Bonsour James,
On the boards(I like to call them paddles), I drilled ALL 256 holes myself. And did the design and trial and error myself. I had the outside frame around the paddles made, and installed by a friend. He also built the cabinet. I did everything else myself.
The strikes are held in place by a solid sheet of 3/16 inch plastic. With screws holding the plastic in place.
As for cost per paddle, that's hard to determine. As this was a project from scratch. And I had to buy(or build) things---portable drill press- several different hole saw sizes- special jig that I built-etc. And I didnot keep to close a track of the cost.
The materials for the paddles-plywood-plastic sheet-glue-screws-wood for frame-stain-sandpaper-
-white pipe cleaners I used for the inside border-a few dollars to my friend. Per paddle I guess between $35 and $50. Not including the extra idems above.
James if you or someone else. Would like to find out more about the paddles and the making of them. I will bring a couple of pictures of the lay out, I used to drill the holes. I will be glad to talk and answer questions about them.
Danny