# Chess Table



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

A while back a good friend of mine asked if I would make him a chess table. Long story short, we agreed on what he wanted and just how much "artistic license" I could use. *LOL*..

well, here is the end result..
Primary wood is walnut, table top is walnut burl, Chess board is Paduak and Maple...
The pin stripping is American Holly. I finished the top with a hand rubbed lacquer proces. Extremely difficult to get right, but oh my, well worth the effort. In this case, it took FIVE efforts to get it right...but in the end, it came out just gorgeous..Did a flock job on the drawers. This stuff was/is the real deal and after having used it several times now, I'm sold on doing it this way..much preferred over the peel and stick options out there. Hope yunz enjoy the pics..

apologies for the quality and lack of quanity of pics..

bill

comments, critiques welcome


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Check Mate Bill!

Very nice From top to bottom, your friend is lucky. Love the Walnut Burl and all of the techniques you used. I just noticed that you used different wood for each set of drawer dividers, nice touch. Personal preference for me would have been the burgandy colored (Cardinal?) Flock but still a very nice quality project.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank ya Jim,,, appreciate the comments 

btw.. I'm with ya on using a burgundy or wine color for the other drawer. To be honest, I just didn't want to be bothered ordering the glue and flock. This was one of those projects that although I was very pleased with the end result, I was just happy to get it out of the shop...

John (the new owner) was absolutely thrilled with it. In fact, he gave me an extra 100 bucks above what we had agreed upon. His mom (99 years old next month, God bless her), was tickled pink and her caregiver was taken aback as well. In fact, the guy I followed down to John's house to deliver the table, took one look and ordered one himself...


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

That is beautiful, Bill.

So many different components. Did you order plans or work it up yourself?


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## Ben I (May 21, 2010)

That is one beautiful piece of work. Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

Ben


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## Router Roman (Jun 7, 2012)

Nice job! Are you a chess player?
Roman
S.E. Michigan Battleground State


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

Very impressive job!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you James...

All pretty much done between the ears. this one was a great exercise in Angles..all told the cut list went over 200 pieces




jw2170 said:


> That is beautiful, Bill.
> 
> So many different components. Did you order plans or work it up yourself?


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Ben.... 

wish I had done a proper job on the photos...but ya'll get the idea 




Ben in Cypress Texas said:


> That is one beautiful piece of work. Thanks for sharing the photos with us.
> 
> Ben


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks RR...

Yes I am a chess player, but far from even being considered good at it..




Router Roman said:


> Nice job! Are you a chess player?
> Roman
> S.E. Michigan Battleground State


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Art.. 




mgmine said:


> Very impressive job!


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

It's a beautiful table, thanks for showing.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Bill, in all my time on the forums this table is one of the nicest projects I have seen. How many hours went into this project? Any thing you would of done differently? The only thing missing is a set of triple weighted tournament pieces. Well done Bubba!


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Now that is definitely slick.


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## Camero68 (Jun 27, 2012)

That is a slamming project! I dig how the pieces can be neatly tucked in the drawers! Excellent build!


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## Larkan (Apr 13, 2012)

Bill that is very impressive if not very daunting and at the same time inspirational. Congratulations.


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## russ franken (Nov 29, 2009)

After seeing your boxes I figured this would good. But it is most excellent. Very beautiful.

Russ


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Andy, i appreciate the kind words..




AndyL said:


> It's a beautiful table, thanks for showing.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Theo...




JOAT said:


> Now that is definitely slick.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Camero: slamming is a new one to me *S*. Thank you for the compliment..The new owner got a kick out of the drawers as well...



Camero68 said:


> That is a slamming project! I dig how the pieces can be neatly tucked in the drawers! Excellent build!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks Kerry... not so very much daunting as time consuming. I always find it surprising how basic woodworking skills come into play on projects such as this one...
Master the basics and rest is all downhill...




Larkan said:


> Bill that is very impressive if not very daunting and at the same time inspirational. Congratulations.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Kind words indeed Russ,, thank you very much 



russfranken said:


> After seeing your boxes I figured this would good. But it is most excellent. Very beautiful.
> 
> Russ


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Mike!!! high praise indeed coming from you.  Especially considering the many, many beautiful projects that fill this forum. 

Hours? wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to many *L*. If I had to guess I'd say well over 100. And alot of that was spent redoing to get it just right or just plain old fixing screwups. Like drilling a hole right through one side of the burl. I know I had as much time in the finish as in the construction to be sure. Alot of that due to doing a hand rubbed lacquer finish was new to me and the learning curve it took to get it where I wanted it. 

Differently...hmmmmmmm says I.. Perhaps I'd have made the top just a bit thinner. Maybe by a 1/2" or so. Overall the table stands at 27 1/2" to the top. (customer request I guess I could say) and the thickness is just over 3 1/2"s. I do think I get away with it because of the width of the base (columns). The columns are mortised into the base and top. There I think I would have much rather just doweled a tennon in each end and then drilled holes. Of the 8 colums or 16 mortise/tenon combinations about 3 stand out if you look hard. 1 on the bottom, 2 in the top. Rounded tenons would have given a much cleaner look I think. Not to mention the time it took to chisel out 16 mortises. However, anything less than a critical eye will most likely not even notice. Finally.. the finish.. I would have DEFINITELY taken the time to do a few practice runs using the "new to me" techniques. Actually worked with 2 different techniques. One was just using good ole sandpaper and wet sanding up to 12000 grit and the other was using an orbital polisher and premium grade automotive finishes. Primarily products were Micro Mesh sand papers and Griots Garage polishing compounds. Along with a 6" and a 3" pneumatic sanders. 

Can't say I know what "triple weighted tournament" pieces are  sound cool though. 
I can tell you that John set up his new pieces on the table and everyone in the room just smiled...

As with most of these kinda projects, it just cost of materials and ya get it when ya get it. When it was all said and done with, the smiles made everything absolutely worth while 

life is good!

bill






Mike said:


> Bill, in all my time on the forums this table is one of the nicest projects I have seen. How many hours went into this project? Any thing you would of done differently? The only thing missing is a set of triple weighted tournament pieces. Well done Bubba!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Mike.. 

One thing I would have for certain done differently would have been to use traditional wood slides for the drawers instead of metal. Honestly not sure what I was thinking. It took a while to find 8" glides to begin with. No weight to speak of on the drawers, wood would have worked just as well and I think fit the theme of the project much better...

b .


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

TwoSkies57 said:


> Thank you Mike!!! high praise indeed coming from you.  Especially considering the many, many beautiful projects that fill this forum.
> 
> Hours? wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to many *L*. If I had to guess I'd say well over 100. ........ Actually worked with 2 different techniques. One was just using good ole sandpaper and wet sanding up to 12000 grit and the other was using an orbital sander and premium grade automotive finishes.
> 
> ...


Now I know it tould take me over 600 hours before I quit! :laugh: Curious on the sanding, how big of a difference between a low grit 220 and the grit you used and was it worth the time and effort?


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Marco... now thats a good question!!! First, MicroMesh grades its abrasives a bit differently than the ANSI or CAMI. What they call 1500 is close to what most of us would consider a 400 grit. Their 3200 is relative to a 1200 grit and so on up their range. In the 1500 range I would say that there is definitely a difference. (I did all of the sanding WET)
The scratch patterns and reflective quality of the surface, such as it is at 1500/400 grit were/was better. I have to say, this is just an opinion and little more. 3200/3600/4000 grits left behind progressively better surfaces but and this is a big BUT, you really had to work at it. Not so much being aggressive or grinding down on the work surface, just slooooowww and steady. Kernneling wasn't much of a concern in these grits which was nice but I still had to wipe the surface down routinely and proceed from there. Anything over the 4000 was more polishing than surface/material removal. The resulting finish was just beautiful, almost mirror quality. In a couple of the pictures you can see the reflection of my kitchen light in the table top. That does not even come close to what it looked like in real time. The light is a Tiffany style lamp and the details in the reflection where just awesome... 
One of the things that really gave me fits was that the surface has to be dead flat at those types of reflection ranges. The slightest ripple/wave/imperfection sticks out like a sore thumb if the surface isn't dead nuts flat. Jumping grits or skipping a grit range or two doesn't cut it either. You have to really work at removing the old scratches and pretty much replacing them with newer, finer ones. Basically your swapping one gritty scratch for a new finer one until you get into the polishing grits. (which is how I came to start referring to them, 4000 and up abrasives. Not something that MicroMesh uses)
Hmmmmmmmm so was it worth the time/effort and expense. A assortment for woodworking ran about 44 bucks if I recall correctly. Once you get used to what to look for, how to progress through the grits, the process moves along pretty smoothly, doesn't take forever, yet, does take time!! SO to answer your question, I'd have to say on high end type of projects, Yes, it was worth it. 
the other process I used was polishing compounds and they produced even better results than the abrasives. The cost of compounds was reasonable. 50 bucks or so for machine compounds 1 thru 4. The real expensive comes with needing to have an orbital polisher. I'd also say that you will still need to flatten out the surface with up to a 1500/400 grit using a stiff pad or the equivalent. 
I finished off the top with a polishing glaze followed up with 2 coats of a best of show carnuba wax...

HTH
bill


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

A work of art! I admire your patience on this project. Your reward was the "tip" the customer gave you plus the satisfaction of knowing the job was done using your WW skills. Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you for the kind words John.  the rewards on this project were many! 



Knothead47 said:


> A work of art! I admire your patience on this project. Your reward was the "tip" the customer gave you plus the satisfaction of knowing the job was done using your WW skills. Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures!


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## hilldh (Mar 7, 2009)

You may not be good at chess....ha, ha, but you are sure good at your craft. Beautiful work and well thought out design!!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Doug.... indeed, chess is not one of my strong suites.. but I do love to play!!



hilldh said:


> You may not be good at chess....ha, ha, but you are sure good at your craft. Beautiful work and well thought out design!!


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

Nice job, this is on my list as well to get done but time has not been easy to find. Definetly something I want to make.

Thanks for sharing you have inspired me once again.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Dan.... very good to see you back and posting regularly!!! I've been watching your workhorse thread. Thank you for the kind words. I know what you mean by time limiting inspiration. I got a phone call this morning, from the guy for whom I made this table, his cousin seen the table and wants to know if I'd make a poker table for him.. *L*..man, the wheel instantly began turning. ALMOST as fast as the hands on the clock... 




TRN_Diesel said:


> Nice job, this is on my list as well to get done but time has not been easy to find. Definetly something I want to make.
> 
> Thanks for sharing you have inspired me once again.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

That chess table is outstanding! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Router Roman, do a search on Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, etc. and you should find some examples of fly tying tables, from simple table top to very fancy floor models. Also, go to any store that had fly fishing magazines and look at the back of the magazine. You will see ads for these items.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you John... Appreciate the kind comment. Glad you enjoy it. 

I relocated Roman's question to the plans/how to section. He should have better luck getting a response there instead of leaving his query buried in here.. 



Knothead47 said:


> That chess table is outstanding! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
> Router Roman, do a search on Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, etc. and you should find some examples of fly tying tables, from simple table top to very fancy floor models. Also, go to any store that had fly fishing magazines and look at the back of the magazine. You will see ads for these items.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Lovely piece, Bill. Makes it somewhat tougher to 'accidentally' upset the board when one is losing...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Dan... *LOL*...yes, this one would be a bear to just upset it..by accident of course! 



DaninVan said:


> Lovely piece, Bill. Makes it somewhat tougher to 'accidentally' upset the board when one is losing...


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