Chess Board and CD Rack

[Charlie M. 1958]

I had a few days off over the holidays, so I tried to put them to good use making sawdust....

[jtpr]

difficult was it to make the top? Any tips?

-Jim

[Swingman]

[Charlie M. 1958]

The real secret to the top was a tip I stumbled across in a magazine: Start by gluing up 8 alternating-color strips in whatever width you want the final squares to be. In other words, for a 16 x 16 board, use 2" x

8" strips. Once this dries, recut the panel into 8 strips again going in the opposite direction across the two colors. Now if you invert every other strip and glue them back together, you are left with a perfect chessboard (hopefully). I came back and glued trim around the outside edges just to finish it off.

It was not too hard, but I would caution that you try to be very precise in your cuts. I have a cheap table saw with a fence to match, and that made the process a little more difficult than it should have been.

Charlie

[root]

[Lee]

[Charlie M. 1958]

Thanks!