Turning Question....

Dom DiCara

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I am going to make a chess set for my Brother in law....he has been battling lung cancer, the VA, the bad housing market....you name it...it fell on him this year. Luckily his health is getting better after chemo and for Xmas I want to surprise him with a custom chess set.

I am going to make a copy of this board...and it is pretty straight forward.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Calvert_chess_set.jpg

The issue I am having are in the pieces themselves....I do not own a duplicator and I am having a heck of a time making all of the pieces to be exact......

My question is are there special lathe tools for the really delicate work...do you use patterns....are they negative or positive patterns....help!

I really want to blow him away this xmas. He is retired Coast guard and Vietnam Vet and disabled....and if anyone on this planet deserves a good Xmas this year it is this guy.
 
That is truly a magnificent goal to produce something of enduring beauty for someone you love.

I could not begin to turn a set of chess pieces without a pattern. I recommend making full size negative templates of each piece to first mark all major cuts and details and then use the template to ensure your turning remains close to the design.

As far as making them absolutely identical, I doubt even the very best turner in the world can make them perfectly identical. Just get them as close as you can and the love you will have imbued each piece with because of your effort will take care of the rest.
 
That's a really thoughtful and caring project Dom :thumb: Next time you see him give him a big thanks for his service from the Gibson family.

Wish I could help with your question though.:(
 
...Just get them as close as you can and the love you will have imbued each piece with because of your effort will take care of the rest.

I think Mike pretty much summed it up. :thumb: Having patterns will get you close, and with repetition they will get better, but "matching" can be a relative term. :thumb:

And a bigtime tip o' the hat from me to your brother in law for his service, too. :wave:
 
Thanks for the kind words guys. Maybe I am taking what I read in books a little too literal.

I will send all of your best wishes and thoughts
 
Give him a salute from another Viet Nam vet. I wouldn't worry to much about exact duplicates. I have a mentor and friend who has turned for 60 yrs and he told me don't worry about pieces not being exact. You are human and they are hand made. As Mike said the love you pour into making these and the thought that goes into these will mean a lot.
 
Very nice gesture on your part.

If your goal is to duplicate them perfectly then you might as well buy something that was produced in a factory.

I think working with templates will get you pretty close to perfection though.
 
When I made a chess set for my son, I thought about humanity. There are very few people that look exactly alike. So, keep them close, and you accomplish two things.

1. People will know that they were made individually, and NOT on a production site.

2. People will also know the LOVE you put into making the set.

Bruce
 
Dom, this sounds like a wonderful project. And please send your BIL another set of thanks for his service.

What's been said already makes a great deal of sense, especially that the pieces need not be identical. Weighting them is very important, for that satisfying feel when you place them in a move.

I would urge you to come up with your own design for each piece, rather than finding one in a book. I have no doubt that your design skills are up to it, and a unique design is even better than something out of a book or set of plans.

I've also seen chess sets personalized according to the interests of the user - whatever your BIL's are. The opposing teams can be different from each other. There was once a set shown in FWW, many years ago, with bikers and CHiPs cops as the opposing teams.
 
Good timing for this thread Dom as i am about to embark on a chess set for my kids. I had the same concerns as you and am glad to hear from everyone as to not being so concerned about exact duplication. The design is the biggest thing to me as I want the pieces to be one of a kind and unique, the board too. Good luck with the project and look forward to seeing the pics along the way. Am sure that your brother-in -law will love it even if it isn't exact. :thumb:
 
Another way to help when working in tight spaces is to use scrapers. A mirror-honed scraper with no burr can give you a great finish off the tool when spindle turning, and it's very easy to dial in a profile when making identical parts. Additionally, if you have small beads in the design making a profile scraper is very helpful.

Hutch
 
Another way to help when working in tight spaces is to use scrapers. A mirror-honed scraper with no burr can give you a great finish off the tool when spindle turning, and it's very easy to dial in a profile when making identical parts. Additionally, if you have small beads in the design making a profile scraper is very helpful.

Hutch

Matt..thanks for the tip.....I was able to go out and turn 2 identical "Queens" for the set using the scraper for the gentle curves I wanted.....then go back with a finger nail gouge and tighten it up.

Thanks Matt
 
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