Drop leaf chess table and chess set

I made this table about 5 years ago as a Christmas present for my wife’s cousin, she had wanted her own chess set for a number of years. The main sections of the table was made with European Oak a variety known locally as Pippy Oak (sometimes referred to as Cat Paw Oak) because of the numerous small knots within it. The playing surface was made of American Black Walnut (dark squares) and Sycamore (light squares), These were 50mm square, and 6mm thick obviously a high degree of accuracy was required to avoid “creep” in the row and/or columns. These were glued to 9 mm thick ply with a corresponding layer of squares glued to the underside of the top. PVA was my choice of adhesive for the whole table the square were placed and “rubbed” into position, avoiding the use of a press and the risk of movement of the squares in the press, The legs were tapered using a jig and a straight template cutter in 1/2” router, as you will see from the photos the legs had a small spade end for feet. All joints on the table tops and main frame were hand cut mortice and tenon, the T & G boards in the drop leaves were hand made and tongued into the table frames, the centre top playing surface was also tongued into the playing surface. The table contained 2 drawers that passed one below below the other, these were all hand cut dovetails all round and were on timber runners recessed into the drawer sides. The drop leaves were supported on lopers that hinged away from the end rails, these hinges were hand made using 6mm brass rod as a hinge pin.
The chess pieces were my own design, the larger pieces about 100mm high and 38mm diameter. The dark pieces were made from Laburnum, the lighter pieces were Sycamore, they were all turned and finished on my lathe using a friction polish. The knights were made by turning the bases on the lathe with a 6mm hole to take a spigot that was turned onto the base of the head before being carved and shaped by hand.
The table was finish using 2 coats of a cellulose sander sealer, and 2 coats of Melamine lacquer. Finally a wax coat was applied with a very fine abrasive pad to give the table a low luster and a nice “feel”.

-- Bill, Nottingham. Remember its not waiting for the storm to end, but learning to dance in the rain that counts. If you dont make mistakes, you make nothing at all.