Wenge for a chessboard

[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]

Attachment 413228

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.