Chess board/box

My 13 year old grandson was given an “antique” chess set by my brother so I told him I would make a box to store it in. It is made of walnut, with mahogany and maple checkerboard squares. It is about 18” square, 3” tall, and the checker board has 2” squares. The board sets in a rabbeted grove and one side is cut deeper so by pressing down on that side the other side raises high enough to take hold of and lift up and off. (as illustrated by my thumb) The sides taper towards the top and I cut a cove recess around the bottom to make it easier to pick up. As you can see I used finger joints at the corners. It is finished with a wipe on varathane. and the red cloth it is setting on is what I intend to line the inside with. In spite of the fact that the checkerboard squares are glued to a MDF core ply there is still a slight tendency for the top to warp. I had it in a sunny solarium to dry the finish and when the sun hit it it warped quite a bit. Fortunately it flattened out again when it cooled off. Possibly making the squares thinner would help; they were about 5/16” thick.

-- Les B, Oregon