Chessboards

[yorkie]

Taken a little break from pen making and tried my hand at a couple of other things. Here are a couple of Chessboards I made.

Cherry burl/Birdseye Maple

Cocobolo/Yellowheart

Would love any thoughts, feedback, advice?

 

[Brooks803]

Think they're both outstanding!! I've been wanting to make one for myself for a very long time.

I really like the cocobolo/yellowheart the most. The only aspect I'm not a fan of is the border. The color and grain in it and the squares are so similar it gets lost. I'd love to see one with a cocobolo border. Since the grain is so different I think it would stand out more.

 

[Skewer]

The cherry burl/birds eye maple is awesome!

 

[GaryMGg]

Nice pair of boards.
Just curious: Are these strip and flip or individual squares?

 

[southernclay]

Beautiful Stephen! I love em. What do you do for the finish?

 

[yorkie]

They are strip and flip.
The finish is Waterlox marine high gloss so it flexes with the wood and there is no UV washout of the grain.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I have a chess set on my bucket list of turnings and would also have to make a chess set to go with them. I need to improve my flatwork to equal yours though.. very nicely done.

 

[butchf18a]

Looks lot like checker boards to me. Lol. Nice work. Game boards always fun project and much appreciated as gifts. I'm guessing someone is going to be very happy this Christmas. Here's one i made for co-worker son for Christmas last year complete with piece storage and his initials inlayed.

 

[Band Saw Box]

Those are both fantastic, really well done. I really like the Cherry burl/ Birdseye maple the best. I has an aged look to it really amazing.

 

[Big]

Cocobolo and Yellow Heart is amazing! They are all nice though and I look forward to doing this one day.

 

[Animyzo]

I tried a chess set years ago. Making 16 pawns exactly alike is far more difficult than I expected. and the knight presents its own challenge

 

[scotian12]

Could you please explain what the strip and flip process is. Thank you Darrell

 

[mike4066]

the cherry burl/birds eye maple is beautiful.

Making a chess set is on my wish list. I'm both looking forward to, and dreading trying to turn the pieces!

 

[glycerine]

WOW! I plan on trying to make one soon, have a friend who's gotten me back into chess recently and was going to make a board for him. Any tips/tricks/suggestions... or just a flat out tutorial?

 

[TellicoTurning]

I ran across these on ETSy.com.... they are practically giving them away.. highest priced board is US$79 down to as low as $39.... I think they're olive wood... They are from Tunisia, so price may be appropriate.

 

[GaryMGg]

I've made and given away a couple of chess boards.
Strip and flip refers to making them like a cutting board:
Rip equal widths of two contrasting woods--make them long enough to lose the kerf and still be wide enough when re-cut.
These 8 strips (4 of each wood) must be square, true and plumb--that is, the milling should be joint the face, joint the edge, plane to thickness, rip to width and optionally, final joint the edge for a gap-free glue joint.
Glue them up in alternating strips--dark, light, dark, light, dark, light, dark, light.
After the glue dries, rip across the strips making 8 new strips which are multi-colored.
Now, flip or rotate 180-degrees every other strip and re-glue.
Ta-da, you have a chess board :biggrin: