Chess pieces?

[Doug Carpenter]

Anybody doing Chess peices?

[David E Keller]

I haven't done any, but there's a guy somewhat local to me that does quite a few. His name is Ken Belanus, and he's got a website kbspinswood or something like that. I think the site has photos of a lot of the chess sets that he's done.

[Jim Underwood]

I've sure thought about it enough times. And we had a carver demonstrate his chess set design and procedure for our club recently.

The hardest piece is the knight. If you can figure that one out, you've got it whipped.

I bought Mike Darlow's book "Woodturning Techiques" specifically because he shows how to turn rived rings for this piece. Mike also has another book specifically about making chess sets.

[Sean Hughto]

I did some at my first turning class and have occassionall done one or two for practice at spindle turning since. It's harder than you might think, especially to make multiples that actually resemble each other. The small scale is also a challenge.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

It is a lot harder than you may think. A while ago, I bought templates for a duplicator from CSUSA, made negative some paper templates. It is really hard to keep the beads and everything lined up with each other. I stopped after making the rough outs of the king and queen. Those are the "easiest" to turn. Physically the biggest and tallest. The knights are a problem, didn't even attempt that. If you have a duplicator rig, it should be no problem.:) I keep the rough outs on my desk at work as a reminder to not attempt it again. But then, I've gotten better as I've turned more. I may attempt it again someday.

Good luck!

[Cody Colston]

Anybody doing Chess peices?

I've done one set...Black Walnut and Spalted Ash. Everything except the pawns turned out well but I didn't do a very good job of duplicating the pawns. They vary a bit in size and detail. I intend to turn another set one day soon and hopefully it will turn out better. IK also intend to increase the size about 30% over the first set.

[Dennis Ford]

I made a set many years ago in high school shop.
Recently I made some replacement pieces for a collector. It is pretty easy to make a chess piece but not so easy to make matching pieces. A whole set becomes production work. The knights take more time but don't have to really difficult (depends on the design).

[gary beach]

Well I did a bit of searching around and with David Kellers post I was able to find the chess maker :)
http://kbspinswood.wordpress.com/chess/

[Greg Just]

There was an episode of the Woodturning Workshop with Tim Yoder on PBS where he covered making chess pieces.

[David DeCristoforo]

Chess pieces are easy. But really fine chess pieces are a whole 'nother story. Compare the pieces shown in Gary's link with these and you will see what I mean.

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/webpics/christmas-gc-prof-f.jpg

As mentioned, the carving of the knight can make or break a set.

[Montgomery Scott]

I've considered turning some, but a couple things dissuaded me:

repeatability: trying to turn nearly identical pieces is quite difficult. Doing the knight would be especially daunting.

current offerings: you can buy some nice sets for ~$100 and some very nice sets for $300.

Unless you are trying to do something unusual or unique or want to use some super exotics like European boxwood and African blackwood I wouldn't think it would be worth the time.

[Cody Colston]

Chess pieces are easy. But really fine chess pieces are a whole 'nother story. Compare the pieces shown in Gary's link with these and you will see what I mean.

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/webpics/christmas-gc-prof-f.jpg

As mentioned, the carving of the knight can make or break a set.

I'm not sure which are supposed to be the "really fine" pieces but I like the staunton style best. To me, that is the classic chess set.

I'm not too crazy about the detail on that knight but the other pieces look great.

[Jim Underwood]

If I were to make a chess set... and I probably will one day, then I'd start by drawing the pieces out with dimensions and make a story board.

It sounds intimidating when you think of having to make all those pieces all the same, but if you break it down into steps it's not really so bad.

The only piece that you really need to have down pat are the pawns. The knights are the hardest piece to do, so you'll have to come up with some plan for them, but aside from that, your king and queen are singles, and the opposing sides can be a little different with no noticeable difference since they are clear across the board.... Same thing with the rook and the bishop. They need not be exactly the same since they are separated by several other pieces.

As I said the only piece you'll need to repeat consistently are the pawns, because they're all lined up like ballusters... Once you've drawn your story board, you'll want to make sizing cuts with a parting tool on the major and minor diameters at specified points from one end. Then you just connect the points with appropriate beads or coves. If you pick a simple enough pattern that need not be too onerous either... Take a look at a couple of links posted above, and you see some pretty simple patterns that any one of you could repeat on that small scale.

And once you've made about five of them, you begin to get in the groove because you've made all those cuts before and it starts to become polished. Practice the same routine and soon repeating those cuts ain't all that hard...

Challenge yourself!:)

[David DeCristoforo]

"...which are supposed to be the "really fine" pieces..."

I was referring to the Staunton pieces my link pointed to. Perhaps "really fine" was not the best choice of wording. The pieces Gary linked to are very nicely turned. But, for me, the elegant Staunton pieces are the only way to go. At least for a set that will be played. There are many ornate sets, both old and new, that are very well made. But they can be distracting in actual play. The Staunton pieces were designed to clearly identify each piece with a minimum of ornamentation. IMMHO, the Staunton design is one of the best examples of "form follows function" design ever produced. And the Jaques sets were (and still are) the finest Staunton sets ever made. House of Staunton has continued the tradition.

[Roger Wilson]

Link to youtube video on making chess pieces and link to Mike Darlows book on turning chess pieces.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzM0tMXoTg


http://www.amazon.com/Turned-Chessmen-Collectors-Woodworkers-Woodturning/dp/1565232593/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291849604&sr=1-4

[Cody Colston]

But, for me, the elegant Staunton pieces are the only way to go.

I agree completely and you described the Staunton pieces perfectly...elegant.

[Derek Stockley]

The following pic might be the original upon which the more modern reproduction is based: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/JaquesCookStaunton.jpg

I've tried turning a couple of these and it's absolutely shocking the difference that 1/64th of an inch makes when you're talking a finely detailed piece that is no more than 2 1/2" tall (I'm specifically thinking pawns here). Easily the most technically difficult turning I've tried - and it's absolutely terrific practice.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...The following pic might be the original..."

That is the original "Cook pattern" set produced by John Jaques and endorsed by Harold Staunton, at the time, the self proclaimed "chess champion of the world".

[Jay Pugsley]

I turned a set in high school. Many years ago. I did it specifically to sell in order to take my date to the prom. Walnut and poplar. I got into a rythym with the pawns. The rook I carved on top. The knight I turned the base, then band sawed the horse profile on top. Three coats of poly. The only thing I did not do (ran out of time) was recess the bases and add weight. It's easy to do things out of your range when you don't know any better. Lol

[Hayes Rutherford]

Early this year I got the urge to make a set and ended up making four sets. I kept things simple and they are scaled to 1-7/8 board. Definitely not regulation, but easy to make and my wife even plays now.

I cut all the pieces to length using a story board/chop saw fence, all were turned using a screw chuck made with a self tapping bolt as the screw and no tailstock support. The only measuring was using a caliper for the different base diameters, everything else by eye. The knights are scroll sawed out, slightly carved, and mounted on a turned base. Shellac while spinning, then wax. Screw chuck holes were later filled with shot and glue, then covered with leather. Board is birch and mahogany. Pieces are koa and box elder.

My advice is to start simple to get a process down, then go for the finely carved set if you want.

[Wayne Lovell]

There are 2 Mike Darlow books on chessmen published by Fox Chapel Publishing and available from Amazon. Do not make the same mistake I did and order both, I expected that there would be some overlap in the books but that was not the case. THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME BOOK, PAGE FOR PAGE, PHOTO FOR PHOTO, PERIOD FOR PERIOD. THE ONLY DIFFERENCES ARE DIFFERENT TITLES AND COVERS. I was very disappointed with Fox Chapel, I had always thought they were a fairly reputable company but this scam changed my mind.

[Steve Peterson]

Early this year I got the urge to make a set and ended up making four sets. I kept things simple and they are scaled to 1-7/8 board. Definitely not regulation, but easy to make and my wife even plays now.

I cut all the pieces to length using a story board/chop saw fence, all were turned using a screw chuck made with a self tapping bolt as the screw and no tailstock support. The only measuring was using a caliper for the different base diameters, everything else by eye. The knights are scroll sawed out, slightly carved, and mounted on a turned base. Shellac while spinning, then wax. Screw chuck holes were later filled with shot and glue, then covered with leather. Board is birch and mahogany. Pieces are koa and box elder.

My advice is to start simple to get a process down, then go for the finely carved set if you want.

That is a nice looking set. I notice that the pawns are much simpler than a "standard" pawn. They often have a wider flair on the base, followed by a small protruding ring, and a ball on top. Your design is definitely much easier to reproduce.

If I tried to make a set, I would probably have to start with at least 3X as much wood to account for all the mismatched pieces.

Steve

[John Conklin]

Mike Peace is currently turning a set on Youtube. Each episode is a single piece and I believe that he has pawns, rooks and knights complete so far. He started by making the board in which each of the black squares is a different (small) wood burned pattern. I'm enjoying following along with his project.

[Mike Peace]

Mike Peace is currently turning a set on Youtube. Each episode is a single piece and I believe that he has pawns, rooks and knights complete so far. He started by making the board in which each of the black squares is a different (small) wood burned pattern. I'm enjoying following along with his project.


Here is the picture of my completed set.333830

This is the link to the first episode on Pawns that John mentioned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz2V5wXhoyE

[Mel Fulks]

I'm a traditionalist but I like this modern design, think a whiter wood like holly might make a little stronger show.

[Mike Peace]

I'm a traditionalist but I like this modern design, think a whiter wood like holly might make a little stronger show.

Maybe I will bleach the pieces with the next set

[John K Jordan]

Anybody doing Chess peices?

I didn't get to read the thread but I have a good book by Mike Darlow on making chess pieces.
https://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Chessmen-Darlows-Mike-Darlow/dp/1565233735

I have another book with chess pieces but I'd have to look for the name next time I go to the shop.

I haven't turned any but they don't look hard, maybe a bit of carving on the knight, rook, bishop, and royalty depending on the style. I have carved chess pieces from scratch - I'd much rather turn them!

JKJ

[Allan Ferguson]

I have done three sets. I like the challenge they present.