# Chessboard



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Design Plan*

Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.









This SketchUp drawing is not completely accurate but close to the planned board.









Maple Rook.









The small ball on the top of the Bishop broke off so I need to glue one back on.









Walnut Pawns.









Turned post. There are two walnut posts and 2 maple posts.









Walnut drawer sides. The grain flows around the entire drawer.


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## Pawky (Sep 22, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


Wow, that's going to look fantastic when you are done! I look forward to seeing your progress.


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## christopheralan (Mar 19, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


Cool man! It looks great! Looking forward to more!


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


Very nice. I've been meaning to build a chess set forever but somehow never get around to it. Now I can do it vicariously through you…


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


Carters,

That's going to be a great looking set.

Did you use a pattern for the pieces or do them on your own? What's the knight look like?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Keep up the good work. And please remember…

Be Careful!


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


Hi Herb. I have not made a knight yet. I will probably make all 4 at once and do one step at a time on each to get them as similar as possible. 
I do each piece on its own. I have a picture of each piece with the dimensions, so I just use a ruler/dividers/calipers to make each piece. It take me about 1 hour for each pawn and about 2 hours for the king because I need to carve the cross after its turned. 
If anybody wants more info. on how I make a piece, I have thought of doing either a video or step by step in photos. If anyone has any advice on making the knights please message me.


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## SeaWitch (Nov 5, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


Wow. That is beautiful. How did you know what size to make the pieces? Is there some standard reference?


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design Plan*
> 
> Hello. I have started a chessboard and set for an uncle and thought I would set up a project build so that I can get advice from other woodworkers and to hopefully inspire someone else. I am using maple and walnut for the project and the walnut was all resawn from logs I got from my opa's firewood pile. So far I have almost all the walnut parts cut and the drawer dovetailed. I still need to cut most of the maple parts and then I can beginning joinery for the board. I will use dovetails to join the carcass sides to the bottom and half blinds for the rails. The drawer fronts are going to be raised frame and panel and unlike in the SketchUp picture the board will also be frame and panel to allow for wood movement. For the drawer slides I plan on using a sliding dovetail underneath the drawer so I can fully extend the drawer. If anyone has any questions or advice, please comment.
> 
> ...


After doing some research I found that most standard sets have the King around 4" high and the rest of the pieces are proportioned around that. I am not an experienced chess maker though.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Drawers and Posts*

Today I got off work early and the weather was +10 so I spent some time in the garage. I dovetailed the maple drawer and got the second walnut corner post turned. I had also glued up the 8 board stripes last night so I did some flattening to the board to prepare it to be crosscut. The dovetails turned out good on one side, but on the other I have some gaps so I might put some shims in at glue up. I have the drawer bottoms planed to thickness but still have not decided for sure if the drawers will be made completely of one wood species or if the drawer bottom will be of the opposite wood species to give the chess pieces inside contrast against the bottom (1st blog entry shows contrasting wood for drawer bottom in the design drawing). I will most likely finish the whole board with tung oil and wax, but may finish the pieces and the drawers with just wax.









Both drawer sides ready to route the bottom groove and smooth plane.


















Walnut posts are ready for finishing.









After the board is crosscut and glued up in its checkered pattern I may use a router planer to flatten the board perfectly. The outside strips are wider because I will be routing around the board when finished so it fits in the frame (the drawing in the previous blog entry the top is not drawn out as frame and panel construction).


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## christopheralan (Mar 19, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Drawers and Posts*
> 
> Today I got off work early and the weather was +10 so I spent some time in the garage. I dovetailed the maple drawer and got the second walnut corner post turned. I had also glued up the 8 board stripes last night so I did some flattening to the board to prepare it to be crosscut. The dovetails turned out good on one side, but on the other I have some gaps so I might put some shims in at glue up. I have the drawer bottoms planed to thickness but still have not decided for sure if the drawers will be made completely of one wood species or if the drawer bottom will be of the opposite wood species to give the chess pieces inside contrast against the bottom (1st blog entry shows contrasting wood for drawer bottom in the design drawing). I will most likely finish the whole board with tung oil and wax, but may finish the pieces and the drawers with just wax.
> 
> ...


Dovetails and turnings look great! Well done!


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## SeaWitch (Nov 5, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Drawers and Posts*
> 
> Today I got off work early and the weather was +10 so I spent some time in the garage. I dovetailed the maple drawer and got the second walnut corner post turned. I had also glued up the 8 board stripes last night so I did some flattening to the board to prepare it to be crosscut. The dovetails turned out good on one side, but on the other I have some gaps so I might put some shims in at glue up. I have the drawer bottoms planed to thickness but still have not decided for sure if the drawers will be made completely of one wood species or if the drawer bottom will be of the opposite wood species to give the chess pieces inside contrast against the bottom (1st blog entry shows contrasting wood for drawer bottom in the design drawing). I will most likely finish the whole board with tung oil and wax, but may finish the pieces and the drawers with just wax.
> 
> ...


Beautiful work. And good photos too.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Walnut Drawer Front and More Pieces*

Hello. This is a update to my chessboard build. Its been a long time since my last post here because I have been busy, working on some other projects, and trying to aquire the tools and materials to finish the board. The last couple days I have completed most of the pawns with 4 left to be done. I have finished the Kings and Queens as well as the other large pieces aside from the Knights. It is very fun to turn some of the maple pieces because I come across some neat spalting like in the close up of the King.



















I have also made the walnut drawer front and side. They are finished with tung oil and I have yet to put a coat of paste wax on them. I used my new/old Inca table saw with its tenon jig to make the bridle joints for the frame.









All the parts are quarter sawn.



















I have also got the drawer bottoms installed and the drawers glued up, but I will post the pictures when I have the dividers for the pieces installed in the drawers.


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## JimArnoldChess (Mar 15, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Walnut Drawer Front and More Pieces*
> 
> Hello. This is a update to my chessboard build. Its been a long time since my last post here because I have been busy, working on some other projects, and trying to aquire the tools and materials to finish the board. The last couple days I have completed most of the pawns with 4 left to be done. I have finished the Kings and Queens as well as the other large pieces aside from the Knights. It is very fun to turn some of the maple pieces because I come across some neat spalting like in the close up of the King.
> 
> ...


Pieces look first rate! The steep bevel at the bottom looks just like the original Staunton sets. Can't wait to see the knights.

Excellent.
Thanks,
Jim


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Walnut Drawer Front and More Pieces*
> 
> Hello. This is a update to my chessboard build. Its been a long time since my last post here because I have been busy, working on some other projects, and trying to aquire the tools and materials to finish the board. The last couple days I have completed most of the pawns with 4 left to be done. I have finished the Kings and Queens as well as the other large pieces aside from the Knights. It is very fun to turn some of the maple pieces because I come across some neat spalting like in the close up of the King.
> 
> ...


Thanks you. Thats a nice comment coming from someone who makes sets as nice as yours. I did design these close to the Staunton set but wasn't looking to make a replication. Either tomorrow or next week I will probably start the knights. I have never done carving before so it will take some time. I will use a hand saw to remove the bulk of the material and then some various bits in a dremel. I plan on doing all 4 at once in steps, so that I can make them as identical as possible. Any tips when it comes to carving them?


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## scarpenter002 (Sep 16, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Walnut Drawer Front and More Pieces*
> 
> Hello. This is a update to my chessboard build. Its been a long time since my last post here because I have been busy, working on some other projects, and trying to aquire the tools and materials to finish the board. The last couple days I have completed most of the pawns with 4 left to be done. I have finished the Kings and Queens as well as the other large pieces aside from the Knights. It is very fun to turn some of the maple pieces because I come across some neat spalting like in the close up of the King.
> 
> ...


Looking great. Can't wait to see the completed set and board. 
Thanks for sharing.


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## SeaWitch (Nov 5, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Walnut Drawer Front and More Pieces*
> 
> Hello. This is a update to my chessboard build. Its been a long time since my last post here because I have been busy, working on some other projects, and trying to aquire the tools and materials to finish the board. The last couple days I have completed most of the pawns with 4 left to be done. I have finished the Kings and Queens as well as the other large pieces aside from the Knights. It is very fun to turn some of the maple pieces because I come across some neat spalting like in the close up of the King.
> 
> ...


Beautiful.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Knights*

Hey guys. I have finished the knights for my uncle's set a couple weeks ago now, so the set is complete! All I have left is to weight the pieces and finish the bottoms off with some felt (and glue some small balls to the top of the white bishops). I used hand saws to remove the bulk of the material, and a dremel with carving bits to do some of the rough shaping. Then I used an X-acto knife to carve the details, and finished with some sanding and buffing. I worked on all four knights at the same time doing them step by step, which I felt made it easier to get the pieces more identical.

I have also got the joints for the board's frame cut and will need to glue the board strips together some time. They have warped considerably so I am wondering if it would be best to biscuit the strips to help with alignment? Anyways here is the pictures of the (almost) finished set and knights.


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## SeaWitch (Nov 5, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Knights*
> 
> Hey guys. I have finished the knights for my uncle's set a couple weeks ago now, so the set is complete! All I have left is to weight the pieces and finish the bottoms off with some felt (and glue some small balls to the top of the white bishops). I used hand saws to remove the bulk of the material, and a dremel with carving bits to do some of the rough shaping. Then I used an X-acto knife to carve the details, and finished with some sanding and buffing. I worked on all four knights at the same time doing them step by step, which I felt made it easier to get the pieces more identical.
> 
> I have also got the joints for the board's frame cut and will need to glue the board strips together some time. They have warped considerably so I am wondering if it would be best to biscuit the strips to help with alignment? Anyways here is the pictures of the (almost) finished set and knights.


Those knights are great. I'm amazed at how closely they resemble each other considering that they were each hand-carved.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Update*

Hello. It has been a long time since my last blog post because I had taken time off to build my workbench and organize the shop. I have now started up again with no other projects on the go and plan on finishing it soon.

To summarize where I left off:
-I had the drawer sides dovetailed.
-2 walnut posts made.
-The chess pieces all done.
-The board strips glued up.
-And the walnut drawer fronts made.

To summarize where I am now:
-The drawers are assembled with dividers in place. The bottoms and dividers are a different wood than the outside of the drawers, this is so the pieces contrast against the interior.



























-One of the walnut posts are firewood because it cracked too much. So I have one walnut post done and the blanks made up for the other walnut post and the maple posts.









-Chess pieces are all done and buffed nicely.









-The glued up board has been cross cut into strips.









-The joinery for the board's frame is cut and ready to go. I used bridle joints, like the drawer fronts.


















-The bottom, sides, and rails for the carcase are ready for joinery. To make the sides and bottom as wide as I needed them I had to join multiple boards side by side. You can see in the pictures how I used rabbets to join them all together. To glue them together I put wax paper underneath and clamped it to my bench. Also note in the glue ups the sides are all one colour. After I realized I needed each side to have two coloured ends, so I cut each side in half and joined the opposing colours together. This is an instance where having hand plane skills is indespensible. To flatten the bottom and sides would be near impossible with a machine. Since the grain in the sides does not run with the length of the piece it could not be flattened with a jointer or planner (unless you can use those machines with the grain running sideways, I have not tried). Also the bottom is too large to use on any jointer I know and too large for most planners. Also note the bottom is not evenly split into walnut and maple. I did not have enough walnut to do so, but its no visual problem because only the front edge of the bottom is visible.


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Update*
> 
> Hello. It has been a long time since my last blog post because I had taken time off to build my workbench and organize the shop. I have now started up again with no other projects on the go and plan on finishing it soon.
> 
> ...


That's coming along quite nicely. Great work on the chess pieces.


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## MShort (Jan 15, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Update*
> 
> Hello. It has been a long time since my last blog post because I had taken time off to build my workbench and organize the shop. I have now started up again with no other projects on the go and plan on finishing it soon.
> 
> ...


The chess pieces are awesome. Looking forward to following this project as well.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Doweling*

Hello. After my last post I was ready to start joinery on the main carcase. So I decided to do a dowel joint. I just used a simple block of wood with a 3/8" hole and fence clamped to it. The hole was placed so that it would be centered on 3/4" stock. I have lines drawn around the jig to locate the centre of the hole so I could align the jig to my marks on the work pieces.










Here is the carcase disassembled with the dowels in place.









You may be able to see in the picture the lines I have drawn by each dowel to mark the location of each dowel for drilling.

After the dowels were all drilled I turned the last three posts. Its very scary turning these because the corners can easy nick your nuckles or your lathe tool can chip them (which I did, and required major repairs to fix).










You can see there is two dowels in each post. These will be joined to the outside of the carcase sides.










During the process of turning and repairing the posts I was glueing up the strips for the board. I also put 3 dowels between each strip to help align them and give greater strength to the joint. I had these strips cut last winter and they have warped since then so the dowels were a great help in aligning the warped strips. *Note: do not cut parts and glue them up almost a year later, especially when the long grain is cut short and the piece is very wide.*


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Doweling*
> 
> Hello. After my last post I was ready to start joinery on the main carcase. So I decided to do a dowel joint. I just used a simple block of wood with a 3/8" hole and fence clamped to it. The hole was placed so that it would be centered on 3/4" stock. I have lines drawn around the jig to locate the centre of the hole so I could align the jig to my marks on the work pieces.
> 
> ...


You are making excellent progress.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Carcase Assembled*

Hello. Since my last post I got the carcase glued together. But before I glued the carcase together I drilled two countersunk holes through the rails. These are going to be for screws that will go through the rails into the board's frame, holding the top to the carcase.









The holes are slightly larger than the screws, so they should allow for any wood movement between the carcase and top.









Before glue up I smoothed the inside surfaces.

After the carcase was dry I clamped it to my bench side to plane the edges flush. Here is where having a legvise and sliding deadman working with holdfast is extremely useful.


















I use one holdfast to rest the carcase on and the other to clamp it to the bench side. If you have a sliding leg vise that would be just as useful.

After glue up the bottom did not sit flat on the bench top. So I used my scrub plane to flatten the bottom.









(I actually planed a slight hollow in the centre so the edges all sit flat without any chance of rocking)

After the bottom was flat I fit the drawers to the carcase by hand planing the drawer sides until I got a nice fit. I then attached the fillers to the posts with some screws. The fake drawer fronts will go between the posts and attach to these fillers.


















The posts are not yet glued to the carcase side.

Next I flattened the board on the show face and only roughly planned the underside, semi-flat. Since the board is a panel going to be inserted in a frame the board did not need to be dead flat underneath. I will make sure that the edges of the board are the same thickness all around so that the panel fits properly into the frame's groove. After the board was flat I used a raised panel bit around the board. This is the same profile as the drawer fronts.









I think the board is a perfect size for the pieces.









Here is a close up of the corner of the board. You can see now why the squares along the outer edge of the board were about 1 inch longer. With the profile added to the outside of the board, the outer squares became the same size as the inner squares.

Next I will fit the board into the frame and glue it up. I will also make the maple drawer fronts, add steel weights to the chess pieces, and make custom dividers for the pieces in the drawers.


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Carcase Assembled*
> 
> Hello. Since my last post I got the carcase glued together. But before I glued the carcase together I drilled two countersunk holes through the rails. These are going to be for screws that will go through the rails into the board's frame, holding the top to the carcase.
> 
> ...


It's coming along very nicely. When I first saw the board I wondered about the extra material. I like the bevel, it really adds elegance.


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## MShort (Jan 15, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Carcase Assembled*
> 
> Hello. Since my last post I got the carcase glued together. But before I glued the carcase together I drilled two countersunk holes through the rails. These are going to be for screws that will go through the rails into the board's frame, holding the top to the carcase.
> 
> ...


Looks like the new bench is working well for projects. The chess board project is looking good and starting to take shape. Look forward to the completed projecdt.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Carcase Assembled*
> 
> Hello. Since my last post I got the carcase glued together. But before I glued the carcase together I drilled two countersunk holes through the rails. These are going to be for screws that will go through the rails into the board's frame, holding the top to the carcase.
> 
> ...


That's looking really nice. I've never seen a chess board done as a raised panel before, but its a great idea.


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## fernandoindia (May 5, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Carcase Assembled*
> 
> Hello. Since my last post I got the carcase glued together. But before I glued the carcase together I drilled two countersunk holes through the rails. These are going to be for screws that will go through the rails into the board's frame, holding the top to the carcase.
> 
> ...


Hi Carters, I have just found this blog, which is almost a year old. Terrific work.

Chessmen look great. Nice pieces of wood also.

Love the corners columns too. Innovative idea on the raised panel as well. Look forward for the finished project.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Completion*

Hello. About a week ago I finished my chessboard project and gave it to my uncle on Christmas Eve. I do not have any good pictures of the completed project yet. My uncle's wife is a photographer so I will soon get pictures of the board from her, then post pictures of the finished project.

After the last blog entry, the first task I had to do was plane the underside of the board to fit to the groove in the frame. I just used my scrub plane to roughly flatten and bevel all edges until they fit in the groove.










Then I glued the frame together, smoothed the frame, and started applying the coats of tung oil.










I also added strips inside the carcase for the drawers to slide on. I originally had another plan to make special drawer slides, but later decided to do the drawers more traditionally. Because of the design change there was about 1/4" extra height above the drawers so I added the strips for the drawers to slide on.



















Now it was time to attach the posts to the carcase. So I attached cleats to the fillers. I put 2 screws through each cleat into the frame of the false drawer fronts. I could have simply glued the edge of the filler to the false drawer front, although because of wood movement in the carcase, there is a chance that something could crack. So by screwing the flase drawer fronts on through oversized holes, the will be some give if any movement does occur.










After the cleats were attached I could fix the posts to the carcase.










Now I was ready to attach the drawer fronts to the drawers. Before fixing the fronts on I had to plane the edges until they fit with even gaps between the posts and drawer front sides. Once I got good clearnace I just used 2 screws to fix the fronts on.










After the fronts were attached I worked on the drawer pulls. After a little thought, help from a friend, and a prototype I came up with the shape for the pulls. They are shaped to have one or two fingers lift underneath and have your thumb rest on top. I fixed them to the drawer fronts with 3 toothpicks and super glue.



















After that all I had to do was screw the top to the carcase and oil and wax some parts.

With the board done I still had to weigh the pieces. So I got a 3/4" diameter steel rod and cut it into 1/2", 3/4", and 7/8" sections with an angle grinder. The pawns and bishops have 1/2" weights, the kings have 7/8" weights and the rest have 3/4". To drill the holes I got a board with 3 sized holes drilled through it which allowed the chess pieces to slide through upside down and have their bottom ring rest around the hole. Then I used the drill press to drill the holes. As a note, the next set I make I will drill the holes before turning the pieces.



















I may still put some felt on the bottoms of the pieces if my uncle requests it.

So there is the finished project. I started it over a year ago, but only worked on it sporadically throughout the year. Like I said earlier, I will have some good photos from my aunt fairly soon. I hope you guys learnt something and possibly got inspired to try making your own sets.


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## MShort (Jan 15, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Completion*
> 
> Hello. About a week ago I finished my chessboard project and gave it to my uncle on Christmas Eve. I do not have any good pictures of the completed project yet. My uncle's wife is a photographer so I will soon get pictures of the board from her, then post pictures of the finished project.
> 
> ...


Very nice gift for you Uncle. I am sure he will treasure it. Well done.


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## Eagle1 (Jan 4, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Completion*
> 
> Hello. About a week ago I finished my chessboard project and gave it to my uncle on Christmas Eve. I do not have any good pictures of the completed project yet. My uncle's wife is a photographer so I will soon get pictures of the board from her, then post pictures of the finished project.
> 
> ...


Beautiful job..


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Completion*
> 
> Hello. About a week ago I finished my chessboard project and gave it to my uncle on Christmas Eve. I do not have any good pictures of the completed project yet. My uncle's wife is a photographer so I will soon get pictures of the board from her, then post pictures of the finished project.
> 
> ...


Fantastic work as usual. I think the felt would add the final touch personally.


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## RogerC (Dec 20, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Completion*
> 
> Hello. About a week ago I finished my chessboard project and gave it to my uncle on Christmas Eve. I do not have any good pictures of the completed project yet. My uncle's wife is a photographer so I will soon get pictures of the board from her, then post pictures of the finished project.
> 
> ...


Thanks for showing the finished product! I have used many aspects of your board in the design for mine. Happy to see it turned out so good


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## eebdoow (Feb 12, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Completion*
> 
> Hello. About a week ago I finished my chessboard project and gave it to my uncle on Christmas Eve. I do not have any good pictures of the completed project yet. My uncle's wife is a photographer so I will soon get pictures of the board from her, then post pictures of the finished project.
> 
> ...


Great project.


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