Chess Table DIY

Wondering if anyone has any plans or advice on a DIY chess table? I would like to build a table and then stain or paint a chessboard on it. Perhaps 28"x32" (enough room for a 22" board, a small book, and a glass of bourbon). removable or foldable legs would be great, so I could easily switch indoor/outdoor.

Any idea with what basewood I should use and what stain, paint, and finish?  This would be with Ebony/Boxwood pieces.

Anyone ever done something like this before? Or do you advise against it?  Would I be better off just building a table and attaching a cheaper veneer board to it?

a nice thread on this subject.

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/what-do-you-like-in-a-chess-table?page=1

thanks kco

How I would make a board woul be to glue 2" wide/.75" thick strips of alternating, contrating colors  - walnut, maple, walnut, maple, walnut, maple, walnut, maple. Clamp, and when this dried, then cut crossgrain 2" strips from the resulting board, so you now have 8  2"strips with 8 squares on each.  Reverse (and flip to reverse the warp) each strip to form a checkerboard pattern and glue and clamp those strips.  When it dries you'll have a chessboard. Sand it smooth and frame with a band of whatever desired width. Oak is probably a poor choice for the board itself due to its open grain, but could be used as the band and legs.  There are almost limitless ways to create and attach legs (and band) dependant upon the skills of the builder and the available tools. I'd use a finish such as tung oil, linseed oil, lacquer or polyurethane. If you use an oil, apply the oil, let dry, then polish - repeat a dozen times. Lacquer needs to be sanded between coats with a fine sandpaper so the coats build up incrementally and finally hand waxed. Lacquer water spots and scratches easily. Clear polyurethane is durable but may yellow over a long time though many people do claim it remains clear. Oil is my favorite for ease of application and protection of wood- it's water repellant and gives a low lustre.

Got a photo of it Batgirl ?

All wood expands, contracts, warps, etc. but cut to small sizes and sealed, the changes in the woods should be imperceptible even after a century.

I don't think it's very advanced, but it does require good power tools (or a lot of advanced skill with hand tools). But attempting to make any kind of table will require certain tools, so I think that's a given.

I don't have a photo because I never made a chessboard/table. That's how I would do it if I were to make one.

HERE's a guy employing a similar technique using cear and poplar to make a checkerboard. Poplar is a good hardwood, but cedar is a soft wood. I'm not sure I'd use cedar, but to each his own.

Of course anyone can do whatever pleases them the most. Oak has a prominent (large and tactilely discernible) open grain more suitable to large areas. People sometimes even fill the grain before finishing oak, but either way, the grain can usually be felt and since it is broad, it doesn't look quite right (to me) in small pieces- similar to using a too-large print in a small dress.  I find tight-grained hardwoods far more asthetic for projects such as this -and if it's a lengthy project, the more exotic, and expensive, hardwoods might be worthwhile to examine.

I'm not a woodworker.  My significant other, however, works with wood professionally.  Last year, when he was building an addition on to my home, I got to use his table saw and miter saw which he has set up inside. I have done a lot of sanding and finishing though and have an abstract or theoretical interest in woods and their properties.

In the same vein as your last suggestion, one might reuse a table, or make a top from plywood, by appying a paper board (possibly printed and sealed, or one made out of individual squares or either paper or veneer or even fabric) and build it up à la découpage using a hard medium such as Mod Podge Hardcoat of Liqitex Acrylic.  There are probably many ways to make a chess table, limited only by one's imagination.

http://www.thebestchesstables.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=36

I would love to have this table and may get it in the future . Do any of you woodworkers think you could build a table as nice for the same price ? I have seen other tables that arent nearly as nice selling for over a thousand dollars .  Would most woodworkers be able to make such a table or would it take a master craftsman of some sort ?  

I guess I don't really understand the attraction of DGT boards for home play/study.  I mean I understand why they use them in supertournaments and everything, but I play hybrid (on computer, relaying with physical board) all of the time, and entering the move on the laptop is no more difficult than writing on a scoresheet in a tournament game.  And when the villian moves, I'm moving the pieces anyway -- whether his display is DGT clock or monitor.  So I'm really not sure what DGT offers.  If they had a DGT that physically moved the opposing pieces for you, I'd probably buy it in a microsecond, though.

Sorry for starting this post then abandoning it.  I had the idea of something much lower end than what batgirl posted, more like a stained/painted on board like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE1TqU8Wi18&list=UUB0t0wKZfIcdViT7jIp9EyQ&index=16 .  I am far from an expert woodworker.

That table looks amazing for the price, Reb.  I really would like something that can be moved both indoors and out (for the 3 days of autumn we had here in Memphis lol), but I may end up with a nice indoor table like that and just use a card table + vinyl board for outdoor study.

Material-wise, a woodworker could produce this table cheaper. Labor-wise, it's nearly impossible to compete with a factory.  Queen Anne style requires more skill than say Shaker style, so it would also require a very talented woodworker (a factory has computer lathes to quickly produce those legs, but for a woodworker, it would be a very time-intensive, skill-oriented job).  Some of the advantages a woodworker has over a factory is the ability to customise and to use a better or more exotic woods (since factories are more concerned with keeping costs in line).  So someone skillful enough could probably build a similar, or better, table for himself cheaper than the listed price, but hiring someone to build it for you would likely cost a great deal more.

Thanks y'all .  I figure it would cost me more to have the table I want custom made than buying it from that factory/url .