Choosing
A Location: The proper place to hang a dart board can be a difficult
choice:
The area
should be a low-traffic area to decrease the risk of injuries.
There
should be nothing breakable 2-3 feet on either side of the board
and preferably nowhere near the board at all. Darts can bounce
8 feet or more off the board.
You need
an empty area roughly 5 feet wide and 11 feet long. Although
you can throw over items in the area, it can be VERY distracting.
It is also annoying walking an obstacle course each time you
pull your darts out of the board.
The floor
should be considered in several ways:
- A concrete,
stone or tile floor will break darts and dull the points.
- A wood
floor will get lots of holes in it around the front of the board.
- Linoleum
or vinyl flooring will also get alot of holes.
- Carpet
will show ALOT of wear from the traffic between the board and
the line.
- You
will need to mark the throw line with either tape, a sticker,
or a screwed down wood or metal bar.
Taking
all this into consideration, you might want to think about purchasing
a "dart mat". This is a roll out rubber mat that serves
several functions. It protect the dart from breaking and dulling,
it protects the floor and marks the proper distance to the throw
line.
There
should be adequate room for spectators and players when they
are not throwing.
There needs to be a place for a score board in sight from the
line, preferably right next to the board.
Hanging
The Board: The board needs to be hung exactly 5 foot 8 inches
from the floor to the CENTER OF THE BULLSEYE. Good quality boards
are hung from the center, making this measurement easy. If you
have a board that hangs from the top, you will have to measure
the distance from the center of the bullseye to the hanger and
add that to the height. If a back board is used to protect the
wall around the board, this will also have to be centered around
the board.
Marking The Throw Line: The throw line (also known as
the oche, toe-line or hockey) should be about 3 feet wide. It
may be made of tape, a store bought throw-line sticker, a piece
of wood or metal. It should be placed exactly 7 foot 9 and 1/4
inches from the FACE of the board for a standard steel-tipped
setup. For soft-tipped darts, the line should be 8 feet from
the FACE of the board. (NOTE: Some British pubs use an 8 foot
or 8 foot 6 inch measurement for steel tip darts.) To measure
from the face of the board, have someone hold a plumb line from
the bottom-front of the board to the floor. If you don't have
a plumb line, you can use a piece of string with a pencil or
dart tied to one end. Make sure the throw line is exactly perpendicular
to the face of the board and centered with the board. This can
be accomplished by measuring from the bullseye to each corner
of the line.
If you have a carpeted area where you are going to setup your
dartboard, you can use a strip of wood or metal with the "hook"
side of a piece of Velco attatched to the back as your throw
line. You can stick it to the carpet when in use and it won't
move, then just rip it up when your done.
Lighting: Proper lighting of the dart board is very critical.
It is important to be able to tell exactly where the dart landed
without moving from the throw-line. The ideal lighting is from
2 lamps mounted from the ceiling to the left and right of the
board. Obviously, in a home this can be a little ugly and expensive.
The main goal is to light it reasonably brightly and create as
little shadow as possible. Suggstion is to mounted a little "piano
light" (the kind you hang over a painting) that can be bought
at Ikea for $10.00 about 4 feet in front of the board on the
ceiling. It works beautifully.
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