Sourcing Partially Finished Chess Pieces?

[Matt Schrum]

Hi,
My father is lathe-less (I hear it happens to the best of us), but excellent at wood carving. He's looking to carve a custom chess set, but was hoping to find some place that sells partially finished pieces. That is, chess blanks with the bottoms already turned on the lathe, but the tops untouched so he could carve them on his own. Does anyone know if these exist or where to source them?

I'm hoping to avoid getting roped into the project if I can, turning small items (and consistently from piece to piece) is not my strong suit.... and I doubt he'd want some 6" or 8" diameter pieces if I sized them up to a scale closer to what I am comfortable with! :)

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I know this isn’t an answer to your query, but...what a great opportunity to develop good basic spindle skills. Seriously. I’ve found that neccessity is often the mother of better skills. I’m sure your father would have a little patience - you can’t carve them all that quickly.

[Dale Winburn]

I've made several chess sets, see http://www.winburn.com/ViewItem.asp?SeqNbr=160.

Wasn't an ad, just offering to help.

[carl mesaros]

I know this isn’t an answer to your query, but...what a great opportunity to develop good basic spindle skills. Seriously. I’ve found that neccessity is often the mother of better skills. I’m sure your father would have a little patience - you can’t carve them all that quickly.

I think this would be a great opportunity for a father son project that will be remembered for generations. I have turned two sets and agree it requires a lot of patience and the key of course is repeatability. I purchased a book by Mike Darrow on turning chess sets. It gave me lots of ideas along with patterns and measurements.
It is also surprising how good you can get after your 10th or 11th pawn!
Also only turning the bottom half of the pieces will lessen the workload. Good luck and be sure to post pictures if you decide to partner with your Dad.