# Metal Chess Pieces



## davidyat (Sep 10, 2020)

*Before I drive myself nuts, are there plans for a manual machinist to make chess pieces? I just made a chess board out of walnut and ash for a relative and would like to machine the chess pieces from aluminum and brass for him. I only have manual machines, mill and lathe. Thanks in advance for any help.
Grasshopper*


----------



## deeferdog (Sep 10, 2020)

I feel your pain, I went through the same exercise a few years back and all I can say is "good luck". In the end I brought a cheap plastic set and used them as templates. Didn't work and the quarter finished pieces rattle around in my scrap box. If you ever do run a decent set of plans to earth I would be very interested. Cheers, Peter.


----------



## kwoodhands (Sep 10, 2020)

davidyat said:


> *Before I drive myself nuts, are there plans for a manual machinist to make chess pieces? I just made a chess board out of walnut and ash for a relative and would like to machine the chess pieces from aluminum and brass for him. I only have manual machines, mill and lathe. Thanks in advance for any help.
> Grasshopper*


I have made chess pieces , but in wood. The simpler types I think can be made from aluminum and brass. 
Small ball turner or even just balls bought and Loctite to the tops of some pieces. Pawns , and queens come to mind. I suggest you but a cheap set of plastic chess pieces for ideas. You will have to do some free hand work. The cross on the king can be made by sawing or milling from one piece. Make the cross long so you can insert it into a hole . The rook or castle can be turned and the slots milled.  The knight is usually represented by a horse head. Very difficult and time consuming to carve metal. 
I made my knights like a armored knight with a face shield. This can be turned and the shield added later. I have since learned to carve a horses head. 
I will suggest a way I never tried , or even thought of til now.
Set a plastic knight in plaster of paris in a small container like a tuna fish can, empty of course.
Make sure the plaster is completely dry. Heat tin or lead to a liquid and pour into the mold.
when cool, break the mold and remove any flash. This will get you a different metal than you want but spray paint will fix that. I have made flywheels from tin that came from used Typemetal. Tin will melt at a fairly low temperature.  I bored the bottom of my wood pieces and packed it with bits of lead for weight. Metal chess pieces may not need this.
Try a search for turned chess pieces, maybe you can get some ideas.
mike


----------



## bazmak (Sep 10, 2020)

I used to make chess pieces in timber from std sizes to 6" dia x 12" high.I used a copy attachment for the lathe


----------



## bazmak (Sep 10, 2020)

Its a while since i made any chess pieces and memories fade.I did make many sets,sizes and different materials and varies tables ,glass etc
Further to this post i have been going thru various posts/photos etc. A couple of points. Brass is a good choice but i would use s/s rather than alum to keep similar weights.I found that using softwood for the whites and hardwood for black was a bit disconcerting with the weight difference. If someone is going to make them in metal they would first need to make 1/2 profiles in sheetmetal to requ,d shape and size
Lets assume you have a myford lathe then you need to make a brkt to bolt on the back of the bed to pickup the existing T/T fixings
This would rise above the cross slide to a suitable height with a vice/clamping mechanism for the profile/template
Then a brkt and vertical pin fixed to the cross slide and adjustable back and forward. When adjusted the tool cuts the matl until the pin hits and follows the profile of the template.Makes it easy to make 16 identical pawns.Similar but with mods you can make the King,queen,rooks and bishops. You would need a mill for the rook castellation and bishop slots. King and queen i made the same with a cross on one and scallops on the other. If any one wants to make a start then maybe a joint cooperation project. Dont like the idea of painting but both sets in anodised alum
The hardest ones were always the knights which i partially turned and finished by hand. If i have the time and interest i might make a set
Keep posting Regards Barry


----------



## delalio (Sep 11, 2020)

Hey Gents,
My little brother actually asked me for a chess set for xmas last year and I still havent started it. Below is some of my research for doing it. (It's bloody expensive if you are using brass, as it takes a lot of stock.)

I did consider making pieces out of a few different parts, then screwing / loctiting them together to save on chips, but the effort is multiples more.

Anyway, most of the designs I found were really quite nice, and very modern. Not sure if that is what you are looking for, but I liked them. I may actually get round to it this year! We'll see. I'll also have to make the board too... Hmm... Maybe you could share your strategy on the board too?

My issue is that I dont have a mill, so round with varying heights is probably the best option for me. Anyway, here are some of the reference pics I found!


----------



## Gabe J DiMarino (Sep 11, 2020)

I have solid model for all the pieces of a chess set.


----------



## davidyat (Sep 11, 2020)

*The board seems to be the easy part. A friend of mine, here in Indiana, removes trees and stumps. He had a lot of walnut and ash that he wanted sawn into boards. I helped and got some scraps. Dried out the scraps, went over to the table saw and sawed them into rough pieces about 1/4 X 2 X 2 inch dimensions. I then set up my bench belt sander with some home made jigs to sand the pieces square and each at the same dimension. Bought a 1/2 inch birch plywood 2 X 2 and started with the first row against a straight edge and glued the rest of the squares to that straight edge. When I checked the finished board for square (corner to corner measurement), I was only 1/16 off. I'm satisfied. I'm putting on oak edging to the board. I did 2 edges yesterday and will finish today. There will be a lot of sanding to flatten the board, then a good coat of protective finish.
Grasshopper















*


----------



## bazmak (Sep 11, 2020)

I have made a no of tables in timber,tiles glass etc but the best one i have seen uses square section timber
cut into short lengths so that the end grain is to the top. The back row is say 2" high ,the pawn row say 1 1/2"
and the remaining playing area is 1"tall. This gives a 3D effect and the end grain polishes up nice. I still prefer the std
pieces,modern or picturesk piece are ok for show but difficult to play with


----------



## TonyK (Sep 27, 2020)

About 2 years ago, I made a chess set using nuts and bolts. The black parts were oil blackened after dunking then in brick cleaner (Hydrochloric acid) to remove the zinc plating. They were assembled using a strong threadlocking compound.


----------



## Cogsy (Sep 27, 2020)

Tony - that is an awesome idea, perfectly executed. Nice!


----------



## bazmak (Sep 27, 2020)

Thats brilliant Cogsy they look great and would be easy to recognise/play with. I may have go
and make set.Look good and not too labour intensive


----------



## Tim Wescott (Sep 27, 2020)

As @delalio's posts showed, they don't have to look like what you're used to -- they just have to be distinct, and evocative of the pieces.

I think if I just had a lathe, I'd see what I could do just by turning round pieces, and drilling, and making the occasional straight cut with a hacksaw, cleaned up with a file.

You could make a crown shape by drilling a bunch of holes cross-ways on a drill press, then turning the top off.

I think if I just had to have a horse-shaped knife, I'd start with some plate and a coping saw to make the horse-head, then turn the bottom flat and screw it to a turned base.

I'd be _really tempted_ to make the whole shebang out of aluminum, then anodize them plain and black -- but I admit, this is because I want to learn anodizing!


----------



## olympic (Sep 28, 2020)

I like all of the chess sets shown.

I have a set from Italy, made from what looks like carved bone, with Roman soldiers for the pawns, real castles for the rooks, etc.. When I first got it I showed it to a chess enthusiast, who glanced at it and haughtily remarked that, as it was not a Staunton set, "You can't play a recorded game with it."

I say, "Who cares? Play with what you like; it's only a game."


----------



## dgm (Dec 26, 2020)

Here is a chess set of plans I have had on file for several years. Now that i have a metal lathe and mill ,I'll have to get to work.


----------



## Stoker87 (Dec 1, 2022)

dgm said:


> Here is a chess set of plans I have had on file for several years. Now that i have a metal lathe and mill ,I'll have to get to work.


Thank you. I’ve been looking for a set of plans like this. Thanks again.


----------



## James Barker (Dec 5, 2022)

I and a friend of mine were chess enthusiasts many years ago and I have collected many unique sets over the years which include the very first set that I purchased on a grade school class trip to St.Louis, Mo back in '68. It was a classic Staunton design and was made from Ebony and Ivory. That is still my favorite set to this day and my friend and I played literally thousands of games using it. (during lunch, study halls, after school and such) Anyway, during college, there was not a great deal of time to indulge in such activities, but I set about drawing up a modernistic set in my mind and finally put them down on paper, and when I finally purchased a Sherline tabletop lathe, set about in making this set a reality. I used some very old Cherry and Hard Maple that my Grandad had varvested in the local farmland, probably back in the 20's. The bands around the bases I made from Copper on the Maple pieces and I used Brass for those markings on the Cherry pieces. The cross and crown of the king and queen pieces followed that same practice with teardrop scallops around the top. The board that I had was of two inch squares so I scaled the pieces to be one-and-one half inches in diameter and made the heights to follow that scale. Best of luck to you and I hope that this may assist you in your quest to make your own set.

BC1
Jim


----------



## Stoker87 (Dec 5, 2022)

Thanks for sharing.  This is a beautiful design.


----------



## awake (Dec 6, 2022)

I realize this is an old thread, and the post I am about to comment on is > 2 years old. But just in case it is helpful ... if anyone else is planning to make a wooden chessboard, the "classic" way to do it is first to glue up "stripes" of wood, alternating the light and the dark, 4 of each. The width of each piece ("stripe") is the desired size of the square, but the length must be more than 8 times the size of the square. After the glue up has dried, the piece is turned 90° and sliced up into strips, each of which is just a bit wider than the final square dimension. Clean these up to the final dimension, then assemble and glue by flipping every other strip 180°. 

Hmm ... trying to describe that in words is clear as mud, but I don't have any pictures from way-back when I last made a chess board. Maybe I can mock something up if anyone is interested ...


----------



## mbelfer (Dec 7, 2022)

awake said:


> I realize this is an old thread, and the post I am about to comment on is > 2 years old. But just in case it is helpful ... if anyone else is planning to make a wooden chessboard, the "classic" way to do it is first to glue up "stripes" of wood, alternating the light and the dark, 4 of each. The width of each piece ("stripe") is the desired size of the square, but the length must be more than 8 times the size of the square. After the glue up has dried, the piece is turned 90° and sliced up into strips, each of which is just a bit wider than the final square dimension. Clean these up to the final dimension, then assemble and glue by flipping every other strip 180°.
> 
> Hmm ... trying to describe that in words is clear as mud, but I don't have any pictures from way-back when I last made a chess board. Maybe I can mock something up if anyone is interested ...


----------



## mbelfer (Dec 7, 2022)

There is a very clear description with diagrams in a book on marquetry that I am having trouble finding,  I will keep looking and when found post the page. 
I had no particular problems following the method, but rather than cutting blocks I used iron-on veneer that I got in white-oak and walnut. (I needed a reasonably efficient build process because I had decided to build one for each of my grandchildren and there ended up being 19 of them)


----------



## vederstein (Dec 7, 2022)

David,

I just found this thread.  From what I've seen in the pictures, it appears that nearly all the parts can be made on the lathe with some rotary table work for details like the top of the castle.

The only one that appears very unfriendly is the knight.  As long as it's design isn't too fancy, perhaps I can help you out on those with my CNC'd mini-mill.

...Ved.


----------



## mbelfer (Dec 8, 2022)

mbelfer said:


> There is a very clear description with diagrams in a book on marquetry that I am having trouble finding,  I will keep looking and when found post the page.
> I had no particular problems following the method, but rather than cutting blocks I used iron-on veneer that I got in white-oak and walnut. (I needed a reasonably efficient build process because I had decided to build one for each of my grandchildren and there ended up being 19 of them)


----------



## mbelfer (Dec 8, 2022)

From: The Art and Practice of Marquetry, by William Alexander Lincoln, Thanes and Hudson, 1974 (reprint)


----------



## awake (Dec 8, 2022)

Huh - interesting that they use an extra "column" and offset by one, rather than simply flipping the "row" 180°. Does it address the latter option, and give a reason not to use it?


----------



## mbelfer (Dec 8, 2022)

awake said:


> Huh - interesting that they use an extra "column" and offset by one, rather than simply flipping the "row" 180°. Does it address the latter option, and give a reason not to use it?


----------



## mbelfer (Dec 8, 2022)

Actually I seem to remember doing that once or twice and avoiding having the left over end squares. But mostly I was concentrating on trying to get the edges as perfect as possible - putty-filling the imperfections was an eye-strain and headache inducing pain!


----------



## cds4byu (Dec 9, 2022)

Here's a set at manually-machinable chessmen from Popular Science December 1968.

Carl


----------



## Daryl_bee (Dec 10, 2022)

cds4byu said:


> Here's a set at manually-machinable chessmen from Popular Science December 1968.
> 
> Carl


You should give the whole article


----------



## Daryl_bee (Dec 10, 2022)

For a long time now the design of chess pieces has been limited by the boring regulation Staunton set to the point most people don’t think beyond it. However, chess sets are a timeless pursuit. EVERY good artist has taken a shot at it. There are two things that are key to a timeless classic set. The pieces must be true and consistent to the desired theme AND they must be easily recognizable as to which chess pieces they are. There are many wild themed sets which fail as the pieces can’t be recognized and others which don’t inspire excitement as they lack theme. Good sets don’t have to be complicated such as the “minimalist set”, the Bauhaus set (which hints at the pieces movement), or May Ray’s compelling geometrical style set (the knights would be difficult).














If you get beyond machining the world opens up. Such as the wonderful 1950’s Spanish Nut & Bolt set of Traveling Musicians. Simple, consistent theme, instantly recognizable pieces.





If you’re into casting, things like Richard Synek’s set of the medieval Charles Martel (The Hammer) founder of modern Europe. It feels medieval yet every piece is instantly recognizable.



My all-time favourite (which I have) the highly stylized bronze set of Paul Wonderlich. From the lowly curled-hat surf pawns to the regal almighty and lofty shapes of the main pieces.



I'm not suggesting copies but rather giving examples of winning designs. Whatever you do if you keep to the two main objectives you will be successful. Have fun and good luck.


----------



## ajoeiam (Dec 11, 2022)

Daryl_bee said:


> For a long time now the design of chess pieces has been limited by the boring regulation Staunton set to the point most people don’t think beyond it. However, chess sets are a timeless pursuit. EVERY good artist has taken a shot at it. There are two things that are key to a timeless classic set. The pieces must be true and consistent to the desired theme AND they must be easily recognizable as to which chess pieces they are. There are many wild themed sets which fail as the pieces can’t be recognized and others which don’t inspire excitement as they lack theme. Good sets don’t have to be complicated such as the “minimalist set”, the Bauhaus set (which hints at the pieces movement), or May Ray’s compelling geometrical style set (the knights would be difficult).
> View attachment 142883
> 
> View attachment 142884
> ...


(I normally snip the photos but these are so exquisite!!!!!!!) 

That Paul Wunderlich set - - - - you might want to insure that!!!


----------



## Stoker87 (Dec 11, 2022)

cds4byu said:


> Here's a set at manually-machinable chessmen from Popular Science December 1968.
> 
> CarlView attachment 142859


This looks like a really nice set.  Thanks for posting.

Tony


----------

