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Steve Ramsey's chess board

26K views 62 replies 26 participants last post by  j1212t 
#1 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
 

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#2 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
Jake,

My preference would be to glue these boards together, then hand plane then as if flattening a long board or a table top. Trying to get them to the same thickness before gluing doesn't provide any benefit, and would be somewhat difficult. Just make sure the sides are straight and you don't have gaps between them. You should only need to plane one side, with the other side evened at glue up.
I can't help with the design question, I usually just set the boards together & trust my eye off what looks best.
Good luck.
 

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#3 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
Two thoughts.
There is probably a commercial shop that would plane it for you.
You may be able to use the wood shop at the high school or Junior high.
 

Attachments

#4 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
I like the school shop idea, makes sense and I am sure they would be willing
 

Attachments

#5 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
Best of wishes on this, it's a nice thing you are doing. I'd be thrilled if one of my kids made the effort you are to handcraft a gift for me. This is one of those rare situations where it really is the thought that counts. God bless and merry Christmas.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
I would glue the pieces up and then find a cabinet shop or someone with a wide belt or drum sander to flatten it for you.
 

Attachments

#7 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
Alright thanks for the feedback. That was kind of what I was thinking as well, I will try to glue it up then and see what I can do after that.

It's not just the thougth that counts, execution has to be top notch also. :)
 

Attachments

#8 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
Great news!

managed to get a planer for a day. Cost me like 36$, but at least i can plane all of the details to uniform thickness. My hand planing is horrific at best… :D

I will glue up the current pieces just in case anyhow and make the other cuts and stocks ready for planing, because I will have the planer on Saturday.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
For future reference, I don't know where you buy your lumber from, but the placer I go to makes most of their income from making custom moldings/doors, cabinet doors, not from selling me wood. Around Christmas they also have cutting boards by the checkout counter. Point is, if I were in your situation I would just ask them to run it through their machine for me, and I don't doubt that that they would. If you buy from a place like that and have a good relationship there that they'd run it through the planer or sander for much much less than $36.

Edit : I would use BLO and let it cure before finishing.
 

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#10 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
hand planing would be my pick. good luck
 

Attachments

#11 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
It would have been a lot easier for you to use veneers for this job and glue them to a substrate after assembly. Check out psalm's chessboard build here.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
No planer, no jointer - a lot of problems

Hello kind sir or madam. :)

I watched Steve Ramsey's chess board project like 6 months ago and I determined that I have to make this project. My dad is turning 60 in the beginning of January, so I decided to make this for him. He likes chess and the set we have at home is cheap and like 20 years old. He deserves better.

Now I have started work on this project - yes I am late, I know… Anyhow, I have the wood and I started it, but I have a problem, a huge one to be honest. The boards I purchased had a slight warp in them, and I "planed" it out with a router sled. I am using Sapele and White oak. Here are the boards after router work.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


They are different thickness, but I figured I'll split them and then I will see where I am at. Which I did, but I did not do a very good job, I tried to make a quick jig, but that meant that I also did not get the result I intended - didn't think that one through to be honest.
Rectangle Table Wood Flooring Wood stain


So now I am left with 2 sets of 4, which are out of square, well the sides should be square, but the thicnkess varies from from 5/16 to 1/2.. they are mainly wedge shaped, oak being the thicker version, because the stock I started with was thicker.. And the bad part is that i don't own a planer and the company i used to rent it from went belly up and I haven't found another company that rents these, and getting a proper one would cost me about 950$. As much as I do love him, I don't have the cash to spend.

So here is my main question:
1. How do i get it to uniform thickness, I do have a hand held router which seems to be my best option, because I do not trust my table saw that much as well, and these small boards are flimsy. The only thing I could come up was to make an inset in a plywood, where I would fasten the strips with wedges, "plane" them from one side, and then see what is the max height I can leave them at. If I could get them accurate to 1/32 I would be very pleased, I can glue them and sand them down to uniform thickness after.
Can anyone reccomend a good method or a jig?

Design questions:
I was planning on using the darker oak for the sides and top edge (see 2nd pic the long board) but it seems too light, my options are:
1. use the sapele for the edges instead and make the inlay around the board in teh darker oak and the sides as well, making the corner posts from Sapele to give it some contrast?
2. use the dark oak with white oak posts but stain the darker oak? (I do love wood without a stain to be honest)
3. Some other combination - the reason I would like to use the darker oak is that this stock is almost perfectly square.

(I don't know what the "darker Oak" is actually called, english not being my first language I don't know the proper names, so if you could educate me that would be awesome. :))

Additional question:
Should I oil the board before laquering t bring out the grain?

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried about this project and I needed to get out of my cave and articulate my concerns/questions.

Jake
Thanks all for your feedback

I was looking at the veneer chess board it and it looks awesome. But the closest veneer I could find is 0,6mm at max and I have to buy a metric f*ton of it, they don't sell strips. And obviously I don't have a veneer vaccum.

As far as the supplies and companies go I am in a bit different situation that you guys are. I live in a country with 1,3million people and the supplier list is extremely short, example: after scourging around the interwebs for 4 months I only found one company that sells quality exotic lumber (we only have aspen, pine, spruce and alder available in stores) anything above that is considered expensive and exotic…. So I have to make do with what I have.

And I will make do with what i have and do the best i can, I made the first glue up today, came up horrendeus, I will plane it tomorrow, see how it goes, in the mean time I am designing the chess board with different wood options in SU and put it up for feedback from you guys.

Once I get the wood set up complete I will make the rough cuts and once I have the thicnkess planer on Saturday I will start the "production" with fresh stock. Should advance a lot over the weekend.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Which woods to use? (design poll)

Hello again, I am revisiting my idea abouty the woods to be used for the chess board. The top will be White oak and sapeli as originally planned, but I am having doubts about the other parts. When Looking at Mr WWMM legend Steve Ramsey's videos, his chess board looks awesome with just 2 woods, but mine looks kind of plain when I put it in SU. So now I am toying with the idea of using more than 2 woods.

Please have your say which one of the 4 you would choose, the colours are as close as I could get, you can see the original pics on post #1 of this series, everything except the dark African Teak corner post are there. Also I don't have a lot of that African Teak, so corner posst are almost the max i can use.

So choices:
no1
Rectangle Wood Hardwood Flooring Wood stain


no2
Rectangle Wood Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


no3
Rectangle Wood Wood stain Hardwood Art


no4
Rectangle Wood Flooring Pattern Art


What do you think, persoanlly I lean towards no 3 or 4, I know the wood won't be as plain as it seems in SU (also the grains on the horizontal boards would be horizontal, rather than veritcal), so might be that no1 is actually fine, but Sapeli has a reddish tone, so I think it might be too much red if i only use that.

Looking forward to getting the rough cuts done tomorrow and using the thickness planer over the weekend, to make some real progress.

Additional question:
For inlay i was planning on using 5/64 Aspen, but it seems a bit too thin according to the SU, maybe a 1/8 would be better? The Aspen has a white tone so it seems like a great idea for the inlay around the actual board. (the dimensions for the board is 2" squares and 2,5" sides.
 

Attachments

#14 ·
Slippery slope of handplanes

So I did what was reccomended, the big differences in width I just used my handplanes to plane it down.

I remember someone on the handplane forum saying that handplanes are a slippery slope… Well i feel like it it's more of a botomless abyss, the fall from not using one to shopping for new ones has been a swift one… :)

Anyhow, planed about 1/4 off of the chesss board top. The planing was fine, took me like 2-3 hours with sharpening and testing - this was my first time actually trying to plane something resembling a flat surface. But the initiall strips were not uniform, meaning that the glue up wasn't as great as i had hoped - there are gaps in the chess sboard top. No worries though, this will serve as my test piece, starting work on new pieces tomorrow.

The table saw marks on the strips are nice are they not? Guess I should get a better TS, but not yet.
Brown Wood Rectangle Stairs Floor

Those 2 colour shavings are so beautiful!! I actually saved a bag full of those and chucked it on my dresser, until I can find inspiration on what to do with them.
Wood Flooring Hardwood Road surface Brick

dry fit of the pieces
Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Slippery slope of handplanes

So I did what was reccomended, the big differences in width I just used my handplanes to plane it down.

I remember someone on the handplane forum saying that handplanes are a slippery slope… Well i feel like it it's more of a botomless abyss, the fall from not using one to shopping for new ones has been a swift one… :)

Anyhow, planed about 1/4 off of the chesss board top. The planing was fine, took me like 2-3 hours with sharpening and testing - this was my first time actually trying to plane something resembling a flat surface. But the initiall strips were not uniform, meaning that the glue up wasn't as great as i had hoped - there are gaps in the chess sboard top. No worries though, this will serve as my test piece, starting work on new pieces tomorrow.

The table saw marks on the strips are nice are they not? Guess I should get a better TS, but not yet.
Brown Wood Rectangle Stairs Floor

Those 2 colour shavings are so beautiful!! I actually saved a bag full of those and chucked it on my dresser, until I can find inspiration on what to do with them.
Wood Flooring Hardwood Road surface Brick

dry fit of the pieces
Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor
Oh yea it is a slippery slope indeed… and those nice two colored shavings don't help either.
In the picture of the planes, the black handled one looks like a #10 variant, maybe a 10 1/2. Am I correct?

From the looks of things, the chess board turned out ok too.
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Getting somewhere, no going back form handplanes

Alright, from last entry I have done a few things, including decided on the end design, and new glue-up of the chess board itself.

Also, I am now in the dark abyss of handplanes - no coming back. Bought a stanley sharpening kit (angle holder) which made a world of difference for me, I am getting such lovely shavings that I can't bear to throw them away, this is crazy, but I love it.

Anyhow, this is just a post of a lot of pics and also progress report. In the process so far I have learnt that my equipment is not very good, my table saw is quite inaccurate and I don't know if this is my cross cut sled or my saw in general, but it seems to be the saw. So I get to do a lot of handplaning, but it is nice, I just leave a 1/8 extra everywhere, so I can handplane it down to uniform if I need to.

So far I have completed the new glue up of the ches board and also glued the chessboard to plywood, also routed grooves into the sides for the chess board. Today I am hoping to finish my 45 degree sled and make and glue the edges of the chessboard.

I am loving it, I can somewhat see the finish line now!
Pics:

Set up for new glue up:
Table Wood Plant Flooring Floor


new glue up:
Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle


Pattern glue up:
Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Hardwood


Creative clamping learnt from Mr Ramsey:
Wood Floor Flooring Gas Barware


After glue-up:
Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Beige


I thought I took more pics, but evidently I did not. I will make new pics after I finish the glue-up of the top. Hopefully that will be by the end of day today.

Additionally 2 questions:,
1. Reccomendations for the finish? I think I am going with linseed oil to bring out the grain and colour, but I need a fast curing laquer or similar. I need to put on about 5-8 layers and sand it down to gloss, and i probably will only have 2-4 days maximum for that. So any reccomendations would be highly appreciated.

2. What angle should my hand plane blade be ground to? I have been grinding it to 35 degrees, but I don't know if this is correct or not? What is the difference in angles, what does a steeper angle do?

Thank you all for the knowledge you have given me and enjoy the holidays!
 

Attachments

#21 ·
Getting somewhere, no going back form handplanes

Alright, from last entry I have done a few things, including decided on the end design, and new glue-up of the chess board itself.

Also, I am now in the dark abyss of handplanes - no coming back. Bought a stanley sharpening kit (angle holder) which made a world of difference for me, I am getting such lovely shavings that I can't bear to throw them away, this is crazy, but I love it.

Anyhow, this is just a post of a lot of pics and also progress report. In the process so far I have learnt that my equipment is not very good, my table saw is quite inaccurate and I don't know if this is my cross cut sled or my saw in general, but it seems to be the saw. So I get to do a lot of handplaning, but it is nice, I just leave a 1/8 extra everywhere, so I can handplane it down to uniform if I need to.

So far I have completed the new glue up of the ches board and also glued the chessboard to plywood, also routed grooves into the sides for the chess board. Today I am hoping to finish my 45 degree sled and make and glue the edges of the chessboard.

I am loving it, I can somewhat see the finish line now!
Pics:

Set up for new glue up:
Table Wood Plant Flooring Floor


new glue up:
Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle


Pattern glue up:
Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Hardwood


Creative clamping learnt from Mr Ramsey:
Wood Floor Flooring Gas Barware


After glue-up:
Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Beige


I thought I took more pics, but evidently I did not. I will make new pics after I finish the glue-up of the top. Hopefully that will be by the end of day today.

Additionally 2 questions:,
1. Reccomendations for the finish? I think I am going with linseed oil to bring out the grain and colour, but I need a fast curing laquer or similar. I need to put on about 5-8 layers and sand it down to gloss, and i probably will only have 2-4 days maximum for that. So any reccomendations would be highly appreciated.

2. What angle should my hand plane blade be ground to? I have been grinding it to 35 degrees, but I don't know if this is correct or not? What is the difference in angles, what does a steeper angle do?

Thank you all for the knowledge you have given me and enjoy the holidays!
Ahhh, another convert to the dark side of hand planes! You are right, they are a slippery slope.

Progress is looking good. For a fast drying gloss finish, lacquer is a good choice, but I wouldn't use linseed oil underneath. Not that it won't work, but it can take a long time to fully cure so that you can topcoat with something else. Even one coat thinned with mineral spirits is going to need at least a day or two, depending on environment. Hopefully someone with more finishing experience will chime in with some ideas.

Hand plane sharpening, however, I can be a bit more help. On a typical bevel down plane, the frog is at a 45 degree angle to the sole. Since the back of the iron is the leading edge for cutting, that 45 degrees is also your attack angle. What the bevel angle does is allow for the wood fibers to spring back a bit after being gone over by the cutting edge. So essentially, the bevel is just a relief angle. For this purpose, you need at least 10 degrees, according to the experts I've read or listened to, so any angle from 35 degrees down will work. I'd say that 25 or 30 degrees are probably the most common bevel angles seen, but you should be fine with 35, as well.
 

Attachments

#24 ·
Paying stupid tax

A friendly reminder to be safe in the shop!

Pic really tells most of the story
Human body Gesture Wood Finger Thumb


Got very stupid and very lucky all at the same time. Was cutting the inlays for the top of the chess board. (the bottom is glued up already).

Was running some maple through the tablesaw to get some thin strips, as they were going through I figured I should catch them from the other side, because they were moving a bit… And the funny thing is , right before that I thought that - "Gee this is exactly the kind of place where I should use pushsticks" (Which i do 95% of the time to be honest, I just had been running the table saw for the full day and I wanted to get this part over with, which meant that I was "in a hurry" and careless all at the same time, never a winning combination)

Cue a slip of the finger, a lapse of concentration or whatever and my thumb meeting the tablesaw. I got extremely lucky, the cut was a bit less than 1/2", only needed 1 stich, did not cut the fingernail or the bone, just threw out a chunk of meat and skin.

So yeah, here's my stupid tax paid for this year, luckily it was a very cheap fare to go around this time. I am taking 2 days off now, maybe only a small glue up tomorrow, no powertools.

Also extending the deadline by a week for this project, I am sure my dad would prefer me with 10 fingers and the present 1 week late, rather than me with 9 1/2 fingers and project on time.

Again, just a friendly reminder, keep safe fellow LJ's!
 

Attachments

#25 ·
Paying stupid tax

A friendly reminder to be safe in the shop!

Pic really tells most of the story
Human body Gesture Wood Finger Thumb


Got very stupid and very lucky all at the same time. Was cutting the inlays for the top of the chess board. (the bottom is glued up already).

Was running some maple through the tablesaw to get some thin strips, as they were going through I figured I should catch them from the other side, because they were moving a bit… And the funny thing is , right before that I thought that - "Gee this is exactly the kind of place where I should use pushsticks" (Which i do 95% of the time to be honest, I just had been running the table saw for the full day and I wanted to get this part over with, which meant that I was "in a hurry" and careless all at the same time, never a winning combination)

Cue a slip of the finger, a lapse of concentration or whatever and my thumb meeting the tablesaw. I got extremely lucky, the cut was a bit less than 1/2", only needed 1 stich, did not cut the fingernail or the bone, just threw out a chunk of meat and skin.

So yeah, here's my stupid tax paid for this year, luckily it was a very cheap fare to go around this time. I am taking 2 days off now, maybe only a small glue up tomorrow, no powertools.

Also extending the deadline by a week for this project, I am sure my dad would prefer me with 10 fingers and the present 1 week late, rather than me with 9 1/2 fingers and project on time.

Again, just a friendly reminder, keep safe fellow LJ's!
glad to hear your injury wasn't more serious.i kow i'v been in a hurry before andshouldn't be.i really tried lately to quit if i'm tired or get to rushing to much.hope you heal quickly.thanks for the reminder..
 

Attachments

#38 ·
Getting close to the finish line

Ok, a lot of pictures in this one. After my accident on saturday, I have just been taking my sweet time to be safe and work while I am at a 100% concentration, when I fall under that, i just leave the shop and come back later.

Please excuse the pic quality, the lighting in the shop is still crap, I will get around to it once I get a few projects out of the way first.

So, pics from production:

Glueing up the bottom, messed up the plywood was about 1/8 too small on 2 sides, so I tried to fill in with glue and sanding dust, but it looked like crap, I will try applying some of the fine sawdust with a glue, hopefully it gets better, if not, i will learn to live with it.
Wood Table Hardwood Wood stain Gas


Glueing up the top without the inlays (I tried to do it all at once the previous day, But I could not get the mitered cornes to fit, so I had to take it all apart and wash the glue off and after that i just needed a break from the shop to avoid mistakes, so I did that)
Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Gas


After that I put in the inlays and tried a dry fit with the corner posts (no sides done yet)
Table Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring

That was extremely satisfying, even though the top looks like crap and it is hardly even square, I could finally see at what the end product will look like and the proportions were fine, so that felt great and gave me a much needed energy and motivation boost.

Today I made the sides and glued them up, I also did some finish sanding on the sides, as I wont be able to get to them later, here is the wood done with an OS 80,120,180,240 and then 320 grit. Please take note on the lovely *********************************** clamping (scraps and screws) I don't mind though, because this is a temporary workbench, after my kitcehn a new workbench will be priority no1. But that wood sanded to 320 does look pretty sweet:
Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


The top before planing - I put too much weight on it when I glued it in, so the top is about 1/8 or so curved, but I don't care, after all the sanding is probably at 1/16, it is noticebale form the side, but it also can pass as a planned look, so that's what I am going for:)
Brown Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle


After planing with my trusty old plane (the new one on the other pic I could not get to work, the 25 degree angle on it seems to be to steep)
Brown Wood Flooring Road surface Indoor games and sports


The top after sanding through the grits to 320:
Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Now for next steps in order of doign them:
1. Putting a 1/4 round over on all the sides of the top and bottom. Sanding the bottom to 180 to have it ready for finish. Or should i go up to 320? Done tomorrow
2. Planing the top of the sides to make a perfect fit on the top and bottom of the board. Glueing up the sides. Hope to get it done tomorrow.
3. Making the middle support pieces and glueing them in, probably saturday morning or sunday.
4. Making the drawers for the chess set, as well as the stop blocks, runners etc.
5. Sanding the top up to 400 with an OS, glueing up top and bottom.
6. Start of finishing (hopefully tuesday of next week)
7. After 5-7 layers of laquer sanding it from 180 with an os to 400, from 400 go to wet hand sanding with 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 and 1500, buff up with felt, buff up with lamb wool, apply beeswax, buff with lamb wool.
8. Pack with the shavings in a big box and deliver to dad on the next weekend.

If you have any suggestions on how much I should sand the sides and bottom to that would be highyl appreciated, is 320 too high? My main focus will be on the top of the chessboard itself to get it to a near mirror finish.
 

Attachments

#39 ·
Getting close to the finish line

Ok, a lot of pictures in this one. After my accident on saturday, I have just been taking my sweet time to be safe and work while I am at a 100% concentration, when I fall under that, i just leave the shop and come back later.

Please excuse the pic quality, the lighting in the shop is still crap, I will get around to it once I get a few projects out of the way first.

So, pics from production:

Glueing up the bottom, messed up the plywood was about 1/8 too small on 2 sides, so I tried to fill in with glue and sanding dust, but it looked like crap, I will try applying some of the fine sawdust with a glue, hopefully it gets better, if not, i will learn to live with it.
Wood Table Hardwood Wood stain Gas


Glueing up the top without the inlays (I tried to do it all at once the previous day, But I could not get the mitered cornes to fit, so I had to take it all apart and wash the glue off and after that i just needed a break from the shop to avoid mistakes, so I did that)
Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Gas


After that I put in the inlays and tried a dry fit with the corner posts (no sides done yet)
Table Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring

That was extremely satisfying, even though the top looks like crap and it is hardly even square, I could finally see at what the end product will look like and the proportions were fine, so that felt great and gave me a much needed energy and motivation boost.

Today I made the sides and glued them up, I also did some finish sanding on the sides, as I wont be able to get to them later, here is the wood done with an OS 80,120,180,240 and then 320 grit. Please take note on the lovely *********************************** clamping (scraps and screws) I don't mind though, because this is a temporary workbench, after my kitcehn a new workbench will be priority no1. But that wood sanded to 320 does look pretty sweet:
Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


The top before planing - I put too much weight on it when I glued it in, so the top is about 1/8 or so curved, but I don't care, after all the sanding is probably at 1/16, it is noticebale form the side, but it also can pass as a planned look, so that's what I am going for:)
Brown Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle


After planing with my trusty old plane (the new one on the other pic I could not get to work, the 25 degree angle on it seems to be to steep)
Brown Wood Flooring Road surface Indoor games and sports


The top after sanding through the grits to 320:
Brown Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Now for next steps in order of doign them:
1. Putting a 1/4 round over on all the sides of the top and bottom. Sanding the bottom to 180 to have it ready for finish. Or should i go up to 320? Done tomorrow
2. Planing the top of the sides to make a perfect fit on the top and bottom of the board. Glueing up the sides. Hope to get it done tomorrow.
3. Making the middle support pieces and glueing them in, probably saturday morning or sunday.
4. Making the drawers for the chess set, as well as the stop blocks, runners etc.
5. Sanding the top up to 400 with an OS, glueing up top and bottom.
6. Start of finishing (hopefully tuesday of next week)
7. After 5-7 layers of laquer sanding it from 180 with an os to 400, from 400 go to wet hand sanding with 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 and 1500, buff up with felt, buff up with lamb wool, apply beeswax, buff with lamb wool.
8. Pack with the shavings in a big box and deliver to dad on the next weekend.

If you have any suggestions on how much I should sand the sides and bottom to that would be highyl appreciated, is 320 too high? My main focus will be on the top of the chessboard itself to get it to a near mirror finish.
Anytime I wonder about using a finer grit, I test it out and almost always use it. I think after 180-220 it becomes a matter of preference…
 

Attachments

#42 ·
Drawers made a lot of hand sanding to be done

Just a short post with some pictures on where I am at. I am right on schedule with what I planned in my last entry:

Top and bottom rounded over, this really made a world of difference in appearance, now it looks a lot more professional:
Brown Rectangle Wood Wood stain Flooring


Glueing up the sides, that was somewhat difficult, they did not line up perfectly even after some planing and handleing. To be honest i did not worry about it a lot, just because I don't know about the moisture content of the wood or of my shop so probably the wood will shift once it gets to my father, so I will have to adjust the legs at some point any way.
Table Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain


Dry fit with top, and drawer fronts. Can't wait to glue up the top and start finishing!
Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Flooring
(Notice the lovely pine slabs in the back, about 22" width, altogether probably like 20-23 bf of them, 2" thick. I will make something ncie from them once I get my kitchen done.

Inside view, dry fit:
Wood Rectangle Table Flooring Floor


What I have in line for today:
1. Add drawer guides, the drawers are quite a snug fit, so I need to make guides inside, so it moves more easily.
2. handsanding all the gluemarks, I did wipe them with a rag, but i did not get rid of them all.
3. Handsanding the roundover on top and bottom
4. Glue up of top and bottom
5. Cleaning of shop, trying to get all of the dust off, so I can go in with a vaccum tomorrow to make it dust free for coating.

For tomorrow and wednesday:
1. Last sanding of sides and final sanding of top to 400 grit.
2. First coat of laquer (Managed to score some semi gloss laquer that is fast drying (30 min to an hour) but as I understand it is toxic as hell, so i will have to be careful with all the safety equipment.
3. Putting on 2-3 coats on sides and so on, on the top I will put on 6-7 coats.

Then I will ahve it cure for 24-48 hours, then off to finish sanding and buffing. next post will be the finished product. :)

I can't believe I am getting to the end of this project. I am very pleased so far and I am glad I had the audacity to take on this project. I did not have the tools or skills to make this project quickly and exactly as Mr Ramsey did and as many of you guys could do it. But I am extremely satisfied that with my TS, handheld router, handplanes and an orbital sander I have managed to come up with what I have so far.

It has been a great learning experience and I will be mighty pleased if and when I get it finished. At this point I am taking my time with the last steps, I want to make sure I line up the top and bottom perfectly and that I get the finish just right. it does not matter if I get it done by sunday this week or next week, but it matters that it comes out as good as possible.

Thanks for reading, thank you for all the tips and encouragement, I could not have done it without you guys!
 

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#43 ·
Drawers made a lot of hand sanding to be done

Just a short post with some pictures on where I am at. I am right on schedule with what I planned in my last entry:

Top and bottom rounded over, this really made a world of difference in appearance, now it looks a lot more professional:
Brown Rectangle Wood Wood stain Flooring


Glueing up the sides, that was somewhat difficult, they did not line up perfectly even after some planing and handleing. To be honest i did not worry about it a lot, just because I don't know about the moisture content of the wood or of my shop so probably the wood will shift once it gets to my father, so I will have to adjust the legs at some point any way.
Table Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain


Dry fit with top, and drawer fronts. Can't wait to glue up the top and start finishing!
Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Flooring
(Notice the lovely pine slabs in the back, about 22" width, altogether probably like 20-23 bf of them, 2" thick. I will make something ncie from them once I get my kitchen done.

Inside view, dry fit:
Wood Rectangle Table Flooring Floor


What I have in line for today:
1. Add drawer guides, the drawers are quite a snug fit, so I need to make guides inside, so it moves more easily.
2. handsanding all the gluemarks, I did wipe them with a rag, but i did not get rid of them all.
3. Handsanding the roundover on top and bottom
4. Glue up of top and bottom
5. Cleaning of shop, trying to get all of the dust off, so I can go in with a vaccum tomorrow to make it dust free for coating.

For tomorrow and wednesday:
1. Last sanding of sides and final sanding of top to 400 grit.
2. First coat of laquer (Managed to score some semi gloss laquer that is fast drying (30 min to an hour) but as I understand it is toxic as hell, so i will have to be careful with all the safety equipment.
3. Putting on 2-3 coats on sides and so on, on the top I will put on 6-7 coats.

Then I will ahve it cure for 24-48 hours, then off to finish sanding and buffing. next post will be the finished product. :)

I can't believe I am getting to the end of this project. I am very pleased so far and I am glad I had the audacity to take on this project. I did not have the tools or skills to make this project quickly and exactly as Mr Ramsey did and as many of you guys could do it. But I am extremely satisfied that with my TS, handheld router, handplanes and an orbital sander I have managed to come up with what I have so far.

It has been a great learning experience and I will be mighty pleased if and when I get it finished. At this point I am taking my time with the last steps, I want to make sure I line up the top and bottom perfectly and that I get the finish just right. it does not matter if I get it done by sunday this week or next week, but it matters that it comes out as good as possible.

Thanks for reading, thank you for all the tips and encouragement, I could not have done it without you guys!
Been following this quietly for a while. Looking pretty great so far!
 

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#45 ·
Surface coating in progress

I know I said I wouldn't post before I am finished, but I can't help myself. I started putting on coats of laquer yesterday, will finish up today with 7 coats on the top and on the drawer fronts and 2 coats on everywhere else. Then i will start handpolishing tomorrow to have the present ready for delivery by saturday.

I really just wanted to show off the big difference in laquer and no laquer versions. I was a bit hesitant at first, because I was not sure how the laquer would make the chess board look. But after searching around for my balls and finding them I just went ahead and put the laquer on without worrying about it…

And it looks great!!

Before coating, sanded to 320 (actually sanded top and drawers to 400, just did not take pic of that) By the way the cabinet that can be seen partially in the background is also made by me, my very first project to be honest. :)
Table Furniture Wood Rectangle Floor


After first 2 coats of laquer:
Wood Table Rectangle Flooring Floor
 

Attachments

#46 ·
Surface coating in progress

I know I said I wouldn't post before I am finished, but I can't help myself. I started putting on coats of laquer yesterday, will finish up today with 7 coats on the top and on the drawer fronts and 2 coats on everywhere else. Then i will start handpolishing tomorrow to have the present ready for delivery by saturday.

I really just wanted to show off the big difference in laquer and no laquer versions. I was a bit hesitant at first, because I was not sure how the laquer would make the chess board look. But after searching around for my balls and finding them I just went ahead and put the laquer on without worrying about it…

And it looks great!!

Before coating, sanded to 320 (actually sanded top and drawers to 400, just did not take pic of that) By the way the cabinet that can be seen partially in the background is also made by me, my very first project to be honest. :)
Table Furniture Wood Rectangle Floor


After first 2 coats of laquer:
Wood Table Rectangle Flooring Floor
It is exciting to put on that first coat of finish and see the grain pop, isn't it?
 

Attachments

#50 ·
Surface coating in progress

I know I said I wouldn't post before I am finished, but I can't help myself. I started putting on coats of laquer yesterday, will finish up today with 7 coats on the top and on the drawer fronts and 2 coats on everywhere else. Then i will start handpolishing tomorrow to have the present ready for delivery by saturday.

I really just wanted to show off the big difference in laquer and no laquer versions. I was a bit hesitant at first, because I was not sure how the laquer would make the chess board look. But after searching around for my balls and finding them I just went ahead and put the laquer on without worrying about it…

And it looks great!!

Before coating, sanded to 320 (actually sanded top and drawers to 400, just did not take pic of that) By the way the cabinet that can be seen partially in the background is also made by me, my very first project to be honest. :)
Table Furniture Wood Rectangle Floor


After first 2 coats of laquer:
Wood Table Rectangle Flooring Floor
I'd stay away from the ROS, too. It would be a real shame to mess things up, and it could happen real quick. A chess board is small enough that hand sanding, with a block, using wet/dry paper, isn't really very tedious.
 

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#52 ·
Trials and tribulations

I can't help myself, I just keep messing up… The Trials and tribulations of being an amateur. Started sanding yesterday

Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Tints and shades


Since I did not fille the wood pores (did not find a suitable product in our hardware stores) the laquer was all over the places in ridges and valleys and to get it all even I should have put atleast 7 more coats on, then I could confortably sand it down to totally flat.

But after first 20 minutes of handsanding
Brown Rectangle Wood Purple Flooring


I went to 400 grit OS.
Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Indoor games and sports


And that didn't work out quite as I wanted either, the sandpaper was clogging up so much, had to change it every few minutes, really need to get my hands on a wet ROS paper.
Brown Light Rectangle Wood Black


Of course, at this point I should realize that I have sanded off a lot of lacquer and I should be considering different options already…But that is not what I do…. against all of your guys better judgement, what do I do?

That is correct, I switch to 320 ROS….Of course, at this point with brand new ROS 320 paper I make a mistake. :)
Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Table Black Wood Rectangle Cloud


At this point I am just like @£$€!!!!! this POS, BS project… and I go to figuring out another option. Since the base laquer was a semi-gloss I run to the shop, grab a can of high gloss spray on lacquer, I figure I can coat it with that and see what happens, since the base is very flat now it might cover it up nicely, but you never know. (This is where I should have started by the way, but being an amateur I did not ask specifically for spray on lacquer before I started this project, I went with a brush on version)

I come back form the shop, cover that little piece with the brush on lacquer, leave it to dry and go to play bandminton to vent off some of the steam. Return 3 hours later, put handles on my drawers and do a test piece with the spray on laquer - on just wood it works well, so if it doesn't bring the top on to shine with the current base coat of semigloss lacquer I will have the option to sand the top all down to wood and do a new build up with spray on. The big advantage is that it dries in like 15 minutes, so I can still deliver the piece this Satruday or Sunday.

Boy do I love to learn new things but I hate that I need to learn by making mistakes, especially when I make these mistakes by specifically going against your guys expertiese. :)

Anyhow, today when I get back home I will start coating the top and lining the drawers with felt, I am determined to win, even if that does mean that I need to sand the top down to bare wood and start from scratch. I have put in too much work to quit now. And I need to start work on my kitchen next week. I got a lot ofprojects coming up, can't afford to push the project for another week.
 

Attachments

#53 ·
Trials and tribulations

I can't help myself, I just keep messing up… The Trials and tribulations of being an amateur. Started sanding yesterday

Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Tints and shades


Since I did not fille the wood pores (did not find a suitable product in our hardware stores) the laquer was all over the places in ridges and valleys and to get it all even I should have put atleast 7 more coats on, then I could confortably sand it down to totally flat.

But after first 20 minutes of handsanding
Brown Rectangle Wood Purple Flooring


I went to 400 grit OS.
Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Indoor games and sports


And that didn't work out quite as I wanted either, the sandpaper was clogging up so much, had to change it every few minutes, really need to get my hands on a wet ROS paper.
Brown Light Rectangle Wood Black


Of course, at this point I should realize that I have sanded off a lot of lacquer and I should be considering different options already…But that is not what I do…. against all of your guys better judgement, what do I do?

That is correct, I switch to 320 ROS….Of course, at this point with brand new ROS 320 paper I make a mistake. :)
Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Table Black Wood Rectangle Cloud


At this point I am just like @£$€!!!!! this POS, BS project… and I go to figuring out another option. Since the base laquer was a semi-gloss I run to the shop, grab a can of high gloss spray on lacquer, I figure I can coat it with that and see what happens, since the base is very flat now it might cover it up nicely, but you never know. (This is where I should have started by the way, but being an amateur I did not ask specifically for spray on lacquer before I started this project, I went with a brush on version)

I come back form the shop, cover that little piece with the brush on lacquer, leave it to dry and go to play bandminton to vent off some of the steam. Return 3 hours later, put handles on my drawers and do a test piece with the spray on laquer - on just wood it works well, so if it doesn't bring the top on to shine with the current base coat of semigloss lacquer I will have the option to sand the top all down to wood and do a new build up with spray on. The big advantage is that it dries in like 15 minutes, so I can still deliver the piece this Satruday or Sunday.

Boy do I love to learn new things but I hate that I need to learn by making mistakes, especially when I make these mistakes by specifically going against your guys expertiese. :)

Anyhow, today when I get back home I will start coating the top and lining the drawers with felt, I am determined to win, even if that does mean that I need to sand the top down to bare wood and start from scratch. I have put in too much work to quit now. And I need to start work on my kitchen next week. I got a lot ofprojects coming up, can't afford to push the project for another week.
Do you want a really glossy surface? Spraying satin lacquer will give a moderate sheen, not that really glossy, glass like sheen. I dont particularly like the super glossy look. I think it detracts from the look of the contrasting woods. Single color projects look OK glossy. That said take it down a little more with 400 grit wet dry sand paper. Use 1/4 sheets cut from a full sheet. Fold twice giving you four sanding surfaces. Reshoot with rattle can. Light coats, do not overspray. Put on three or four coats. Let it cure overnight at room temp (that is indoor room temp) Hit it again with 600 lightly you are just knocking down the nibs. You should be left with a VERY smooth surface. Shoot one or two more coats. Again with the 600 VERY lightly. But please let the lacquer dry overnight. The paper should load with white powder. You can feel/hear when you are there. A light rub with 1000 grit if you want a little more sheen. Then wax with paste wax. Two coats will do. The surface will feel sooooo smooth.
 

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