I Made A Chess Piece

[J T]

Roy inspired me to get started on a chess set. I'd had it in mind for awhile. I decided to use the Shopsmith design,

rather than do Dutch turning just cut a master out and rout out my pieces. Later I'll cut some plywood discs and use them for bases. That should be a bit of a PITA, getting the discs out of the hole cutter.

I had pasted the patterns on some plywood and rough cut them out. Tonight I very carefully followed the l ines and cut out a master that I then used to rout out a king. Learned right off to take very light cuts and to hold on firmly.

Came out pretty good looking. But then I got back in the house and started looking it over. It's just a bit off. Not from me cutting wrong. When I looked over the pattern again I could tell the two sides on the king aren't quite the same. So printed out two more copies, and now I'll have to cut each piece out then flip one and get both sides exactly the same, then glue them to some plywood, carefully cut each one out and rout them out. A bit irritating, to say the least.

I'm not a perfectionist but I do like to try to decent work. But, even as is, it doesn't look real bad. A set would be good for out on a picknick table where it's apt to be forgotten overnight. And a damn good way to get rid of a lot of those small pieces of wood I been waiting to find a use for.

JOAT Teamwork is very important. It gives you someone to blame.

[Al]

I agree I have allot of small peices of walnut that were in some boxes in the attic when I bought this house that was a great idea. Thank you.

Al

[fredfighter]

As you probably know some hole saws have a couple of holes in the top of the saw, You can poke a couple of dowels through them to push the disc out. SInce you usually have to pound on them to get it out you may consider cutting a couple of steel rods long enough to clear the top of the shank It might be worthwhile to enlarge those holes too, so that a wider dowel can be used.

It is also easier to remove thin plywood discs than thick.

1/4" plywood discs can be stacked and glued after they have been cut to make a 1/2' or 3/4" base. They'll have nice hole in the center where you can use a bolt to clamp and align them.

[J T]

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 9:18am (EDT-3) [e-mail] doth sayeth: As you probably know some hole saws have a couple of holes in the top of the saw,

The however is, mine doesn't. May have to drill some. Thought about putting a spring inside, around the drill, but think that'd cause more problems than it'd solve. One way I've found that half-way works is cut half-way, then flip the piece and cut the other half. That leaves enough of the disc to grab on to and pull out, after not too much wiggling on it.

Do you think an air valve on it, then hook up an air compressor and blow it out would work? LOL

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[fredfighter]

Come to think of it, on some you can remove the nut on top and tap (e.g. pound) out the disc by tapping (e.g. pounding) on the top of the shank.

[John B]

G'day Joat, A method I use to remove the disks from the holesaw is to set the depth gauge on the drill press so that the holesaw stops a millimetre or less from the bottom of the timber. Drill as many as you need from one side, flip the timber and cut the remaining mm or so. Most of the disks just fall out. Another trick is to set up a fence on the drill press so that the hole saw cuts the circle right to the edge of the timber, about half of the blade thickness cutting through the wood. This allows the saw dust to clear, stops burning, and makes the process much easier. Just tips that work for me.

regards John

[J T]

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:08am (EDT-3) [e-mail] doth sayeth: Come to think of it, on some you can remove the nut on top and tap (e.g. pound) out the disc by tapping (e.g. pounding) on the top of the shank.

That would be a PITA. Which is why I consider that probably my last option.

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[J T]

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:51pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (John=A0B) set the depth gauge Most of the disks just fall out. Another trick is to set up a fence This allows the saw dust to clear, stops burning, and makes the process much easier. Just tips that work for me.

Yep, that's about the way i do it, but the discs do not tend to just fall out, they need pulling on.

I'll give the fence a shot. Thanks.

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[J T]

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:51pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (John=A0B) doth sayeth: so that the holesaw stops a millimetre or less from the bottom of the timber.

Ah, I saw what you're saying, as soonas I hit the send button. Yeah, I do it that way, but I don't go down that far on the first side, only about half-way. Yeah, I can see where your way would be a lot better. That's one of those simple little things you should have thought of yourself - but didn't. LOL I think that'll do it for me. Thanks.

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[John B]

That's one of those simple little things you should have

One of those forehead slapping moments ;) Give ya the sh-t's don't they. A couple of times I've read things in the group and gone and kicked myself around the block for not thinking of it sooner. That's the beauty of this forum.

Have fun All the best John

[J T]

Wed, Aug 16, 2006, 4:24am (EDT+4) [e-mail] (John=A0B) doth hit it with: One of those forehead slapping moments ;) Give ya the sh-t's don't they. A couple of times I've read things in the group and gone and kicked myself around the block for not thinking of it sooner. That's the beauty of this forum.

Hi John: Perzactly. I spend more time now trying to think out my problems, or how I will do something, so I'm sorting out a lot more of those little problems than I used to. Still some slipping by tho. One way that helps is talking it out - to myself. Kinda amazing at times how many good ideas pop up that way. Apparently I got on the wrong subject, and didn't think of your way. LOL

On the referse side, you can think about something and it sounds absolutely great. But that's when it's only bouncing from one side of your skull to the other. You're convinced you're the new DaVinci. But if you put it into words, and say them outloud, even if it's only talking to yourself, so often you suddenly realize what a absolutely stupid idea that is. Not every idea is bad, but saying them outloud does tend to sort out most of the bad ones before you get the chance to really screw up.

Sometimes coming here is the equivalent to talking outloud.

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[Upscale]

And sometimes just to convince yourself that you're not just talking to yourself again? :)

[J T]

Wed, Aug 16, 2006, 5:41pm [e-mail] (Upscale) doth sayeth: And sometimes just to convince yourself that you're not just talking to yourself again? :)

More like reassuring myself I make sense listening to myself.

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[J T]

Well, made some minor mods to the patterns, and got most of them cut out this evening. They're l ooking good.

The king's still giving me some probs. Measured, remeasured, and re-remeasured. Looked good, so cut the pattern out. Damn if the crown isn't still just a shade off, even tho I took my time cutting it out, and fo llowed the lines very nicely. But, no prob, It's just the two sides coming off the very top, and I'll be able to wrap some sandpaper around a roll of dimes and get it right in a few minutes. Otherwise the kng is good. I'll have the last couple masters cut out in a day or so and start making some chess pieces. Did find a void in a couple of the pieces, but they're just the right size I'll be able to glue a popsicle stick in, trim after drying, and viola, perfect. Nothing like using professional level tools. LOL

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

[Jim]

Hi,

I made a SketchUp model of the pieces to get a feel for how they'd look. They are not drawn very symmetrical. If anyone considers makig them, it'd be best to redraw them in a drawing program.

See the model here.

[J T]

Fri, Aug 18, 2006, 7:06pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] (Jim) doth sayeth: Hi, I made a SketchUp model of the pieces to get a feel for how they'd look. They are not drawn very symmetrical. If anyone considers makig them, it'd be best to redraw them in a drawing program.

Not drawy very symmetrical is right. I finally got the king symmetrical tho, after five tries. I'm finally satisfied with it. The others only needed minor mods. I've ginally got all the masters cut out and routed our a knight the other night. Except for a small "lip" under the jaw, while scrollswing it, it's good. To me the "lip" makes is remind me of a hawk a bit. I'll sand the lip off the master. Even so it'd do for a knock-about set. I'll start routing out a piece or two, as I get the time, until I've got a complete set.

I'm not making them by Dutch turning, if anyone is not sure. I'm routing them out of scrap plywood, which will give a profile on two sides, and the other two sides will just show the thickness of the plywood. I could do the same by scrollsawing the pieces out, but that wouldn't be near as interesting, and a lot slower. I'll be cutting discs for the bases as I get time too. I'll probably be using latex paint rather than staining, but that's to be decided later. I''m starting to think about some sort of padding, felt or whatever, to put on the botome of the bases. I've got an old naugahide covered chair I'm gonna get rid of, so may just use the naugahide from that. Naugahides are an endangered species now, and I can't afford a hunting trip anyway. All in all this is a quite satisfying project. Good for the soul ya know.

Added bonuses: Starting to get rid of a lot of small pieces I'd not wanted to toss, and I'm putting sawdust into old clothes washing detergent jugs. The sawdust? Thatl'll be saved and carried in our vehicles in the winter, ithen use the sawdust if some traction is needed. A handful or two is ually all it takes. I'm screening the sawdust first, and saving some of the real fine sawdust for making sawdust clay - and to get the screws, useful nails, etc. that've dropped.

JOAT Justice was invented by the innocent. Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.