a convex chess board

You should be able to remedy this by mounting it in a tongue & groove frame, adding a finish to both sides.

I think when moisture from the glue dries out, it should settle things down. the moisture is the problem.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Thanks Dick. I already has the frame and it is kind of T&G (the board is the T and the frame is the G). I don’t think finishing this both sides will help, as the problem is with the difference between the hardwoods and the plywood. it might reduce the problem somewhat.

-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

Mosh, you can always tell folks that you coopered the edges to get the radius. LOL. Ok, so maybe that wasn’t very funny. I’m sure the T/G frame will help flatten it a lot. Good luck.

-- I love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

This happened to me also when I made my chess board. If you will glue a piece of hardwood to the opposite side with the grain running in the same direction as the chess sqauares it should flatten out. When you glue solid hardwood to one side of a piece of plywood you need to do the same thing to the opposite side of the plywood. If you try this, be sure to leave it clamped for a few days.

This solution worked for me.

-- Mike

or just add the design as a new element to the game… if someone rocks the board they either #1 have to play the pieces where they end up, or #2 lose a piece (opponents choice)

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

If you wanted to keep the board thin you could cut your kerfs for relief and veneer the back. When you vaccum press or caul and clamp it should hold straight. You may want to try making your own veneer to keep it thick (about 1/16 or 1/8”). I’m not sure if keeping it thin is that important to you though.

-- Patrick

I don’t know what these hot shot wood workers are thinking but here’s what you can do next time this happens. I know you have already fixed the board. So keep this in mine for the next board.
You just need to glue the same board on the top of the chess set. This would keep everything stable. Well there is a downside to my idea, but you can make trim to fit around the edges. Then its perfect…
See how easy it is when you thing thru a problem .
HA Happy New Year!

-- Dominic, Trinity, Florida...Lets be safe out there.

fender washers and wood screws thru each corner to the table top will make it flat

-- keeping myself entertained

Curious…..I wonder what would happen if you ran it through a planer to take off the plywood backing? Would it then flatten out?

-- Good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from poor judgement.

well, maybe pictures are not worth 1000 words after all.

this board is not slightly, flexibly bent. it is in rigor mortise. it can’t be flattened with light pressure. and we are talking about almost 1cm (depending on humidity) depth. it will probably crack before it can be straightened forcibly.
I havn’t got around to fixing it yet, but i will probably use slightly damp towel and very light pressure overnight to flatten it again.
planing the plywood off has two downsides. one, i am not sure the piece will hold together under a planer because its so thin, two, it will come out even thinner than it was.

this was supposed to be a standalone board.

another modification to this boring game that i thought of was putting the chess pieces on small bicycles so they can use the board as half pipe :-)

-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

I still think the moisture in the glue caused the bend. I’d weight it down, & allow it to stabilize.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

the bending happened 2 weeks after the glueing, when a wave of hot dry weather came over the city, but you may be right (the moisture might have been trapped inside for long). i’ll try just damping it and letting it stabilize under pressure and let you all know.

-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

The curve will help the water run off. Swear to people that it is an optical illusion. (My standard answers for things that are sloped, uneven, not level etc.)

-- A famous poet once said: “There is a name hidden in the shadow of my soul, the name is wood. Sweet, ever beautiful, earth grown wood. It warms my heart and brings a tear to my eye.”

Leave it like it is, in most chess games it my provide the only movement for hours at a time.

-- Ron Central, CA

I’d go with it and try to make something else out of it like an ashtray. Either way looking forward to the post of the fix.