Crokinole
When I went to Jyväskylä last weekend, there was not one but two Crokinole boards waiting for me! Ismo had done great work, they were beautiful. One was a round board made of all birch veneer, other one was octagon-shaped with base of MDF board (which meant a nice two-colour look). I took the round board home with me, because the finish wasn't ready on the octagonal board (it hadn't been waxed - there was a nice shine from the lacquer, but it was a bit sticky).
So, now I have a Crokinole board. The other one I will sell so Ismo will get money for the materials (about 50-60 euros, if someone is interested). His work was a birthday gift for me. No wonder the boards sell for 150 euros! It had taken a lot of time spent in the garage working on the boards to get them done, I heard... So making 100 euros per board isn't probably enough in long run, if you think about the time it takes.
Of course, I have nothing to compare the board to, but the waxed surface (car wax!) is smooth and the discs slide well, so it feels alright. I'm just looking forward to get some more games on the board...
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Your friend Ismo could have a money-making business on his hands, if Crokinole boards are so hard to obtain in Europe. If he has the time, he ought to think about how much to charge for his workmanship. I think the handful of small manufacturers here in the US have all come out ahead.
Interesting Ismo used car wax. Our Sterntaler board is waxed with wax for stairs and it endured two Essen shows and several other events so far without any sign of wear and tear.
The second important fact of your posting is that you mentioned the time Ismo had to work on the boards: A Crokinole board seems very easy to make
but in the end to do a really good one it takes a lot of skill and time. So I agree when one says € 180 is much money for a game but it`s not EXPENSIVE for a smooth board...and you only have to pay it once in your life!
best wishes
Hans
He chose car wax with as much carnauba wax as possible, I think. Carnauba wax was recommended somewhere - your stair wax might have the same.
I think the prices aren't ridiculous at all, especially if you're trying to make a living out of them. Could you give me a some estimate how much time does it take to make one of your basic boards?
If we made our living on selling Crokinole boards we would have starved looong ago....
for your last question I´ll ask our carpenter.
Hans
Our carpenter says that there´s no carnauba wax in his stair wax, but he knows about that stuff. The production of his/our Crokinole-prototyp- board took him some days. He says if he hadn´t had no fun in that production he wouldn´t have done it. So maybe we didn´t pay for all the time he was busy.....