You Can Build Chess and Checker Game Board with Player Pieces with this Free Plan
One of the 4H children wanted to build himself a Chess Game as his 4H project. Rod needed a pattern to help him get started on his project. This pattern is the result of the first attempt. It has brought lots of comments and game players of all ages.
Materials
2" x 24" Poplar and Aromatic Red Cedar (or wood of your choice)
Four 2" x 20" x 1" wood of choice for sides of top
3" x 20" x 3/4" Wood for storage drawer (wood of choice)
One 16" square piece of red oak plywood (1/4")
One 1 1/2" x 1/2" x 14 1/2" black ash for long partition
One 1 1/2" x 1/2" x 7" black ash for short partition
Four 3/4" x 1/2" black ash strips for underside of chess board
1 1/2" square black ash for player pieces
1 1/2" square walnut for player pieces
Stain as desired for one half game pieces
Satin Finish Polyurethane (Poly)
1 1/4" Kreg Screws: 1/8 lb.
1" Wood Screws: 1/8 lb.
Color Adhesive
1/2' Magnets
Color Flocking
Wood Filler
Wood Glue
Sandpaper (Grit: 180 and 320 grit)
Tools Required
Table Saw
Orbital (Palm) Sander
Band Saw
Belt Sander
Screw Gun
Kreg Pocket Hole System
Pipe Clamps
Jig Saw
Sliding Ruler
Paint Brush
Mineral Spirits for clean up
Step One: Cut The Pieces for the Player Board - Select the 2" x 24" Boards
Alternate your choice of wood boards (poplar and cedar shown above) using 2" strips glue together
Clamp chess boards square and tight using pipe clamps
Using the table saw cross cut the 2" strips of wood that have dried overnight
Using table saw cross cut 2" strips of the wood that was glued previously (close up shown above)
Sand the 2" strips on a belt sander as shown above, taking care to make all edges the same size
After cross cutting and sanding the 2" strips offset each row to make chess board design
Using the power belt sander sand at edges of board top.
Make sure that edges are square, and setup to glue strips together.
Check all pieces before gluing, verifing that strips are in correct arrangement
Step Two: Assemble the Chess Board - Select the Arranged Boards
Spread the glue across the strips
Chess board is now ready to clamp square and tight using pipe clamps
Remove the clamps after glue has dryed
Sanding glued chess board top using orbital sander with 180 grit sand paper
Step Three: Cut out and add sides for chess board top - Select wood of choice
Shown above we used cherry wood for sides of chess board
Cut your wood of choice using 1 5/8" x 20" x 1" wood piece; you need 4 pieces
Use a Sliding Compound Miter Saw, carefully cut each piece to fit sides of chess board top
Each end has a 45 degree angle as shown above
Attach sides by gluing and clamping as shown above
After glue has dried, use the Kreg Pocket Hole System to drill hole and then screw same
Chess board top shown with sides attached
Step Four: Finishing the Chess Board Top - Select the Finishing Materials
Using woodfiller, fill all holes and defects
Finish sanding all surfaces, insuring everything is smooth
Seal with polyurethane, using several coats for long life
Step Five: Making the Storage Drawer for Under the Chess Board - Select Wood of Choice
Using the above pieces for storage box, cut them to size of 16" x 2" x 3/4"
With the table saw add a dado groove to fit the 1/4" plywood for bottom
Cut box joints for the sides of storage box, using box joint machine
Sand the sides and glue box joints together
Storage box shown glued and clamped
Using a 16" square piece of 1/4" oak plywood make the bottom of storage box
Glue into the dado groove
Step Six: Add Partitions and Interior Flocking to Storage Drawer
Add partition - 1 1/2" x 1/2" x 14 1/2" into storage drawer as shown
Add partition - 1 1/2" x 1/2" x 7" as shown below (see photo with blue colored adhesive)
Add 1/2" magnets as shown using screw to hold box to board
Black ash strips 3/4" x 12" for underside of chess board with countersunk screw holes
Mounting black ash strips underside of chess board shown with storage drawer to fit
Black ash strips mounted with screws shown on underside of board
Underside of chess board top showing magnets placed so storage drawer fits under chess board
Magnet shown on the upper side of the storage drawer
Storage box showing partitions and applying blue color adhesive, preparing for flocking
Apply blue colored flock to inside of storage box
Make sure all edges are sanded and smooth then apply poly to wood surfaces
Storage box and chess board complete
Step Seven: Cutting Out the Checkers - Select Wood
Take 1 1/2" Square Walnut and Black Ash wood to make the Checkers
Cut with band saw eight - 45% angles making hexagon shape for checkers
Using the band saw cut each checker out at 3/8"
Black Ash and Black Walnut checkers with extras cut out
Step Eight: Cutting Out the Chess Player Pieces - Select the Wood
Select your wood, using 1 1/2" sq. Black Ash and 1 1/2" sq. Black Walnut for Chess Player pieces
Copy the pattern shown on graph paper to scale of 1/4"
All chess pieces are designed to be sanded fairly easily on power sander
Begin with making the pawn
After making pattern, trace unto 1 1/2" square wood as shown, measure to make sure your length is accurate
Pawn is ready to cut out on the band saw
Start cutting the bottom groove in pawn piece with band saw on all four sides
Pawn shown after bottom grove has been cut around all sides
Begin cutting the body of the pawn as shown above
First body cut done on pawn
First cut taped on body so 2nd cut can be done
First cut of body needs to be taped with masking tape so that the next body cut is supported squarely for an accurate cut
This is the image of the 2nd cut on the pawn body
It is fun to see the piece after you pull it out from its shell
All player pieces are cutout the same way using this same process
The pawn is now ready to be sanded using the oscillating spindle sander or by hand
Below you see the bishop being sanded. All pieces are sanded in like manner
Shown here is the king ready to be sanded. Note the tape in upper right corner of image
King and queen shown here
Complete set of one side of the player pieces. Remember to make one set dark and one set light.
The pieces are ready to stain and varnish with polyurethane. You may wish to leave the lighter side natural and use a stain for the darker side.
Apply several coats of polyurethane, insuring many years of beauty and use
The full set of chess pieces and board ready for play
Family fun for all ages, take time to enjoy your creation
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