Univ. of Kentucky Boards

These boards really do take a long time to complete.  I am by no means making a killing off making these, in fact I am sure I have spent more money with this hobby then I have made.  Since it does take a while, it always feels like a celebration of sorts when I get a set completed.

Here are my Kentucky boards.  Made these for the neighbor Anna.  These are storage style.  They were also the first set I have made where I used a wood stain as opposed to simply paint.  Notice you can see the wood grain in the board in the middle.  Very happy with certain aspects of the boards, but learned a little about other aspects to do better next time.

Here they are:

Up next, I have some University of North Caroline Chapel Hill boards.  Pretty excited about getting these started.  Already have the boards built.  Just need to sand them and then get to painting.

What a Week

It has been a great week with lots of time spent in the Norris garage.  My awesome wife has been so gracious to let me have some boy time with buddies in the garage these last few days.  With that being said, work has been getting done so lets get to it.

I first want to share what the patio wood cooler looks filled up!  Check this out.  Looks delicious doesn't it?

Well, since my buddy Brian was coming back over on Sunday, we had another cooler to make.  Now, if you don't remember from the past post, these are made from pallet wood.  There is a process to breaking down the wood from pallets to individual pieces of wood.  Apparently, that process can be dangerous, as I found out on Thursday night.  While busting up the wood, a piece broke off and I got poked by a nail.  Below is the scene of the crime.

It was a bloody mess.  Luckily a little pressure and all was good, however I did have to make a trip to the doctor on Friday morning for tetanus shot.  My shoulder is still sore from that darn shot.

Well, it was all worth it because here is the finished product from our work today.

On Friday, I had a different buddy come over and help me build some cornhole boards.  He wanted to build a set for himself so we built his set and a couple of sets for my future orders.  Had a blast in the process.

So besides all the work in the garage making stuff we also had some time to wash our cars.  Debbie and I washed the big truck and Trey washed his truck.

Finally, I finished up the University of Kentucky boards for the neighbor.  I was very happy with them, but definitely still learning new tricks of the trade with each set make. 

Wood Cooler Project

Well, it has been a good day.  As I usually like to say, simply living the dream.  I want to start by thanking two people, my buddy Brian Shollenberger (for hanging out and helping out) and my beautiful wife (for letting me get the work done today).

The project today was inspired by Brian a few weeks ago.  He wanted a wooden box that was built for a cooler to have out on his patio.  Liked the idea so much, decided we should have a "man weekend" and I would build one with him.  

This project is made from entirely pallet (recycled) wood.  I didn't need to buy anything except a $25 cooler and about $15 in hardware (wheels were most expensive piece of hardware).  Pallet wood was free and had enough wood glue and screws for the remainder of the project.  

Here are some pictures of the work.  Hope you enjoy.  Gotta check how much pallet wood I have left, but might be making one more of these in the future to sell.  Let me know if you would be interested.  Would probably charge $150.

Univ. of Kentucky Boards

Currently working on a Univ. of Kentucky set for a neighbor.  Here is were they are at now.  Looking good so far, just a little more work and they will be done.

After these, I have a plain set to make for a buddy at work, then a UNC Tarheel set for another neighbor, a Florida set for my brother, and finally a Duke or NE Patriot set for another neighbor.  I am thinking I need to hire a second employee.  If you want to work for free, hit me up!

Paul's Wedding Boards

After my "Texas" boards for Jeremy, I made a set for an old co-worker Paul.  He wanted some for his wedding which was May 2015.  Put a little pressure on me because you want to make sure the boards you make someone for their wedding are perfect!  He was a Rutger grad and his wife was a High Point grad.  Wish them the best!!

Both of these were made "Storage Expert" style.

Texas Aggies and Tarleton State

I have to thank my buddy Jeremy Mayo for taking a chance and being my first "paying" customer.  I made him these Aggie boards for his family and the Tarleton State boards for his brother in law.

Aggie boards were "lightweight style" and the Tarleton State boards are "Storage Experts."

UNCG Set

I made these two sets for work.  These were the first set I made on my own.  Happy to say they are still working just fine and have made it through a year of abuse from student use on campus.

Made both of these with 1/2 inch plywood and 2 x 4 frames.

My Texas Set

These were my first set I made that had the legs on them.  My buddy Steve helped me with these.  I was still very wet behind the ears when I made these and I thank Steve for showing me the ropes.  Had to add a little flare with these and add some lights.

These are made with 1/2 inch plywood and 1 x 4 frames.  Very lightweight.  Love them

The Styles

I make a few different styles of boards.  Pros and Cons to each.

Traditional Style:  Made with 1/2 inch plywood on top and 2 x 4 on bottom.  The 2 x 4 frame lines up with the edge of the plywood, meaning there is no lip.  These are good if you might be a little rough with the boards.  These particular ones were made for my work since I knew students would be checking them out and would beat them up a little while using them.  Corners are all protected since the 2 x 4 are at the edge.

Lightweight:  These are made with 1/2 inch plywood on top and 1 x 4s on the bottom.  Great because they are extremely lightweight, however all corners are exposed and one good bang and you might have a corner bust on you.  Only recommend these if you need them to be lightweight and you are going to take good care of them.

Storage Experts:  These are designed for great storage.  Both built with 1/2 inch plywood on top, but one has 2 x 4 frame to the edge of the plywood while the other has the 2 x 4s sunk in so they can fit within each other. 

All Walls, no legs:  These do not have the legs that you flip out.  They are built with walls all the way around.  I built these with 3/4 inch plywood.

Kiddos:  Can't forget the kiddos.  If you want a small set, I can do those too.

The Cost

Cost is easy. 

Plain set with not paint = $100

Set with basic paint job = $150

Single Boarder

Stripes

Triangle

Opposites Triangle

Set with a logo = $200

I hand paint all of these.  No sticker business with my boards.

Bags are not included, but I do encourage you get bags from Amazon at a place called "Donkey Sports Cornhole Bags."  Great product and cost is $25 with shipping which is pretty typical.

The Beginning

Well, I must thank Brian Mills as he gave me my first set of boards.  See below.

 Thank you man for getting me into this game.  It has been a fun ride and I miss the nights we spent hours on the driveway in Nac whipping up on everyone else.

From there, I took Brian's boards and did my own, but I already had boards so I made some for my buddy Brian Shollenberger.  He is a Texas Tech grad so I had to hook him up.  That was a fun logo.

After catching the bug making the Texas Tech ones, I wanted to learn more.  In conversation I found out my buddy Steve makes boards a pretty cool way, so he showed me his tricks of the trade.  The pic below is us working in his garage making my other Texas set. 

Here is the finished product of the ones me and Steve made after I took them home and painted them.

The Name - GOAT

Choosing the name for the blog was easy.  For those of you who know me well, you know that I was very close with my Grandpa.  I have always called him my "life mentor."  He passed away many years ago, but to this day when I am making decisions I often think "What would Grandpa want me to do."  Well, because of who he was to me, I consider him the GOAT.  It stands for Greatest Of All Time. 

Wish he was still here, but I am sure he is looking over me smiling! 

Here is a pic of Grandpa.  Great man!

The First Post

Hey gang, this post will serve as a quick intro to my cornhole boards.  I got a wild hair about a year ago to start making these.  I only planned to make one set, but really enjoyed making them and then made another, then another and you get the point. 

My goal here is two-fold.  One, to share my story as I make these boards.  Two, my hope is sharing this site with people who are interested in having me make them boards will help then in choosing what type of boards they want. 

So here it goes...let the journey begin!