Chess - King Finial help

[Steve Thomas]

Hi all,
It's been a while since I posted but I've been snagged. My problem is, not understanding the order in which I should turn the finial for my King.
Here's some pics.

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Such trouble, I've had two attempts, and whilst the second was much better, only in the fact that it didn't fall apart.

Such trouble in fact, I changed shape just to get it done. I want to try and match the stimulus picture that i started with (below).

New shape (cool but not happy)
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Original idea that i'm trying to stay true to.
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I've only the knights and the finial for the kings to go.

Here are some picture of the other pieces:

Pawns (some wobbly ones in there)
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Rook (very happy with these)
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more pictures to come.

[Steve Thomas]

Bishops (pretty happy)
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Queen (white ones are better)
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Also shot plenty of other pictures too, even filmed a pawn and took time-lapse shots. (see below)

Anyway, how would you go about turning the Finial for the King in the set pictured? Any ideas will be more than i got.

Bishop Time-lapse. (5 minutes)

https://youtu.be/EK-XFhZsgIU

Thanks in advance for any help on the finial...

[John Grace]

I know, not what you're looking for but thought you'd enjoy the video of someone else making chess pieces. You probably don't do it quite the same as this guy though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnv0DAR_gWA

[Dwight Rutherford]

Think turning the profile in the round, then take to bandsaw and cut the flats.

[Aaron Craven]

Think turning the profile in the round, then take to bandsaw and cut the flats.

I was thinking the same... or perhaps even sand the flats into place. That won't create the hole in the middle, and I think you'd have difficulty creating the deep cove on the sides, but those could all be done after creating the flats with a drill press, perhaps...

[Steve Thomas]

I see a band saw in my future.
Thanks I'll give it a try.

[Eric Gourieux]

My first thought, Steve, would to do as Dwight recommended. Another option would be to sand or bandsaw the flat sides and carve the details with a small Dremel tool.

[Eric Gourieux]

BTW, your chess pieces look great so far

[David Walser]

A scroll saw would be the perfect tool for the finial. Drill a small hole in a square blank the same size as the hole in the top of your chess piece. Cut the finial shape out of the square blank, then sand and finish the finial. Finally, use an appropriately sized dowel to join the finial to the chess piece.

[John K Jordan]

Don't forget the tiny bead on the top.

The problem I see with turning this in one piece is the extreme undercut above the lower bead. Very difficult to turn cleanly.

Me, with just a few of these to make - I'd make it in three pieces and join with tiny tenons. The flat top piece could be carved after the center hole is drilled in a protective sandwich. It might look better if the flat surfaces were made slightly convex (after creating the profile) and polished to catch the light.

Unless the goal is to counterfeit, seems to me there is a lot of room for artistic license.

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JKJ

[Marty Tippin]

Am I the only one who noticed the bare feet in the time-lapse video?? :eek:

You'll regret doing that the first time a chisel drops pointy-end down. I've got a scar on my toe and a 3/4" long cut in a pair of sneakers; I suspect the toe would be a lot shorter but for the sneakers...

[Aaron Craven]

Am I the only one who noticed the bare feet in the time-lapse video?? :eek:

You'll regret doing that the first time a chisel drops pointy-end down. I've got a scar on my toe and a 3/4" long cut in a pair of sneakers; I suspect the toe would be a lot shorter but for the sneakers...

I noticed too, but I'm a bit embarrassed to say the safety issues just flew right past me...

[Steve Thomas]

Guilty on the safety. Although, i did catch my chuck on my foot the other day, on purpose though, I have a habit of sticking my foot out like a reflex to soften the blow on the concrete. :-(

[Aaron Craven]

Guilty on the safety. Although, i did catch my chuck on my foot the other day, on purpose though, I have a habit of sticking my foot out like a reflex to soften the blow on the concrete. :-(

Those chucks are expensive! :D

[David Walser]

Those chucks are expensive! :D

I thought he was trying to protect the concrete, not the chuck!

[Thom Sturgill]

The one set (so far) that I turned, I used a simple cross on the top and filed it flat after a trip to the bandsaw. It was turned in a single piece with the body.

I also sawed the knights after turning the profile. Cut an arc on each side so that it was narrower in the middle and flared a bit at the top.

Mine were not as good looking, but they were for a six year old.

[Steve Thomas]

hahahaha! :D

[Steve Thomas]

Regarding the Kings Finial.
I've not given up reproducing the original, yet. But in the mean time I've knocked up these two options.
A soldiers helmet spike and a basic cross.
Shown next the a queen for perspective.

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[Steve Thomas]

The one set (so far) that I turned, I used a simple cross on the top and filed it flat after a trip to the bandsaw. It was turned in a single piece with the body.

I also sawed the knights after turning the profile. Cut an arc on each side so that it was narrower in the middle and flared a bit at the top.

Mine were not as good looking, but they were for a six year old.

Thanks Thom, Please accept my apology, I didn't see your post between the concrete joke post and your more serious post, I hope my "hahahaha" didn't cause any offence!
You'll see I've gone for a cross too. much more achievable at this stage.

Steve

[Thom Sturgill]

No offence, I realized what happened! Been on forums too long not to.

[Aaron Craven]

I really like the traditional cross finial you made. I personally like this design better than the other one anyway (just my opinion).

[David DeCristoforo]

The traditional finial on a Staunton pattern king is a cross, Sometimes simple, sometimes very stylized. Personally, in keeping with the spirit of the Staunton pattern, I prefer a simpler cross. The original 1849 Cook pattern king:
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Your pieces look really nice so far. The definitive "make it or break it" piece in any Staunton pattern set is the knight. The knights in the set you are trying to emulate are excellent although a bit too fancy for my taste. As a totally inept carver, I can appreciate the skill it takes to carve a knight. Looking forward to seeing how you deal with the knights in your set.


There is another finesse I would like to share with you. Most quality pieces are weighted. This is usually accomplished by the inclusion of a metal weight in the base of each piece. The presence of the metal can sometimes cause cracking of the base due to the movement of the wood. Some time ago, I was working with a guy who reproduced the original Cook pattern pieces. I made boards for him and spent a lot of time talking to him about the pieces as he was a rocket scientist, not a woodworker. He was looking for a way to weight the pieces without having to worry about the bases cracking. After much trial and error, what we came up with was shot suspended in silicone. Very simple… just mix the correct amount of shot with silicone and fill the cavity in the base. The silicone provides a cushion so that if the wood shrinks a bit, the weight will have some "give".

[Marty Schlosser]

Last year I made my daughter and her family a game table so I guess the nest logical project is turning a chess set. I'm quite inspired with what you've done here, Steve. Where did you get the plans, or did you simply do 'er by eye from that photo?

Incidentally, here's what the game table looks like:

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[Steve Thomas]

That's a good looking table... next i my list. :-) Thanks Marty, I'll post my plans over the weekend if you like. I'll have to scan them as i work from a photo and used the printer/scanner to blow them up to the size i wanted. than took direct measurement from the (enlarged) photo.

I like the shot and silicone idea, I've bored a 13mm hole in the base and had planned on adding a length of 12mm steel bar in the base. but i think that the shot might me much more accurate and forgiving.

Thanks

[Steve Thomas]

Here are the templates that i use that I mentioned that I would share over the weekend.
I've settled on the frugal cross for the kings and have turned a black one.

Also started the knight!

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