Cornhole!

He says...

I realize I haven't been blogging much, lately. Thanks to COVID 19, I have been putting in  more time at work. And, with the new-to-us boat, there has been a lot of upgrading/updating going on with it...stay tuned for more on that subject!

For Father's Day, the kids and Anne gave me a set of regulation size cornhole boards! They were unfinished which gave us the opportunity to "make them ours." We ordered a pair of custom, LSU themed vinyl wraps on Etsy. The wrap application required priming the wood. I applied a water based, semi-gloss clear acrylic over the bare wood. But, I have read where you can also use any basic paint primer like Kilz.

Semi-Gloss Acrylic Prime

Next, Anne helped me lay out the vinyl which required application using a heat gun....which, coincidentally, we had. Use of the heat gun "activates" the adhesive properties of the vinyl decal. Once adhered to the board, I used a metal straight-edge and razor knife to trim the excess vinyl from the edges and adjacent the opening.

Trimming the Excess Vinyl

The next step was protecting the vinyl. That was done by using the water-based, semi-gloss acrylic clear. We used up a full quart which included some light, hand sanding between the last couple of coats using 400 grit sandpaper. I think I will get another quart and add a few more coats in the near future. It still doesn't have that "stick your hand in it" look.

We next purchased four stainless steel window seal latches and installed two on each interior length of the cornhole boards. This allows you to reach inside each hole and secure the two boards together.

Window Seal Latches on the Inside of the Boards

Now that the two are latched together, we needed a convenient way to carry the set as well the individual boards. These cast aluminum drawer pulls with fleur de lis accents were the perfect choice. We used some stainless steel machine screws, washers and nuts to secure them into place; drilling through the side of the cornhole board.

Carry Handles

Finished Set of Boards, Joined Together

We added some stainless steel eye lag screws to the center front of each one where we could hook a small stainless steel snap hook with a length of braided line....where when attached to the eye bolts, places the two boards at their regulation 27 feet apart.

Finished Board with Eye Bolt & Snap Ring

The unfinished cornhole boards were supplied with a set of green & tan colored cornhole bags. That really did not go well with our LSU themed vinyls. Amazon has many color choices and that provided us the option to pick our colors for the cornhole bags. Naturally, we opted for the purple and gold bags filled with corn to regulation size & weight. They came with a nifty sling pack for carrying the bags.

Looking at these photos, I think I'm going to add some decorative stainless steel corner protectors to the opposite side of the handles. This will prevent any scratching/damage on the sides in contact with the ground....or as in the picture....the concrete driveway!

Stay tuned for a future blog about what we have been doing with the boat. I also plan to blog a hunting season primer which will basically be a recap of this past hunting season. Happy Cornholing to everybody!