I would suggest getting a screw chuck or bottle stopper chuck. (Linked items are by no means the only sources for these)

These can be acquired for little $$ compared to a scroll chuck and are well suited for this kind of work.

This would allow you to cut the bottom straight across what will be the bottom of the piece while the blank is square (in you mitre saw even). You could then use a drill press and predill the needed hole to screw in the screw chuck or to tap the hole for the bottle stopper chuck(usually 3/8x16). After mounting you can turn the piece just as you did with the spur drive and live center but after rounding and some initial shaping you can bring the tailstock away from you chess piece and finish off the top part of the piece.

Nice work on the set you've already completed. I have wanted to start a chess board project but have so far avoided it because of the flatwork involved.


When complete there are numerous creative ways to cover the screw hole starting with a simple adhesive backed green felt circle or a more fancy dowel plug of the contrasting wood (better with the larger bottle stopper chuck hole). I have also thought of buying a bunch of 3/8x16 set screws and threading them into the bottle stopper chuck hole for some weight/ballast to the bottom of each piece.