Stylish Chess Board

After watch a movie called Shawshank Redemption i decided to bring to life something i had on mind , to learn play chess . As a DIY as i am would be more enjoyable to play the game on the board made by myself. Better than build the board is to share what i have done.

• MDF 18mm size 47,8mm x 47,8mm

• veneer wood sheets (mine is macassar ebony for white and another is a darker color for black(dont know the name in english) quantity depends on you if decide to do it the same size as mine board)
• wood glue
• shellac(i made with this) or varnish 100ml (3,38 fl.oz)
• black paint (used on handicraft)

• Dremel 4000 rotary tool
• Jigsaw
• Dremel 335 plunge router attachment
• Dremel bit 650 (1,8" straight router bit 3,2mm)
• tape measure
• set square
• clamps
• paint roller

1. As i prefer FIDE official size of the board (A little bit big ) MDF must be cutted 47,8cm x 47,8cm using jigsaw

(TIP:measure twice cut once)

Next step is to mark dots to guide drawing lines, each square has 5,7cmx5,7cm . Do some marks on the border of the MDF with the help of set square and tape measure.Notice that i did some grooves (3mm width 5mm depth between squares so dots must be with this in mind

Draw the lines and check that everything is right .

Take a lath and the clamps to help guide dremel 4000 with plunge attached to it and bit 650 to make grooves.Speed of rotary must not be to low or to high , let the cut wood smooth by itself, no necessary to use strength.

!! Despite image above using clamp and lath is some steps ahead the idea is the same : guide the tool straight

At this time is better to use black paint on grooves and sides of the board (I did it after and it is harder no touch veneers)

Use stylet(easier way :or a saw attachment for dremel rotary tool) and set square to cut veneers sheets the same size of squares (5,7cmx5,7cm) . Be very careful when cutting some veneers sheets , some kinds of wood are very easy to break .

TIP: Sdudley has a good instructable to help things like this :

Instructable here

Glue veneer squares intercalated on the MDF board from right lower corner starting with lighter color (chess white ) . Do not glue all at once.Make 2 lines and put something heavy over to take time to dry after some minutes repeat the process.

Again take dremel with plunge but this time use less depth,it is just to adjust grooves . Do it carefully , you do not want ruin the project at this time : less speed , again use clamps and lath to guide plunge .

Apply shellac or varnish using a brush or a paint roller . Wait to dry .
DONE

UPGRADE :

This step was not previously added

-Use some tape on the edges and let 1mm height from the top of the board , 2 or more layers would be enough

-Prepare epoxy resin (can not indicate some for you guys cause here in Brasil they could be different) . In my case proportion is for each 100g of part A add 45g of part B

-Spill the blend on the board carefully until reach all the area and not higher than 1mm target

-Wait recommended time until it is cured

-Sand tape and polish after

-Top crystal clear resin is pretty beautiful but is not easy to get a perfect plain surface , specially first time working with resin , but if needed use some sanding machine to eliminate imperfections , then use a polish machine to get back bright glow(I DID NOT TRIED THIS STEP YET)