Thoughts on game board materials

[ChrisA Edwards]

Speaking to my brother and sister, in England, this morning after they just received a couple cutting boards I made, they both requested a combo Chess and Backgammon board.

One side would be the checkerboard for the Chess and the reverse for the Backgammon. The whole board being about 20" square approx.

So here are my thoughts on materials and construction.

I would use a 3/4" Maple plywood as the core and also the surface for the Backgammon.

For the Backgammon side, I would route the sets of triangles, for the place markers, and inlay two different woods, most likely Walnut and Cherry 1/8" thick.

On the other side the Chess board, I would build the checker pattern out of Maple and Walnut squares, 1/4" thick, and glue these to the plywood.

I would then edge band the perimeter of the board with Walnut.

For the checker pattern, should I mix the grain pattern direction for the Maple and Walnut to allow for slight movement?

Thoughts, thank you.

[Brian Tymchak]

I'm curious as to why you would use 1/8" veneer on one side and 1/4" on the other? I've always thought that veneers should be balanced so as to not warp the panel.

Also, mixing cherry and walnut, I assume for contrast? Cherry gets darker with age and walnut gets lighter. I think you might lose contrast with time.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Brian...keep your veneer thickness consistent front and back. For long term contrast, use maple and either walnut or cherry, but not the latter two together...here's why...

IMG_E8332.jpg

[ChrisA Edwards]

Okay, I'll do 1/4" or 3/8" for the backgammon inlays as well as the blocks for the chess board.

For the Backgammon background, the 3/4" ply, I'll use Oak, or maybe do a more exotic veneer on the plywood, and then do the inlays in Maple and Walnut.

[Richard Coers]

When you glue 1/4 or 3/8 solid wood to plywood, the solid wood moves, the plywood doesn't. You'll have some cracking and gaps in the solid wood. Same thing happens when you glue a wide frame around a piece of plywood. The miter joints open and close since the solid wood expands and contracts and the plywood doesn't. There is a very sound reason most game boards use 1/32" veneer as a full sheet and then is applied to a stable manmade core.