Chess - King Finial help

[Thom Sturgill]

The one set (so far) that I turned, I used a simple cross on the top and filed it flat after a trip to the bandsaw. It was turned in a single piece with the body.

I also sawed the knights after turning the profile. Cut an arc on each side so that it was narrower in the middle and flared a bit at the top.

Mine were not as good looking, but they were for a six year old.

[Steve Thomas]

hahahaha!

[Steve Thomas]

Regarding the Kings Finial.
I've not given up reproducing the original, yet. But in the mean time I've knocked up these two options.
A soldiers helmet spike and a basic cross.
Shown next the a queen for perspective.

King 2 options.jpg

[Steve Thomas]

The one set (so far) that I turned, I used a simple cross on the top and filed it flat after a trip to the bandsaw. It was turned in a single piece with the body.

I also sawed the knights after turning the profile. Cut an arc on each side so that it was narrower in the middle and flared a bit at the top.

Mine were not as good looking, but they were for a six year old.

Thanks Thom, Please accept my apology, I didn't see your post between the concrete joke post and your more serious post, I hope my "hahahaha" didn't cause any offence!
You'll see I've gone for a cross too. much more achievable at this stage.

Steve

[Thom Sturgill]

No offence, I realized what happened! Been on forums too long not to.

[Aaron Craven]

I really like the traditional cross finial you made. I personally like this design better than the other one anyway (just my opinion).

[David DeCristoforo]

The traditional finial on a Staunton pattern king is a cross, Sometimes simple, sometimes very stylized. Personally, in keeping with the spirit of the Staunton pattern, I prefer a simpler cross. The original 1849 Cook pattern king:
StauntonKing2.jpg


Your pieces look really nice so far. The definitive "make it or break it" piece in any Staunton pattern set is the knight. The knights in the set you are trying to emulate are excellent although a bit too fancy for my taste. As a totally inept carver, I can appreciate the skill it takes to carve a knight. Looking forward to seeing how you deal with the knights in your set.


There is another finesse I would like to share with you. Most quality pieces are weighted. This is usually accomplished by the inclusion of a metal weight in the base of each piece. The presence of the metal can sometimes cause cracking of the base due to the movement of the wood. Some time ago, I was working with a guy who reproduced the original Cook pattern pieces. I made boards for him and spent a lot of time talking to him about the pieces as he was a rocket scientist, not a woodworker. He was looking for a way to weight the pieces without having to worry about the bases cracking. After much trial and error, what we came up with was shot suspended in silicone. Very simple… just mix the correct amount of shot with silicone and fill the cavity in the base. The silicone provides a cushion so that if the wood shrinks a bit, the weight will have some "give".

[Marty Schlosser]

Last year I made my daughter and her family a game table so I guess the nest logical project is turning a chess set. I'm quite inspired with what you've done here, Steve. Where did you get the plans, or did you simply do 'er by eye from that photo?

Incidentally, here's what the game table looks like:

Table completed drawers open.jpg

[Steve Thomas]

That's a good looking table... next i my list. :-) Thanks Marty, I'll post my plans over the weekend if you like. I'll have to scan them as i work from a photo and used the printer/scanner to blow them up to the size i wanted. than took direct measurement from the (enlarged) photo.

I like the shot and silicone idea, I've bored a 13mm hole in the base and had planned on adding a length of 12mm steel bar in the base. but i think that the shot might me much more accurate and forgiving.

Thanks

[Steve Thomas]

Here are the templates that i use that I mentioned that I would share over the weekend.
I've settled on the frugal cross for the kings and have turned a black one.

Also started the knight!

Templates.jpg