DIY Network

Kid-Sized Croquet Create a croquet set sized just right for kids! From "B. Original" episode DBOR-106

Michele Beschen shows you how to make a kid-sized croquet set that even the adults will envy.

Downsizing can be a good thing, when B. Original host Michele Beschen downsizes the classic game of croquet so young kids can play. Croquet is a great game for kids: The rules are easy, the action is simple and the pace is as fast or as slow as you like. But the equipment can be too big and heavy for young children. Follow Michele Beschen's step-by-step guide to making a croquet set your favorite tots will adore.

Once you build your mallets—easy and cheap to create from a closet rod and dowels—the fun begins. You can customize the mallets with paint, stain and even a woodburning tool. Add some wire wickets and painted golf balls, and you're ready for playtime.

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Make a game the kids will love with dowels, a closet rod and some simple tools.

Materials:

5/8" diameter dowels
closet rod (1¼" diameter)
1¼" rubber chair let covers
drill press or drill with 5/8" forstner bit
wood glue
graphite paper
woodburner
paint and/or stain
spray paint
polyurethane sealer
golf balls
wire garden fencing/edging
heavy-duty wire cutters
chrome organizer cart or other croquet caddy

	Figure A
	Figure B

Build Your Mallets

• For each mallet (Michele Beschen's set includes six), cut a 20" length of 5/8" dowel and a 6" length of the 1¼" closet rod.

• Find and mark the center of the closet rod. Drill halfway into the closet rod, at the center, with a forstner bit (figure A). The forstner bit will leave a nice, flat bottom to your hole.
  Note: Michele Beschen built a V-shaped jig, with markings at 1" intervals, to help her find the center and hold the closet rod steady.

• Drill the other closet rod sections the same way.

• Secure the handles to the mallets with wood glue
  (figure B).

	Figure C
	Figure D

B. Original with Your Mallets

Once the glue is dry, you can add any designs or decorative touches you like. To add names (or nicknames) to each child's mallet:

• Print out the names in a fun font on a computer.

• Transfer the lettering to the handle using graphite paper.

• Burn your lettering into the handle using a woodburning tool (figure C).

Paint and/or stain each handle a different color. Michele Beschen recommends a product called WoodBurst Stains for adding color to the handles.

After the paint and/or stain is dry, seal with spray polyurethane. Once that is dry, cover the mallet ends with 1¼" plastic or rubber chair leg covers (figure D).

	Figure E
	Figure F

Finish Your Set

• Make miniature croquet balls by spray painting golf balls in colors to match your mallet handles.

• For end stakes, Michele Beschen cut a dowel to 18" long and tapered one end by sanding. She wood-burned lines into the end stakes and painted with the mallet handle colors.

• Wickets (also called hoops) should be twice as wide as the balls (figure E). Use heavy-duty wire cutters to cut out arches from wire garden fencing or edging; you may need to re-shape the arches a bit after cutting (figure F).

• A chrome cart organizer—painted and with the middle shelf removed—makes a great caddy for your new croquet set.

RESOURCES :

Woodburst wood stains
Website: www.woodburst.com