Wenge for a chessboard

[Jim Allen]

I'm going to build my grandson a chessboard and I'm thinking of making it out of Wenge and Maple. Haven't done much with Wenge, is there anything I should lookout for?

[Steve Jenkins]

Just be prepared for splinters. I can’t hardly walk past my stack of wenge without getting a splinter

[Mike Cutler]

Jim

Like Steve said, those splinters can be awful. They can be thick, and they can be these whispey little splinters, but they're like barbed when they go in, and they hurt coming out.
When I do work with wenge, I wear an old welders jacket and gloves. It is the only wood I've ever worn gloves, when working with it in the shop.
Those are the negatives.
The positives are that it machines well, sands nicely,doesn't clog up sanders, and it looks beautiful when you're done.
You have to seal it fairly well when you're finished.

[John Lanciani]

In addition to the splinters, mild to moderate toxicity. Not a show stopper but it’s not benign either.

[Jamie Buxton]

On wenge, the rift cut and the plainsawn face look quite different. They both look good, but they are different. If I were building a chessboard from it, I'd pick on or the other, and stick with it.

[Zac wingert]

Yes, very splintery. But sands and finished nicely. Oh, and expensive

[Jim Allen]

Thanks, sounds like I'll need to wear my gloves.

[John T Barker]

My first thought about the woods is that one is very porous and the other quite not. As a woodworking chess player this would bug the crap out of me. A separate point I try to make to anyone I encounter taking on this project, know what you are doing. The size of chess squares should have a close to specific size ratio to the pieces. Do you play? Do you plan to make the pieces and if not, do you have pieces already in mind to go with the board? A quick search online should take you to a ratio guidelines like this https://www.chessusa.com/chess-pieces-size.html.

[Zac wingert]

I don’t think you have to wear gloves. What i meant by splintery was more with along the lines of taking precautions to avoid tear out.

[Dave Cav]

I don’t think you have to wear gloves. What i meant by splintery was more with along the lines of taking precautions to avoid tear out.

You don't have to wear gloves, but it helps. Any decent sized piece of wenge you buy will probably be rough sawn and it's going to have splinters on the edges. They're just as bad as everyone says. As for tearout, I've never had a problem with it.

[Jim Allen]

No I haven't played chess in years. Thanks for that link, the pieces we picked are right at the sweet spot (77%).

[Mike Cutler]

Zac

I made the comment about the gloves, so I should clarify.
In my experience with wenge, I used gloves for all of the rough work. Jointing, planing, cutting to size, etc. Especially the jointer. The gloves I used were a very tight fitting, very tactile, glove with a slightly rubberized palm and fingers. The boards I was working with were big, heavy, and long.
I also used gloves when routering any edges. I also found it very difficult to router the edges and avoid chip out unless I climb cut the edges.
Just one person's experience.

[Jim Allen]

My first thought about the woods is that one is very porous and the other quite not.

John,

Wouldn't a good sanding sealer solve that problem?

[Pat Barry]

Curious as to the appeal of wenge for this project? If its contrast, maple and walnut is nice. I recently did maple and cherry.
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[Jim Allen]

I've made one from maple and walnut, looks great. But I have this chunk of wenge and SWMBO saw it and said that what you should use.

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[Mike Cutler]

Jim
I don't know which wood John is referring to as porous, but if it is the Wenge, I can tell you from experience that Wenge is not porous. Wenge is hard.
I made a large tack trunk out of Wenge and Brazilian Cherry, and that thing is very heavy. Empty it takes two fairly strong people to pick it up. I have also made smaller projects, and some picture frames from Wenge.
I used Seal-A-Cell, and Arm-R-Seal from General Finishes, as per their normal directions.
I think you should make the board out of Wenge also. It would be very striking.
Listen to your wife. ;)

[Bob Cooper]

Whether it looks Good or bad....listen to your wife.

[John T Barker]

John,

Wouldn't a good sanding sealer solve that problem?

I was referring to the appearance. The classic board is ebony with boxwood or maple...I think. I wanted to point out that similar grains might be preferred.

[Yonak Hawkins]

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Jim, I really like the look of that board .. very regal. I love the separation between board and trim and the slightly raised board with rounded edges.

[Jim Allen]

Thanks Yonak, it was a fun project to design and build, the board is hinged and held in place with a push latch.