DIY Case for Chess Pieces

Have a nice set of chess pieces and want a great case to hold them in?

Here is how to do it yourself.  It’s moderately easy to make, but I'll give more detail than is probably necessary, just to answer any questions that might come up.  Also, it might save you some trial and error.  The materials aren’t very expensive, which is one of the reasons I built my own in the first place.

Materials & Tools:
Da Vinci Aluminum Poker Chip Case – 750 chip size (Amazon.com).  Brand is important since the chip tray is flocked wood versus the cheaper plastic of others.  The case itself is about 20-1/2" x 12" x 2-3/4", and my set has a 4.5” King to give you an idea of fit.
3 craft foam sheets 9"X12" 6mm-Black, “Foamies” brand (Amazon or craft store)
1 craft foam sheet 9”x12” 3mm (or even 2mm)-Black, “Foamies” brand (Amazon or craft store)
1-1/2” copper end cap (hardware store) [edited to correct size]
Pan-head or hex-cap head bolt and matching nut, ¼ -20 recommended (hardware store)
Hot glue and gun or other suitable glue for foam (hardware or craft store)
Fine sandpaper
File, grinder, or rotary tool with emery cut off wheel
Drill and bit to match bolt diameter (1/4" if using 1/4-20 bolt)
Exact-o or similar hobby knife
Pliers

Foam Preparation:
Measure and dimple center of copper end cap with a nail or awl to help center the drill bit. Drill hole in center just large enough to fit bolt.  Tighten bolt with head inside of end cap and nut outside.  Check for proper centering of bolt by chucking assembly in drill and running in counter-clockwise direction. A slight oscillation is acceptable in a hand-held drill. Sharpen outside edge of spinning end cap with file, grinder or side of spinning cut off wheel (drill preferably clamped or unit chucked in drill press).  Use fine sand paper to finish sharpening. Use caution around spinning sharpened end cap. It should look like this:

Use sharpened end cap assembly to cut at least 50 circles out of 2 of the 6mm foam sheets. Place cardboard under the sheet, locate and steady both the foam and outside of the cutter with light pressure and start the drill. Space the holes relatively closely (5 rows of 6 holes with alternating spacing will give you extras for a few rejects).

 Use the following patterns or duplicate them for the middle section foam cut outs, making sure the dimensions match the case spacing and your Kings’ necks.

Tape the paper patterns to the 3^rd sheet of 6mm foam and slowly cut them out with the sharp edge of the blade perpendicular to the foam surface and a gentle sawing motion. This should be easier to do with pieces first separated with scissors and then cut with the Exact-o along the pattern lines while held up off of the table (careful not to cut yourself while holding this way). The sandpaper can be used to smooth the edges a bit.

Make four Queen neck supports by drawing a neck-sized semi circle in the middle of one of the foam circles and reverse semi –circles on the sides of the semi-circle (creating a kind of rolling hill across the circle).  Cut this out, check for fit on the Queen, trace onto three other foam circles and cut them out.

Finally cut two 1-1/4 x 5 inch strips of the 2mm foam which will be used to keep the Kings’ bases from sliding around.

Assembly:
First remove the two middle pieces by carefully prying with fingers or pliers.  Remove the holding staple pins by prying with pliers. Remove lifting ribbons with Exact-o knife

Remove top foam of case. Hot glue the top of the case in the middle and then around the perimeter before quickly putting the foam back in.

Pre-measure placement of foam circles and mark tray on both sides of foam pieces.  I found that the pawns just barely fit on one of my sets. If they are too tight, consider using 2mm or 3mm foam on the ends. You can see the pieces are arranged so that the bases alternate with pieces in the next row, so they don’t touch. Keep the chess pieces away from the hot glue and foam while gluing.

A hot glue bead is generally too thick and will run out the sides of the circles when they are pressed into place, so I start a very light bead in the tray between the pencil marks and then used the hot tip of the glue gun to spread it along the length a bit (this keeps it from cooling off too fast as well).  Immediately place the foam circle in place.  The ones on the ends can get a little glue on the wall too.  The Knights’ heads are supported on each side with a foam circle cut in half and glued on a slight V to another full circle before gluing in the tray. I also trimmed the back edges of the half circles on an angle with scissors to fit the curve of the tray so they wouldn’t stick up too high.

The foam strips are glued to the sides of the center tray – one against the far-end foam piece and one on the near side of the middle foam piece. A small hot glue dot is located under the center of the strip, and the very middle of the foam strip is pushed down onto it.

A nice feature of hot glue is that you can use it as soon as it cools down.  Anything else and I would wait longer than needed just to be sure no moisture or solvents would hurt the wood pieces.

Enjoy, and I hope some of you give it a try.

Sorry, I got the copper end cap size wrong. It should be 1-1/2"

I think that looks very nice. I'm surprised you haven't received more comments.

Your talent's astoundingly boundless!!

It looks nice.  I recognized it as a poker chip case, I have a similar one but mine has the plastic trays.  I think this would be cool if you have a really nice set and don't want to bang the pieces around during extensive travel.

Thanks all.  I initially thought of it as a way to take a nice set to my mom's place for the holidays, but it turned out as a fun way to store and pull out the pieces.  My boys think it's pretty cool.

It's easier than it looks to put together.  I had most of the tools, etc. and only had to buy the copper pipe cap $6, chip case $31, and then the foam at a local craft store $6.  I couldn't beat that for what I wanted.

I will be making this case in a week or so. Thanks for the great write up!!!!

Wow, that's very nice. I like it alot. 

I cant afford to spend money on pieces.. But i used tape to wraped my chronos

You wrapped your new Chronos in tape?!?

Intersting. I made a pistol case from a case I got at harbor freight and some foam. I cut it out to fit 2 pistols and several magazines.

I might re-vamp it for chess pieces.

MBxQ - you seem pretty sharp with tool design.
Do you think this same brass cap method is good for creating new green felt rounds from a large sheet?
I was looking for a hole punch but there are three sizes of pieces... any ideas of how to get a the right size rounded felt circles for regular plastic triple weight wholesalechess style pieces?

Hey @turnkit - I bought one of these and it works well. On the thicker felt you have to go slow but it does a good job and is a cheap enough tool that it is really disposable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BK7NWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1