How do I make a cribbage board: hole size, spacing, and the drilling toolpath?

What the project is

A cribbage board is a few hundred identical holes plus decoration. The design work is the track layout; the machining risk is the holes. Buy the pegs first and size everything from them.

Numbers from published builds

• Common metal pegs are made for a 1/8 inch hole and have a head about 7/32 inch wide, so the head, not the shank, sets the minimum spacing.
• A widely used hole-to-hole spacing is 0.25 inch. For the gap between player tracks, makers suggest more than that, from 25 to 30% extra up to 150% of the hole spacing, so the tracks read as separate.
• One walkthrough drills 0.4 inch deep with a 1/8 inch upcut spiral bit.

Pegs differ. Measure yours and drill three test holes in scrap of the same species before you commit.

Steps

1. Layout. The clipart library includes a 2D Game Layouts folder with cribbage tracks already organized on layers. A 12 by 12 inch round board is the published example.
2. Decoration first. V-groove lines (the example uses a Profile set to On with a V-bit at 0.06 inch) and any epoxy recess (a Pocket 3/16 inch deep, on a ring offset 0.125 inch inside the outline).
3. Peg holes. Show only the peg hole layer, select the circles and open the Drilling Toolpath. It drills the center of each selected closed vector. Enter the Cut Depth.
4. Peck or not. Check Use Peck Drilling when the hole is several diameters deep. The tool drops by the Pass Depth from the Tool Database, retracts by the Retract Gap, and repeats, which clears chips. One maker reports 0.10 inch pecks at 12,000 RPM with a small carbide drill.
5. Cut out last, Profile with tabs.

Pro tips

• If you pour epoxy, pour and flatten before drilling so resin cannot fill the holes.
• Fuzzy rims usually come from a dull bit or packed chips. Peck, and use a fresh bit.
• See the entry on the Drilling Toolpath for the two retract options.