Just Finished Turning Chess Pieces

I made this game table from Mahogany long ago, and for years I've wanted to turn my own chess pieces.  I finally bought a duplicator for my lathe that made the process fairly easy.  You don't really appreciate how many pieces are in a chess set until you have to sand and finish thirty two of them!

Anyone else turn their own pieces out there?

nice work. can we get some closeups.  and no, i don't make my own pieces, but i can imagine that the sanding in finishing took quite some time. 

so how did you use the duplicator?  did you make one freehand and the duplicate the rest so they all match?

Awesome, can we get a little more detailed describtion of how to do it, and what tools are needed. Would love to make my own pieces :)

Yes indeed a fine piece of handiwork  how tall is the King ? Have they got felt underlay ?

Nice looking set.

Is it my eyesight or does White's King-side Rook look a little short?

Thanks for the responses.

I'll post some more photos tonight or tomorrow.

The duplicator is an after-market item that attaches to a lathe.  You can copy an existing piece as a template, but Penn State Industries sells a set of Chessmen Templates made out of metal that worked great.  The device works a lot like the key duplicators that hardware stores use:  a follower pin rides along the template (or original) and the cutter, attached to the follower, makes the same cuts into the workpiece.  You can, of course, design your own templates.

Templates: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/CHESSTMP.html

Duplicator: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/CML-DUPU.html

Penn State also sells maple & walnut turning blanks, and kits for making a board.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in making their own chessmen, with or without a duplicator:

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Chessmen-Darlows-Mike-Darlow/dp/1565233735/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309465818&sr=1-2

This book is a great read even if you don't end up making your own pieces.  It gives a thorough history of the development and design of chess pieces, from Chatrang up through the Staunton design and to modern/abstract designs.

There are holes in the bottom of each of my pieces, where they attached to a screw chuck on the lathe.  After finishing I epoxied lead weights in the holes, then used press-apply felt.

I'll get back to you on the measurements.

Here's a closeup photo, sorry, I can't get it to rotate.

The rooks are all indeed the same height, my first picture might be a little distorted.  The King is 4.25" high.  You can vary the height by removing the base and even the first bead from the bottom.  You can vary the diameter by adjusting the following pin in or out.

This is what the templates look like:

They're double-ended so you can turn two pieces at once.

Obviously the knight is the most difficult to make.  I used a scroll saw (band saw works too).  I'm not much of a carver but I just used a V-groove chisel to detail the mane and a drill for the eyes.

If anyone needs more advice with this just drop me a line at dnadel@dh.org

Nostri,

This is a nice looking set.  I haven't made a set myself, but I know one person that has made 10 complete sets-one for each of his children.  I can't imaging the hours required for that.  Congratulations and well done.

very nice.  thanks for the closer pics.  i really like the knight. 

Wow!  Those are really great...nicely done!

I'll have to take up wood turning .

Hello, I am absolutely brand new to this site. I've been involved with Lumberjocks.com for quite some time though and I am in the process of turning my own chess set and board. It has been a lot of fun and it brought my searches to this thread so I thought I'd share what I've been doing. I created a blog to go along with my build. If anyones interested in following I also have the videos on youtube at my channel with updated when ever I get them going. Thanks and I didn't mean to hijack the thread although it is 3 years old just thought people might be interested. I am turning the entire set by hand without templates. 

Thanks, Luke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY_DCk-qAg8

http://lumberjocks.com/skywalker01/blog/series/6998