How do the men stay upright?

Interesting but I’m not seeing it. I wouldn’t want to play a game of chess on that.

 

There are neodymium magnets in the chess pieces and about 3/16” below the surface of the board. Surprisingly easy to play.

 

Considering it is a game requiring concentration the board seems like a distraction, to each their own I guess.

 

I think it’s very cool and it’s a fantastic piece of wood.
It seems like the guys on the uphill side may have an advantage starting on higher ground

Epoxy is a pain to polish. If you wanted to have another go at it, you could tape it off and try Novus Plastic Polish. It’s a 3 step kit and it works pretty well.

 

I love this project. I love most projects that take a novel approach to something so standard. I love it even more because it showcases a beautiful piece of wood that would otherwise just get ignored and walked over. Ignore the haters.

You might also be mindful of the fact that every woodworker knows every imperfection on their own projects, when everyone else doesn't. Even the spots that are visible pale in comparison to the overall beauty and uniqueness of playing the same old game in a new dimension.

I would love to play a game of chess with you on that board. Well done.

 

I think it’s very cool and it’s a fantastic piece of wood.
It seems like the guys on the uphill side may have an advantage starting on higher ground

Epoxy is a pain to polish. If you wanted to have another go at it, you could tape it off and try Novus Plastic Polish. It’s a 3 step kit and it works pretty well.

Thanks! I definitely agree about the wood. This is the second time I’ve worked with the part outer part of the tree as the surface wood. I’m not sure if it’s the cambium or just beneath the cambium, but it’s a really good look for both pieces I’ve worked with.

Regarding the epoxy polish, I’ve had it in the back of my mind to attempt to re-sand and finish at some point, but wasn’t sure what I would do differently. I’ll be sure to give this a shot when I do!

I love this project. I love most projects that take a novel approach to something so standard. I love it even more because it showcases a beautiful piece of wood that would otherwise just get ignored and walked over. Ignore the haters.

You might also be mindful of the fact that every woodworker knows every imperfection on their own projects, when everyone else doesn't. Even the spots that are visible pale in comparison to the overall beauty and uniqueness of playing the same old game in a new dimension.

I would love to play a game of chess with you on that board. Well done.

Thank you! I also like the novel ideas, or at least different in some way. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at making rings and bottle openers, but don’t share that much with people because the wood is what makes them pretty rather than some I’ve done to make them different that hasn’t been done over and over.

Being mindful of the fact that woodworkers are always aware of their own flaws and most people wouldn’t see them if not pointed out helps with my other projects and minor issues, but these issues are too glaring for me to brush aside with that thought haha.

As for the haters, they kinda surprise me because this style of board genuinely doesn’t affect any aspect of gameplay in my opinion. So those comments surprise me, but they don’t bother me. I love the concept and nothing is going to change that, the only thing that hurts is the poor execution on my part.

 

Either the photos aren't great, or the defects you see aren't obvious to me. Like DrRobert, I'm not sure I'd be up for a game on it, but that's because I was never that great at chess and am now long out of practice.

 

I think epoxy needs to be wet sanded. Otherwise, it seems to get rogue scratches. I think we forget that it’s really plastic and softer than we think. You also need to be sure it’s supper fully cured before you sand. The Novus stuff is most like a polishing compound for plastic. It’s relatively cheap considering the niche it fills.

BTW, how did you prevent the black epoxy from bleeding in to the surrounding wood?

I made a Peppermill where I had planned to inlay ebony into maple, but I couldn’t get a perfect fit so I used epoxy like you did. It bled into the surrounding wood like nuts. How did you prevent this.

 

Either the photos aren't great, or the defects you see aren't obvious to me. Like DrRobert, I'm not sure I'd be up for a game on it, but that's because I was never that great at chess and am now long out of practice.

I think they're most obvious in the videos I took, but here's a zoomed in edited version of one of the pictures that should make it super obvious. I was thinking struggling to play on a board like this would make the most sense for someone who's great at chess because they have a sort of muscle memory of the board, while people like you and me actually look at the board to place our pieces.

I think epoxy needs to be wet sanded. Otherwise, it seems to get rogue scratches. I think we forget that it’s really plastic and softer than we think. You also need to be sure it’s supper fully cured before you sand. The Novus stuff is most like a polishing compound for plastic. It’s relatively cheap considering the niche it fills.

BTW, how did you prevent the black epoxy from bleeding in to the surrounding wood?

I made a Peppermill where I had planned to inlay ebony into maple, but I couldn’t get a perfect fit so I used epoxy like you did. It bled into the surrounding wood like nuts. How did you prevent this.

Wet sanding would be less fun than polishing, but it'll be worth a shot when I start trying to improve it.

I think I actually just got lucky with the epoxy not bleeding. What I would do if I were trying to prevent that though (and have done since this project) would be to hit the wood I don't want to be colored with some shellac before pouring the epoxy. Also what you might try is an Epoxy Paste. I don't have much experience with it yet, so I don't know how easy it is to color the way you want, but it's what I definitely should've used for this project because I wouldn't have had to build up caulking dams and deal with leaks.

 

How did you cut out those perfectly square recesses for the epoxy infill?

What’s the finish?

 

I basically just chiseled them out. The way I made the gridlines on the surface though, was to create a frame that sat above the chessboard that had all the points marked out on it. I then laid a level on edge (lining it up with each set of points) and held my pencil against the level (so perpendicular to the surface at this point) and scribed the line on the surface. Basically transferring an actual square grid in a single plane above the board to the board itself.

For the finish, I just went with Tried and True Original Wood Finish which is just BLO, but it's BLO that is actually boiled rather than Linseed Oil with chemical dryers being added in. I haven't used it much, but I like it so far.

 

I’ve used tried and true polymerized tung oil with great results.

I think the oil finish might be part of the issue with what you’re seeing. I’ve found that because the epoxy doesn’t absorb the oil at all, it can produce “unpredictable results” I’ve had better luck with surface finishes like varnish, lacquer or shellac.

 

I’ve used tried and true polymerized tung oil with great results.

I think the oil finish might be part of the issue with what you’re seeing. I’ve found that because the epoxy doesn’t absorb the oil at all, it can produce “unpredictable results” I’ve had better luck with surface finishes like varnish, lacquer or shellac.

Unfortunately, I was able to see the issues prior to applying the finish. A film finish might help to hide the scratches, but in my experience it needs to be pretty thick.

 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still wicked cool!!