Warped chessboard

[Stan E. Markerson]

Hello I have an old chessboard. I think part of it is veneer, plywood and the chess squares are inserted wooden pieces. The board is foldable- the "hinge" I think is a leather sleeve, and the backing is felt.

However the chess board is warped or twisted. Its a basic straight line warp

My wife suggested I place it under a heavy book to help straighten it out. After two days, it seemed to have helped. But I noticed that one of the squares shows a few stretch torn marks.

Would it help if I placed it under a warm surface and then placed a heavy book ontop of it?

[Woodhead]

I would be concerned that whatever remedy you find won't solve the structural problem that caused the warping. Moisture in dissimilar wood can cause it as well as the vagaries of a board drying and expanding over a long time. Look for a way to fix the structural problem as a long term solution.

[Stan E. Markerson]

Its an old 20 year old chessboard. I really don't know what to do. You mean to take it apart? I can't do that.

[Woodhead]

Then I guess its clamp the thing and hope. Good luck.

[Jay Pique]

How about this....

Press it flat under heavy weights for a few days. Then flip it over and run it through a planer to get the thickness of the substrate a little thinner. Then laminate the entire board to a nice flat piece of baltic birch plywood. The problem may lie with the initial construction. Different woods have different rates of shrinkage given a fluctuation in humidity. If the substrate is only laminated on one side (I'm assuming wood veneer squares?) you could get warpage due to that. Is the substrate itself hardwood? What are the squares made of

- and how thick?

And, now that I think about it, how warped is it? If it's merely an issue of the board rocking a bit when sitting flat on a table, you could just put some small feet or rubber pads on it to keep it from wobbling.

JP

[Stan E. Markerson]

I'll go for the heavy weights in the way of a heavy book. That seemed to work to reduce the warp.

Over time I'll increase the weight. I'll let you know about the outcome.