Chess boards all done

Built these from last months Popular Woodworking magazine (third project down).

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"plans" were pretty complete with only one or two minor mistakes and the project pretty much tracked. I ended up making a glue-up board for the actual chess board glue-up(s) (I actually made four of them) and a sled for cutting the splines in the miters. This was also the first time I've tried cutting coves on a table saw and was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out.. I'l be doing that again! If you add up the total time, I have about ten full days into the four boards. This includes the "oops" time as well as the time for finishing etc...

All in all a good technical project that turned out about as good as I'd expected....

Reply to
Rob Stokes
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Reply to
Grandpa

Reply to
Dan Parrell

Rob Stokes thus spake:

Good looking! Made the board pieces yet? ;-)

Greg G.

Reply to
Greg G.

People keep asking me that....

Rob

Reply to
Rob Stokes

Do what I did. I bought a JET mini pretty much just so I could make the pieces for my next one myself.

I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about the knights though. I have

*some* hope of turning everything else eventually, once I get the hang of it, but carving is a whole 'nother can of worms.

They'll need to be carved though. I'm aware of some of the things people do to avoid having to carve the knights, but I want my knights right, and that means carving.

Anyway, nice chess box. The coved sides are interesting, as are the fancy feet.

I just made one myself, but I can't photograph it until after Christmas.

I lined the whole interior with red velvet, and made one walnut- and one maple-framed, velvet-covered tray for the pieces (which are plastic :( for now...) The box itself is a bit plain. Just straight, flat pieces of walnut that had some interesting "Jupiter's storm" figure in the middle, joined with dowel-reinforced finger joints that are strong as hell but a bit uninspired. I wussed out on all the inlay stuff I envisioned when I conceived the project too. I decided to just finish it before I ruined it.

Coving is an interesting take on this, and one I'll file away. In the near term, I'm going to have a play at doing contrasting wood stuff on the next one. I think my new scroll saw will be my friend, and I have all kinds of off the wall ideas for that.

I'm looking forward to making a lot of interesting chess boxes in the coming year. I really like the concept for some reason, and I can't imagine what I'd do with the top of a box if it didn't have a chess board on it. :)

Reply to
Silvan

Well, now you have reason to buy more tools. Got a lathe?

Greg G.

Reply to
Greg G.

Sounds like you and I will one day be making the same project, chess pieces. I expect to turn most of the pieces, however the Knights I may do on the scrollsaw, with a turned base. I've been considering a Nautical theme where the Knight would be a scrollsawed compound 3D Seahorse, the Rook a Lighthouse, Bishop a Sailboat and Pawns any number of nautical elements, Clam, Anchor, Starfish, Seashell, Seagull, not sure which. King and Queen will be the hardest though as Neptune and a Mermaid are beyond my capablities.

The table I thought of with a board perhaps >

Reply to
Grandpa

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