Guides · Dartboard care · 10 min read
Dartboard care: when to rotate a dartboard and how to make it last
Dartboard care for a sisal (bristle) board comes down to one big habit and a few small ones. Rotate the board before the 20 bed wears out, twist your darts out, keep the board dry and keep your points smooth.
In short
- Rotate as soon as the 20 bed shows holes or bounce-outs.
- Daily practice: every 1 to 2 weeks. Weekly play: every 1 to 2 months.
- Turn an even number of segments and refit the ring, 20 on top.
- No water, ever. Brush dust off dry.
Rotation
When and how often should you rotate a dartboard?
Rotate a dartboard as soon as the area you aim at most starts to wear, before it stops holding darts. With daily practice that is every week or two, with one session a week every month or two.
How often to rotate a dartboard
- 1 weekHours a day, or a club or pub board
- 1–2 weeksDaily practice, about an hour
- 2–4 weeksSeveral evenings a week
- 1–2 monthsAbout once a week
- 2–3 monthsA few sessions a month
Rough values from typical use, not a manufacturer’s rule. Your board, your points and your grouping shift them, so the signs below have the final say.
Signs it’s time to rotate
- Open holes in the 20 bed that stay after you pull your darts
- Fluffy, frayed fibre around the treble 20, while the 6 or 11 still look smooth
- More bounce-outs in the 20 than anywhere else on the board
- Drooping darts that wobble or fall out when the next one hits
- Fuzzy edges on your favourite doubles, such as double 20 or 16
- Why the 20 wears firstIn 501 nearly every scoring dart goes at the treble 20, so the 20 and its neighbours, the 1 and the 5, take the most hits. If you score on the 19 (see T20 or T19), watch the 19, 7 and 3.
- Doubles and the bullFavourite doubles wear next, and rotation spreads that too. The bull sits in the centre, so turning can’t help it.
Tip: Set a recurring “rotate dartboard” reminder in your phone calendar. It turns the check into a habit, and rotating a little early does no harm.
How to rotate
How do you rotate a dartboard and its number ring?
Take off the number ring, turn the board an even number of segments and refit the ring with the 20 at the top. The worn patch moves to a spot you rarely aim at, and the job takes about five minutes.
- Check that it can turnMost bristle boards have a removable number ring. If the numbers are printed on the board itself, it can’t be rotated.
- Take it down, ring offLift the board off its bracket and ease the ring off evenly, so it doesn’t bend.
- Turn an even number of segmentsSegments alternate dark and light, and the 20 is dark. A half turn of 10 is simplest; next time, turn 4 or 6.
- Refit the ring, 20 on topPut the 20 over the dark segment that now points straight up. The number order is in dartboard dimensions.
- Rehang and level itThe fitting sits behind the bull, so the height stays the same. Refit the stabilisers and check the 20 is straight up, as in how to hang a dartboard.
- Pencil it on the backNote the date and the segments you turned, so you know which ones are still fresh.
Score on the 19 as well? A half turn moves the worn treble 19 up into the treble 1, right next to the 20. Turn 4 segments instead, and the wear lands well away from the top.
Camera scoring? Recalibrate after every rotation, since the cameras measure the wires and the 20. In Sridu that is Recalibrate and a quick Check, see camera scoring.
Pulling darts
How do you pull darts out without damaging the board?
Hold the barrel, twist the dart as you pull and draw it out along the angle it went in. The sisal fibres stand on end: they part for the point and close again after a clean pull.
Do
- Grip the barrel
- Twist gently as you pull
- Follow the angle the dart went in
- Take the front dart of a group out first
- Pull all darts after the session
Don’t
- Pull by the shaft or flight, it bends shafts and tears flights
- Rock the dart up and down or side to side
- Yank it straight back at a new angle
- Leave darts in overnight, the holes stay open longer
Water and cleaning
Can you get a dartboard wet, and how do you clean it?
No. Sisal swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, which loosens the fibres, lifts the wires and can split the board. The soaking tip comes from old elm boards, which were kept wet so the wood wouldn’t crack.
How to clean a dartboard and where to keep it
Do
- Brush dust off with a dry, soft brush or cloth
- Snip a loose fibre off level with the surface
- Keep the board in a heated room with a steady temperature
Don’t
- Soak, spray or wipe it with water
- Use cleaning sprays or solvents
- Pull a loose fibre out, more come with it
- Hang it near a radiator, fire or heater, dry fibre grips less
- Leave it in direct sun or a damp garage or cellar
Dart points
How sharp should dart points be?
Smooth and slightly rounded at the very tip: sharp enough to slide between the fibres, not so sharp that it pricks your finger. Of everything you control, the points have one of the biggest effects on how long a board lasts.
- Smooth, slightly roundedParts the fibres, and they close again. Check it now and then.
- Needle-sharpCuts fibres instead of parting them. Take the very tip off on a stone.
- BurredTiny hooks from wires or the floor tear fibres out. Deburr on a stone.
- Blunt or flattenedEnters badly, bounces out and crushes fibres. Restore a rounded cone.
- Bent or looseWidens the hole. Replace it with a re-pointing tool or at a darts shop.
- Feel for burrsRun a fingernail down the point towards the tip. A catch is a burr; grooves are there on purpose.
How to sharpen dart points
- Use a dart stoneA small darts stone costs little. Sandpaper and files take off too much and leave new burrs.
- Lay it flat and roll itHold the point at a shallow angle, roll the dart and draw it back. A few strokes are enough.
- Round the very tipOne or two light touches straight on the end. It should feel blunt to a fingertip yet still enter the board easily.
Steel tips only on bristle boards. Soft-tip darts snap their plastic tips in sisal, and steel tips wreck an electronic board. More in steel-tip vs soft-tip.
Wires
Why do darts bounce out, and what about staples and loose wires?
Most bounce-outs come from a dart hitting a wire, another dart or a worn patch that no longer grips. Under WDF rules a dart that bounces out or falls out before the darts are retrieved scores nothing and can’t be thrown again.
- StaplesCheaper boards fix the wire web with staples, each one a spot to hit. Staple-free boards have none in the scoring area.
- Wire profileRound wires are the thickest. Triangular and thin blade wires are slimmer and tend to steer a dart into the board.
- Worn fibreA tired 20 bed stops gripping. Rotate before it gets there.
- Drooping dartsIn a match you may not push a sagging dart back in, and one that falls out doesn’t count.
- A bent wirePress it back flat with a finger or the side of a barrel. Never hammer it.
- A loose wireOn a staple-free board it rarely stays fixed. It causes bounce-outs and wrong scores, so replace the board.
Replacement
How long does a dartboard last, and when should you replace it?
It depends on how much you throw, your points and how often you rotate. Replace it when darts no longer hold where you aim and rotating has run out of fresh segments.
- MonthsDaily practice, or a club or pub board
- A year or moreA few evenings a week
- Many yearsNow and then, rotated in time
Signs you need a new dartboard
- Holes that stay open, even in segments you have just rotated in
- Bald or shredded patches where darts droop or fall out
- Wires that lift, rattle or have come loose
- A cracked, bulging or split body, or backing that has come away
- No fresh segments left: every turn puts worn fibre where you aim
Shopping for the next one? The dartboard buying guide explains what to look for, such as thin wires and a removable number ring.
New board, new calibration. If cameras score your darts, run Auto setup again after the swap. Automatic darts scoring explains why the cameras have to learn each board’s wires.
Darts and storage
How do you look after flights, shafts and barrels?
Check flights and shafts before each session, clean the barrels now and then and keep everything in a case. A damaged flight or a loose shaft changes how the dart flies long before you notice it.
- FlightsPress a bent flight flat, replace a torn or loose one. Moulded flights and protectors last longer.
- ShaftsAluminium shafts work loose, so tighten them before play; an O-ring helps. Nylon stays put but snaps, so carry spares.
- BarrelsScrub the bare barrel with warm soapy water and an old toothbrush, then dry it fully so the point doesn’t rust.
- Storing dartsA case that keeps each dart separate, the points covered and the flights flat.
- Storing the boardLeave it on the wall, ideally in a cabinet. Off the wall: flat, dry, face up, nothing on top.
- Before each sessionFlights flat, shafts tight, points smooth. A few seconds per dart.
Still choosing a set? How to choose darts covers barrels, shafts and flights.
Sources: WDF Playing and Tournament Rules, rev. 20 (rules 1.05 to 1.07 on darts that bounce out or fall out, and the sisal bristle board specification).
FAQ
Dartboard care questions
How often should you rotate a dartboard?
Whenever the areas you aim at most start to look worn: roughly every week or two with daily practice, every month or two at about once a week, and every few months for occasional play. Always turn it an even number of segments, 20 back on top.
Which way should you turn a dartboard?
The direction doesn’t matter, but stick to the same one each time and always turn an even number of segments. That way you work round the board and don’t bring a worn patch back under the 20.
Should you soak a dartboard in water?
Not a sisal board. Water makes the fibres swell and shrink, which loosens the wires and ruins the surface. Soaking was meant for old elm boards.
Why do my darts keep bouncing out?
The usual causes are blunt or burred points, thick wires or staples, and worn fibres in the bed you aim at. Smooth the points on a sharpening stone, rotate the board, and if one area keeps rejecting darts after that, replace the board.
Can you repair holes in a dartboard?
Normal dart holes close by themselves as the sisal fibres spring back. Worn-out fibre can’t be repaired, only moved to a quieter spot by rotating. Never fill holes with glue or filler.
Do I need to recalibrate camera scoring after rotating the board?
Yes, because the wires end up in a slightly different place for the cameras. In Sridu, press Recalibrate on the camera screen, or Auto setup to start fresh, and check that the 20 is at the top.
Guides
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A fresh 20 bed deserves a good session
Dartboard care done, now put the rotated board to work. Sridu scores your darts in the browser with one to four USB webcams or typed-in scores, and has 41 game modes, bots and statistics. It’s free and needs no account.