This is a pretty good close up of the wear on the blades of my Bandit. It is still a phenomenal board. It has a ton of life left in it. I took this shot a couple of weeks ago after hitting the trick with my Warriors. Click on the photo to get the full image and then make sure you are zoomed in. Most browsers will shrink an image to fit the window.


As always, click the image for a larger picture.

2nd Lifetime Maximum

I recall the day I hit this Ton-80 very well. I'd had these Freaks for not very long just a few months and I recall thinking they should help me find the sweet spot better since they were so skinny. When this max popped out of the board I was quite happy since it was the first one I could take a picture of. I figured if I could repeat my first ton-80 that they would just start rolling off my fingers. I have 25 of them as of this writing, and I am hoping for more (I am back blogging this by more than three years).

The top is a 15 Gram Red Dragon Featherlite. The bottom dart is a 27 Gram Harrows Axis. Both are fixed point and both fly well. The Featherlite could probably get away with a smaller flight but the Axis definitley needs a standard.

As always, click the image for a larger picture.

First Ton-80 Ever

I remember my first ton-80 like it was yesterday. I was at work and these were in the days that I had dartboard hung in my office. I nailed the maximum with my 28 gram GT's and I had two witnesses to boot.

These are 12 gram Harrows Chrome Jewels. I don't really play soft tip anymore, but I put a set of conversion points on them and I do well throwing them. This is the lightest set of darts I own and they fly every bit as well as my 28 gram Widows. Go figure.

As always, click the image for a larger picture.

These are the heavier ones: In order from left to right: 28g smooth Black Widows, 28g Hammerhead GT's, 25g Shooter's Edge Crossfires, 25g Bottelsen 9/32 Edge grip Great Whites, 24g Dart Freaks, 24g 20/20's 24g Harrows Powerpoint Dimplex, 23g Shooter's Edge Warriors. The Dart Freak and the 20/20's are known as Penetrators and Chunky Stubbys on some sites.


As always, click the image for a larger picture.

The full practice set, ranging from 28 gram to 12 gram. These are the darts I typically throw during practice. A wide range of weights and styles, although I definitely lean toward 24 gram, and I prefer standard dimplex flights on almost all of them.


As always, click the image for a larger picture.

These are the lighter darts in order from left to right: 24g Harrows Powerpoint Dimplex, 23g Shooter's Edge Warriors, 23g Harrows Rhinos, 22g Halex 80% Tungstens, 22g Voks Raptors, 20g Halex Nickel Silvers, 16g DMI Radarts, 17g Halex Nickel Silver, 12g Harrows Crown Jewels. The last three darts in this group were all soft tip when I bought them but I only throw steel tip now so they all wear conversion points. The 12 gram darts are amazingly accurate. The Voks are "soft-steel" which is their term for convertable, but they have tungsten inserts which makes them a bit heavier.


As always, click the image for a larger picture.

20/20's

As always, click the image for a larger picture.

Display Case for showcasing nice sets of darts. This was put together by a friend of mine in Seattle (as evidenced by the Spaceneedle in the photo). The best part is that it is all magnetic based, so the platforms that hold the darts are adjustable. You can comfortably display up to 6 sets of darts. 

Here is my backboard. It looks like it is hanging crooked but that is only the camera angle. I bought a 4x4 piece of half inch plywood from Home Depot, had them cut it down to 3x3, and then at home I made it a perfect octagon. (Each side ends up being 14 9/16ths inches.) I drilled a 1 1/2 inch wood screw through the exact center in the back, and "spun" the dartboard onto it until it was snug. This way i can rotate the board occasionally. The plywood is upholstered with blue carpet that I also bought at Home Depot. 

Being a former carpet layer, I made sure the whole backboard looked nice by gluing the carpet down on front, the sides, and for a few inches in back. I then used my gilly gun to upholster the corners. 

I mark the throw line on the floor with electrical tape. It comes up easy and any residue comes off very quickly with 409. 

I bought one of those inexpensive 5 foot matts at Home Depot to catch bounce outs. This protects the floor. 

Since I cannot pound massive nails into my rental unit's walls, I hung the entire thing with this "picture frame" hanger. It can support up to 50 pounds and the nails it comes with are quite small. 

Attached with chain and eyelet. 

Close up of Carpet used 

Backboard. A lot of people have written to ask me how much this board cost to make. Well, as it turns out I have not tossed the receipt yet so I can give you exact numbers. I bought everything at Home Depot:

4x4 1/2" plywood....15.95
3x5 floor mat........16.97
4x6 blue carpet......11.88
carpet glue...........3.97
-----------------------------------
total ................. 48.77

Now keep in mind that there was some stuff I already had, such as the wall hanger supplied by the landlord, the chain, the eyelets, the wood screw, and I have a saw and a staple gun that I used. You can conceivably put together a similar board for much cheaper if you are not particular aabout what you use for the carpet, or a floor mat. Find some old rug laying around and a sheet of wood and you're set. Borrow tools, etc. But no matter what materials you use. A floor mat and a backboard are completely essential. The last thing you want is a wall and floor peppered with tiny holes.

20/20's from Mueller

20 / 20's

Mystery Darts (Pic)

Mystery Darts