Chess Board

This project plan creates a 16” x 16” chess board with 2” x 2” squares.  Choose 2 contrasting woods to make the project – this plan shoes maple (light wood) and padauk (reddish wood).  Other good combinations are maple-cherry, maple-walnut, oak-walnut, etc.

1.    Cut 8 total pieces 1” thick, 2” wide, and 18” long (1”x2”x18”).  4 of these pieces should be your light woods, 4 pieces should be your dark wood.  Make sure you joint edges before ripping.

2.       Edge-glue all eight pieces together with 2 bar clamps, alternating the colors (above).

3.       When glue has cured, scrape the excess glue off the surface with a pull scraper.

4.       Surface plane the glued-up board, both faces, just enough to smooth out the face grain (above).

5.       Square up one end on the cross-cut table saw (above).

6.       At the rip-cut table saw, rip 2” wide pieces (across the grain) (above).

7.       Dry-fit these 2” wide rips together, alternating the colors, and determine the best possible layout for your board.

8.       Using 3 bar clamps, glue these pieces make together again.  BE SURE TO ALIGN THE CORNERS PERFECTLY.  BE SURE THE WOOD IS FLAT AGAINST THE IRON BAR CLAMPS SO YOUR GLUE-UP IS FLAT (above).

9.       Surface plane the chess board to its final thickness (7/8” if possible) – make sure you plane both faces and that the grain is going the proper direction in the surface planer (above).

10.   Joint the edge grain once to even up the edges.  DO NOT JOINT END GRAIN – this must be sanded with a belt sander.

11.   Round over or chamfer the top 4 edges of the chess board.

To make a wooden frame for the chess board:

12.   Cut 4 pieces of stock for the four sides of your frame.  Choose your thickness and width to suit your preference (recommended size is 1” thick, 1 ½” wide).  Cut these pieces extra long (at least 20”) to allow room to make 45° miter cuts for the miter joint.

13.   Mill a rabbet on the edge of the frame pieces, ½” wide x ½” deep (above).

14.   Cut miters on all 4 pieces to wrap the frame around the chess board.  Glue, nail, and/or screw as instructed (above).

Checkmate!