Big Board Tutorial

Wow! I never would have thought that a post on my version of a big board would generate so many questions and comments. So, to answer some of your emails I've created a bit of a tutorial.

One thing I was asked was what I used for legs. I removed the 'big board' from the ironing board so you could see the underside of it. The legs are the ironing board legs.

But let me tell you how to make one. OK?

• Start with a long piece of paper. If you don't have paper long enough then you can tape some sheets of newspaper together.
• Once you have your paper, lay it on the floor.
• Turn your ironing board upside down onto the paper.
• Trace around your ironing board using a pencil. This is your template.
• Straighten up your lines and then cut out your template on the drawn line.
• My plywood measures 19" x 58". I centered my template onto one side of the plywood and using masking tape, I taped it down. I used plywood because it can take water and steam and not buckle or warp like multi-density fiberboard or is as rough as particle board.
  
• Next CarGuy cut 1x2 wood into the lengths needed to outline the template.
  
• He drilled pilot holes into the wood and then secured the 1x2 wood to the plywood using short nails making sure that the nails did not go all the way through the plywood.
  
• The inside edge of 1x2 wood is right on the edge of the paper template. He did not remove the template so I can still see all my numbers and measurements. *g*
• Now you need to make a cover for your board. Lay your silver fabric (you can purchase it from here) face down on the floor.
• Next lay your double thickness of wool blanket on top of the fabric. I like a hard surface for pressing my blocks and tops so I don't use anything besides the blanket and the fabric.
  
• Lay your board flat side down on top of the blanket layers. It's almost like sandwiching a quilt!
• Now wrap the blanket and silver fabric around to the back and staple. Don't be shy about using a lot of staples. After all, nobody is going to see the bottom unless you take a picture for your blog! *G*
  

And here is another one of my infamous incredibly blurry fotos. Sorry. I was shooting before coffee this morning. But this kinda gives you an idea of the underside.

I have never recovered this and it is about 5 years old. I suppose the wool blanket is now felted *g*.