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Not all projects are made from metal –– sometimes wood is used. This is my version of a dexterity exercise I used during occupational therapy to help me recover from a stroke I suffered in June 2007. The goal is to pick up pegs from the table with the impaired hand and put them into the nine holes in the board.
For this project, I used the lathe to cut identical lengths of ¼" aluminum rod, faced the ends smooth, and lightly knurled half the length of each peg to provide an easier-to-grasp surface. The unmachined surface was too smooth for fingers that don't function well. I made 10 pegs instead of nine, to have a spare in case one is lost.
To make the base, I used the milling machine as a precision drill press. The X-Y table allowed me to quickly and accurately move the work to the exact position for each hole, and a stop on the vertical axis ensured that all holes were drilled to the same depth.
On the bottom, I used a regular end mill to cut the shallow track for the plastic cover, and to create the deep cavity that holds the pegs for storage. A 60° end mill beveled the sides of this track so the cover stays in place.
