking it? I don't use a handle. With out a handle the players can just put the stick close to the minin by holding the stick in the middle some place and then know there move is that stick from end to end. That is why I have a 4 inch stick also for the small 20' movers.
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Post by danielc on Feb 20, 2013 12:05:33 GMT -5
Has anyone made 6" sticks that are 8"? Hah. What I mean is, I would think you'd want a place to hold it and still have 6" sticking out. If I took the time to copy Hasinbad's beautiful results, I might use a darker stain just on the extra 2" handle part. Or, am I over-thinking it? I don't think you are over-thinking it at all. If that makes it easier for you to play, then add the space to hold it. But to be honest, I have not found a need to add more space to hold it. It seems to work just fine as is. In any case, have fun.
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Post by onethatwas on Feb 20, 2013 14:28:10 GMT -5
Most of the time you wouldn't need to add any extra space, because the idea is to lay the stick on the table and measure out from end to end. Standard wargames idea that makes sense. BUT, if you do prefer to hold the stick instead of laying it down, then by all means. And I'm sure those extra two inches may come in handy in some other ways as well. Spell reach, monk movement at specific levels, etc.
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blackknight
Cardboard Collector
Vorpal Bunnies FTW!
Posts: 14
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Post by blackknight on Feb 27, 2013 12:59:14 GMT -5
Art stores sell flexible rulers that would be great for a gridless system since you could measure any path no matter how curvy. Nice find, I like that it's actually got structure.. PS> @hasbinad, Nice sticks, Love the look...
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