"The first wobble board was made of 2 foot by 3 foot 1/10th inch thick hardboard, although they can be made slightly smaller. There is a slight indentation in the middle of each short side so the hands don't slip when playing. This needs to be as wide as the hand and about 1/4 inch deep. It is played, not by gripping the board with the fingers, but by propping it between the palms of the hands and bouncing it, accenting every second beat, or off beat, as it's called. If you haven't got a really good sense of rhythm, don't try to play one. I've found tempered hardboard works best, or more recently, MDF board, but it must be really thin, or it's too hard to bounce."

The first wobble board was created by Rolf when he was trying to dry the background board for a painting. The painting was on hardboard and in an effort to dry the painting he used a heater to heat the hardboard and dry the base paint. As it was drying Rolf felt the board and it was so hot he burnt his finger. To prevent the board busting into flames Rolf picked up the board and held the board between his palms and wobbled it to cool it. Rolf kept the painting wobbleboard and it toured the world with him. This all happened in 1957. In 1960 the wobble sound was included on the record "Tie me Kangaroo down Sport" which became an instant international hit for Rolf. When the orginal wobbleboard began to crack Rolf replacd it with the "Stairway to heaven" board currently in use