# Checkerboard Project



## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

*Winging it.*

I have been thinking about what I could build for my 10 year old daughter for Christmas. She enjoys board games like Monopoly and Clue, so I thought I would build a fancy board game box to hold a Monopoly set with a drawer to keep all the money, cards, and game pieces organized. I looked at the others posted on LJ and a few other places on the web for inspiration and I played around with a few designs of my own in SketchUp.

As with most things I draw in SketchUp, I was spending so much time on it, that I thought I had better get out to the garage and start cutting some wood or I will never finish in time for Christmas Eve.

My first step was to make a full sized template out of 1/4" MDF to sketch out a few ideas for the top of the box and I decided that it should double as as Checker/Chess board.

I'm just winging this project based on the wood I have on hand. I thought some Pau Ferro (Bolivian Rosewood) for the dark, and Ash for the light squares would look nice and I had a couple boards of each with some nice grain.

I was able to finish cutting out all of the squares for the playing surface this evening. The checkerboard surface measures 20" x 20" (the size of a standard Monopoly game board). It is made of 64 2.5" squares. I laid it out on top of my template before I called it a night:




I'm planning on adding a picture frame style border to bring final dimensions of the top to 24" x 24" which will give the the room I need to store the game pieces underneath (I hope. I still have some measuring to do before I build the box and drawers).

Once I finish the top, I'm going to try my hand at building the box with dovetail joints (another first for me). I'm also thinking about adding two drawers on opposite sides, one for the Monopoly set, and one for the checkers/ chess pieces.

I'll post an update over the weekend as I make more design decisions. Who knows, I may even put legs on this and turn it into a table if I have enough time.

Regards,

Jeff


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

*Framed*

I had a long day volunteering at my daughter's school, so I didn't get to put in much time on the project today. I did manage to cut the frame for the checkerboard from the rest of the White Ash that I used for the lighter squares.

It's amazing how diverse the grain looks considering it all came from the same single 5"W x 12'L board. It would have been nice if it was all like the curly sections. Some of the straighter grained sections look kind of boring by comparison. Overall, I think it's looking pretty good.

It came out nice and square, which is a small miracle considering how many cuts I had to make for this project already. My crosscut sled (see my blog about it) is proving to be worth it's weight in gold.

I cut the mitered corners on the frame by hand as I haven't invested the time in building a cross-cut miter sled for my tablesaw yet. I don't mind doing it the old fashioned way. I think I tend to make less mistakes when I'm forced to go slower. I really didn't have much room for error in cutting the frame as I only have enough White Ash left over to maybe make one handle for a small trout fishing net (like the others I built recently).

I'm hoping to get the glue up done tomorrow and to start working on the box portion of the project. Here's where I left off tonight:



Regards,

Jeff


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

*Squaring Up The Squares*

It was a good day in the garage. I need a few more like this one to keep me on track to finish this project and a few others before Christmas Eve.

First I cut the pieces for the base frame, box sides, and the drawer fronts out of White Ash).



Because I'm going to attempt dovetail joints for the first time on the box sides, I cut the sides by hand and jointed the edges by hand to make sure they were perfectly matched.



My playing surface was about a quarter of an inch oversize in both directions. I could have just glued everything up and trimmed the outsides, but I didn't want to have some squares that are smaller than the rest. I really want everything to be as close to perfect as I'm capable of, so I took the extra time to cut a 2.5" measuring block and used it to mark each square at 2.5" on two sides.



Here's a look at one of the white ash squares being marked for sanding.



Next, I used my Rigid Oscillating Belt Sander to sand up to the lines and square them up. I found one square out of sixty four, that was actually a bit undersized, so I'll have to cut a replacement before I glue it in.

Here is a shot of my first row of blocks in a jig I made for the glue up. The rest of the blocks have been sanded and are ready to be glued in.



I see now why most people build their chess boards by cutting long strips, gluing them together, cutting across, and flipping every other strip. Maybe I'll do it this way in the future, but for this project, I decided that I liked the idea of an interrupted grain surface, so I'm stuck with doing it the hard way to get the look that I'm going for.

Here's everything I want to accomplish tomorrow:

1) Add a thin border between the top frame and the playing surface to look like an inlay. I'll probably cut the strips from my left over Pau Ferro. I'm really enjoying working with this wood.

2) Complete assembly of the top frame and checkerboard using my biscuit joiner.

3) Make up a panel for the bottom of the box and install it in the bottom frame. I think I'll probably use the same 1/4" Poplar that I plan to use for the drawer dividers and just float it in a dado. It's only going to show when the box is upside down. I was going to use MDF, but I kind of like that this entire project is made of solid wood.

4) Actually stop putting it off and force myself to cut those dovetail joints for the box sides. At least I'll practice a few on scraps to get the bugs worked out.

If I can get all this done tomorrow, I'll be in good shape to rout some decorative edges, sand everything, build the storage drawers, complete the final assembly, and get started on the finishing during the week.

I hope my photos will be helpful to someone else who may want to build a similar project.

Regards,

Jeff


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

*Jiggidy Jig Day*

I got side tracked and didn't accomplish any of the goals that I set for today. The day wasn't a total loss though. I made a batch of chili and I watched a few videos on dovetail joints and marked up my boards. I need to clear space on my bench to do the cutting, so that was my excuse for not starting on them until I finish gluing up the top.

Out in the garage, I glued up a few more rows and while I was waiting for the glue to dry, I started thinking about the game pieces that will go with the set. I don't think I have time or the skill to carve all the chess pieces myself, so I ordered a set from Lee Valley. They are incredibly inexpensive. I guess I'll see how good they are when they get here in a few days. In the mean time, I needed to find some checkers.



Standard size checkers looked too small on the 2 1/2" squares, so I decided to make a set of large custom pieces to go with the board. Not having a lathe, I found a 48" long, 2" diameter dowel at Home Depot and added a simple cradle to my crosscut sled to hold it steady while I sliced it into 1/2" thick blanks. I made plenty of extras in case I have any mishaps. The dowel looks like some kind of poplar, but I'm not really sure. It had a "made in China" sticker on it.



I decided to try relief carving(another first for me) to raise my Daughter's initials on the checkers. The second jig I created was a "vise" to hold the 2" blanks while I stenciled on the initials. I plan to use it as I carve them as well. I took my 2" Forstner bit and drilled holes in a scrap of 1/4" MDF. I used carpet tape to stick the MDF to another board. The carpet tape grips the blanks nicely if I give them a tap when I set them into the holes. I'll clamp this to my bench and I shouldn't have to chase any of the blanks around the garage while I complete the carving and sanding.



My plan is to carve and sand into the white space inside the circles to make the letters stand out. I want the checkers to have a rim around the top like the standard plastic ones. It's too late to start on this tonight, but I can't wait to see how they turn out. I will stain half of them Ebony and leave half Natural before I seal them with a few coats of gloss poly.

Regards,

Jeff


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## rosalinejewelry143 (Dec 6, 2012)

Retsof said:


> *Jiggidy Jig Day*
> 
> I got side tracked and didn't accomplish any of the goals that I set for today. The day wasn't a total loss though. I made a batch of chili and I watched a few videos on dovetail joints and marked up my boards. I need to clear space on my bench to do the cutting, so that was my excuse for not starting on them until I finish gluing up the top.
> 
> ...


Hey!
very nice blog!! Excellent.. Amazing.. It really is a great idea. I will have a trial of this idea as soon as I get the pattern.Thank you for constantly posting so many useful tips. According to my advise jewelery also is a good gift for Christmas present.

Regards:-
black onyx pendant


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

*Custom Carved Checkers Completed!*

After several hours of carving with my Dremel tool over the last two days, I completed the custom checkers for this project. This was my first attempt at wood carving and with 48 sides to carve, it was a bit tedious, but not too difficult. My skills improved a good deal by day two and I took some extra time to go back over the first day's checkers and make sure they were all pretty consistent.



I took some video of the carving process to post as a separate blog entry once I have time to edit it.

I tried out several stain colors on some scraps and decided on Ebony and Natural Danish Oil for the two colors. They are drying at the moment. After I seal them, I'll polish them with a coating of Bee's Wax to make them nice and slippery.

I think Lila is going to enjoy these. I know I can't wait for our first game on Christmas Eve.

Regards,

Jeff


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Retsof said:


> *Custom Carved Checkers Completed!*
> 
> After several hours of carving with my Dremel tool over the last two days, I completed the custom checkers for this project. This was my first attempt at wood carving and with 48 sides to carve, it was a bit tedious, but not too difficult. My skills improved a good deal by day two and I took some extra time to go back over the first day's checkers and make sure they were all pretty consistent.
> 
> ...


Those are nice. It would take patience to carve them.


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## hunter71 (Sep 4, 2009)

Retsof said:


> *Custom Carved Checkers Completed!*
> 
> After several hours of carving with my Dremel tool over the last two days, I completed the custom checkers for this project. This was my first attempt at wood carving and with 48 sides to carve, it was a bit tedious, but not too difficult. My skills improved a good deal by day two and I took some extra time to go back over the first day's checkers and make sure they were all pretty consistent.
> 
> ...


Lot of work there, nice job.


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

Retsof said:


> *Custom Carved Checkers Completed!*
> 
> After several hours of carving with my Dremel tool over the last two days, I completed the custom checkers for this project. This was my first attempt at wood carving and with 48 sides to carve, it was a bit tedious, but not too difficult. My skills improved a good deal by day two and I took some extra time to go back over the first day's checkers and make sure they were all pretty consistent.
> 
> ...


Thanks Guys. It did take quite a bit of patience to carve that many sides. My right hand kept falling asleep on me. I'm glad this part of the project is over. These 2" checkers look a lot better than standard 1 1/4" checkers on the board I'm building, so it was worth all the extra work.


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

*Back On Track*

I gave up on finishing this checkerboard project in time for Christmas, and then I was out of commission with a bad chest cold for another three weeks. Once I was back to 100%, I got to work finishing my White Oak Bookcase project. Now it's time I got this one back on track.

The last thing I had done on this project was to glue up all the squares for the top. I did half of the board at a time and then used my biscuit joiner to join the two sections together.

I put in some time yesterday flush trimming the edges with my router and scraping and sanding the playing surface to clean up all of the glue lines. Tonight, I filled some hairline gaps with Medium CA Glue and sawdust that I had saved to make them disappear. It worked like a charm, then it was on to more scraping and sanding to remove of all the tape and CA Glue lines.

I'm not a big fan of my band clamp (an old Sears Craftsman model) for gluing up miter joints, so while I had the CA Glue handy, I built myself some miter joint clamping cauls for when I'm ready to glue up the top and bottom frame pieces. I used the Woodsmith Shop style that I've seen discussed here on Lumberjocks. They were super easy to make and seem to be a huge improvement over my band clamp. I'll post a photo of them when I use them.

I finished up tonight by cutting and gluing up a 3/16 band of Pau Ferro (Bolivian Rosewood) for an inlay between the checkerboard and the outer frame. I tried out some strips of cherry, walnut, and white oak that I had left over from my net building projects last Fall just to see how they would look. The cherry was nice, but to me it looked like there were too many types of wood. I decided it looked better with the Pau Ferro that I used for the dark squares. I'll get back to net making again soon to use up the rest of my strips, and I now have a few strips of Pau Ferro to work into my nets.

I'm planning to attach the White Ash frame pieces to complete the top assembly on Friday and get back to box building over the weekend. I have a Porter & Cable dovetail jig that I picked up several years ago and have still never tried. I've heard that they can be finicky, so I'm planning to get some practice before I attempt to cut the dovetail joints for the base that will support the checkerboard and house the storage drawer. I have a bunch of drawers to build to complete my router table, so I figure I'll start on those, and get practiced up before working with the White Ash boards that I've been saving for the base.

Here's a couple of photos of the top that I took tonight with the inlay strips glued up. I need better lighting in my Garage. I took one without flash and one with.

No Flash:



With Flash:


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## dsdufour (Dec 25, 2012)

Retsof said:


> *Back On Track*
> 
> I gave up on finishing this checkerboard project in time for Christmas, and then I was out of commission with a bad chest cold for another three weeks. Once I was back to 100%, I got to work finishing my White Oak Bookcase project. Now it's time I got this one back on track.
> 
> ...


Nice job, and I know about black holes, maybe it's gremlins taking them pencils and tape measures.


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

Retsof said:


> *Back On Track*
> 
> I gave up on finishing this checkerboard project in time for Christmas, and then I was out of commission with a bad chest cold for another three weeks. Once I was back to 100%, I got to work finishing my White Oak Bookcase project. Now it's time I got this one back on track.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dave. My black hole problem is caused by my lack of organization. It's a real mess out there right now. I work in my two car garage and all of my tools and workbenches are on wheels so I can, in theory at least, push them across my driveway to my swing garage (a third single bay garage that I use for storage) when I'm not using them. I need to set aside some time to take everything out except what I'm currently working on at the moment. Maybe after I finish this project (yeah right).


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## Tails (Feb 2, 2013)

Retsof said:


> *Back On Track*
> 
> I gave up on finishing this checkerboard project in time for Christmas, and then I was out of commission with a bad chest cold for another three weeks. Once I was back to 100%, I got to work finishing my White Oak Bookcase project. Now it's time I got this one back on track.
> 
> ...


Greetings Retsof, I am very new to LJ so I hope this is the correct 'forum' to ask this question. Do you also sell those nets and landyards? I came to your projects yesterday on a web search for same. I am also new to woodworking and my first project will be fly boxes so I hope to offer you some ideas in the future. Thank you, Gregg. To be more clear I am refering to the fly fishing nets and lanyards.


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## Retsof (Apr 12, 2012)

Retsof said:


> *Back On Track*
> 
> I gave up on finishing this checkerboard project in time for Christmas, and then I was out of commission with a bad chest cold for another three weeks. Once I was back to 100%, I got to work finishing my White Oak Bookcase project. Now it's time I got this one back on track.
> 
> ...


Hi Greg,

I haven't tried to sell any of my nets or lanyards yet. I may put some on Esty.com at some point if I have time to make some more. I'd love to see your fly boxes. I've thought about making some of them myself. I haven't gotten into box making yet, but I get the feeling that it could be addictive.


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