Custom Chess boards project

[pcooper]

It's been a long while since I posted any projects, so I figured these would be a nice re-entry. I was asked to make some custom chess boards, and I could use my own design ideas...pretty open to me for what I like. I've got three posted in my gallery with several more pictures, but will show some here. I have playing pieces with the boards, but not they are not handmade, I'm not very good at making the pieces yet. The boards are coated in lacquer, the tops have a dozen coats, and hand rubbed to a very slick finish. I'd researched how to do hand rubbing and everyone seems to have different ideas there. I tried micro-mesh sheets wet with the soft pad backer for the initial sanding, then the finer grits wet using just my hand as a backer. I did one board in Birdseye maple with cherry, another with mahogany and maple, and the last with Peruvian walnut and maple. All boards have hidden drawers in the base for storage of the playing pieces. These boards are about 16 to 18 inches square.

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[Bill Clemmons]

BEAUTIFUL boards, Phillip. Where did you get the chess pieces?

 

[pcooper]

Where did you get the chess pieces?

They came from a place online called "The Chess Store". They have some nice pieces that range from cheap to over-the-top expensive. I opted for cheaper pieces so I could have a chance at a decent price for the boards. One of these days I want to learn how to make my own someday, maybe I should hang around Chessspy a while huh?

 

[Charlie]

Beautiful

 

[CrealBilly]

Sweet boards man - great work.

Q. Are the round corner inlays are to help keep the mitres together or decorative?

 

[pcooper]

Sweet boards man - great work.

Q. Are the round corner inlays are to help keep the mitres together or decorative?

The round corners are decorative, it allows me to hide inaccuracy in the miter and inlay at the corner. Someone once told me it's not how well you do in woodworking, it's how you use your mistakes to your advantage. I felt like this little detail would eliminate my frustration with joining such a small thing precisely.

 

[KenOfCary]

Very nice boards. I particularly like the look of the birdseye maple in the first board. Although the Walnut one has a lot going for it as well. Guess I like them all. The inlay is a nice finishing touch for them.

 

[Joe Scharle]

Very nice :thumbs_up

 

[Newboy]

Very well done.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Wow. Those are awesome looking chess boards. Well done. Did you use veneer or solid wood for the board? If solid wood was used, how do you allow for wood movement?

I really like the secret drawers!

 

[pcooper]

The squares are veneered to a stable backer, and the thickness is about an eighth of an inch or so. I'm hoping that the wood being very thin and the backer being pretty thick would help keep wood movement to a minimum. Time will tell I guess, but several folks along the way have suggested that it should do fine as thin as the pieces are. I thought the drawers were kinda unique too, my goal was to make them not stand out too much when the board is just sitting around, nothing to make someone want to go snooping.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I wouldn't think you would have any wood movement issues with that approach either. A few more questions:

1) 1/8" is thick for commercial veneer. Did you cut the veneer yourself?

2) Any tricks for cutting all those squares and getting everything to line up?

3) Where did you gut such nice looking birdseye maple solid stock?

 

[pcooper]

I wouldn't think you would have any wood movement issues with that approach either. A few more questions:

1) 1/8" is thick for commercial veneer. Did you cut the veneer yourself?

2) Any tricks for cutting all those squares and getting everything to line up?

3) Where did you gut such nice looking birdseye maple solid stock?

This is resawn from thicker stock and run through a drum sander, somewhat thicker than 1/8" and put together like a cutting board, then cut apart like doing a cutting board, then glued down to the backer. Then I run it through the drum sander again thinning it and flattening it to about 1/8". I use an incra-fence system that replicates the width of cut very nicely, and allows for precise sizes of squares. The birdseye maple came from somewhere that I cannot remember, and was for another project that I finally gave up on...lost interest in. It sat around for a while and gathered dust, however our new advertiser West Penn Hardwoods has some beautiful woods to choose from, you'll have to make a day run to Hickory sometime and check them out, it's worth the drive!!