native woods: chess

[mandm]

I am working my way towards wood chess sets with the turning project (then bone, then ivory, but that's much later), hence my apprenticeship to a master turner of...right...mainly chess sets. [clickadeclick]

Ebony and boxwood are the traditional woods, and now some exotics are used.

I am intrigued to try native American woods, and am asking for suggestions.

The requirements are quite particular and eliminate a lot of woods right off: Close grained, unpatterned by grain or colour change, heavy. Ebony, for example, has a specific gravity of 1.03. I can lead weight the pieces, of course, but still...

I have worked through a variety of woods, and am left with these as good options for native woods chess materials: mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), persimmon, sourwood, dogwood, holly.

Examples of woods that I tried and will not work (just to set the range) are black walnut, ash, cherry.

Except for the cherry, I have not yet tried the fruit woods at all.

Other suggestions?

(And if there's anyone out there with little bits and pieces of these woods just lying about...far too humble and short for your attention...or a bit of ebony or box, gov'ner? Well, I am here to get those boxes of scrap off your hands and out of your shop...write!)

TIA.

 

[Norwood]

Maple, cedar, and walnut would make some neat looking pieces...

 

[Robert Arrowood]

Thats one project I want to try.Already got a buyer for one.I would try Holly and Cherry.Both of those are very plentiful in these parts.I've never turned Holly but cherry turns real good.So doe's Dogwood.You may need to harvest the tree yourself.If you do try to get the roots with the Dogwood thats where you can find some pretty grain patterns.BTW welcome to the site.

 

[DaveO]

If you can find a Persimmon large enough to have good heartwood, then you will find American Ebony. Holly would be a great choice for the white pieces. You also could use Maple for both and use India Ink to dye or "ebonize" the black pieces.

Dave

 

[Norwood]

We just milled alot of cherry, 8-10 ft boards, they will air dry til we get them inside to the dryer. I like cherry, but I also like the darkness of walnut, I have just got into hardwoods, my friend has done it for sometime. I am looking to make a trunk soon. He makes odds and ends, bird houses, etc. I may want a nice chess board someday though. Brad

 

[mandm]

If you can find a Persimmon large enough to have good heartwood, then you will find American Ebony. Holly would be a great choice for the white pieces. You also could use Maple for both and use India Ink to dye or "ebonize" the black pieces.

Dave

Yes. I am watching for a good chunk of persimmon. And I agree that holly is the choice for the white side. It doesn't take much wood, really: figure 4" for the pieces... so 64" plus waste for each color. Not a lot of wood! But sometimes hard to come by...persimmon is difficult....and so desirable...

Dave--

What exactly is "India ink"? I have an idea, but want to hear you.

I haven't yet tried maple. Northern or southern, do you think? Surely "hard rock"...?

Milissa

 

[PeteQuad]

I was thinking hard maple. I also wonder - there's tons of big Bradford Pear pieces around for those of us that have them - it seems like a dense, unpatterned wood to me. Another is Beech, if you can get any without Beech Bark disease (we had them up north, not sure about here). Not sure about the dark color, perhaps Butternut but that is very light.

It's funny, I just got the Christmas USCF catalog and was thinking those boards go for an awful lot of money. The best wooden boards were going for almost $1000. My favorite though was the 40,000 year old Mammoth Tusk Ivory pieces, that sold for $13,000 I think.

 

[DaveO]

Well this isn't a "India ink" ebonizing technique per say, but it is another method LINKY
India ink is a jet black ink used for printing and hand writing. It's a very effective wood "stain" Linky
Other options LINKY
And what is India ink...LINKY

HTH,
Dave

 

[MrAudio815]

That sounds like a very interesting project.

How about purple heart, and then dying it, it's pretty dark if you get the dark purple stuff, just not black. And what about blackwood ?

Welp let us see some pictures when you get some items done, this is gonna be cool~!

 

[mandm]

Wow! What a helpful (and chatty!) group! My kind of folks...

1) I have two large Bradford Pear trees here at the house that eventually will be cut down and I had the lathe in mind for them. Sawdust to sawdust (that's a play on "ashes to ashes")(a poor play).

2) Thank you for multiple LINKY, Dave. I shall clickadeclick in just a moment.

3) I have a board-making technique in mind in which, like when cutting sod, you stack the blanks and cut them all at the same time to make the edges just exactly match. However, my job is at the lathe right now, so I am keeping this and similar non-lathe ideas squelched for the moment. Also, I'll probably find out this is standard marquetry and so much for my bright idea. :5sigh:

4) It takes so little material to make a chess set...I am hopeful that I can find enough persimmon. I am actually quite excited about trying that.

5) When doing my lumberjill routine I forgot to grub out the dogwood roots...thanks! I'll do that and set 'em back. And the sourwood (a very fine wood, BTW), too.

6) Hard maple had occurred to me, too, as had beech. Thanks for the thought on butternut. I have never seen butternut, I don't think.

7) I actually am going to buy some wood today (a first for me, if pressure-treated decking doesn't count!) and shall see what's about for me to take home and try. I'll post tonight on my efforts and their results.

8.) I also wondered about "lightered" (fat wood) and heart pine as native exotica. Might fracture, though. Has anyone ever worked lightered? Could look like amber if worked up properly. And would smell heavenly...obviously a southern girl, huh?!

9) The prices of antique chess sets and related items are unthinkable. But the catalogues from auctions are very instructive. And free. Here is one to an auction held in October. The first few items are pamphlets...keep going.

10) I don't like the purple of purple heart, but dyeing is always an option. It is the "texture" and weight of the wood for good chess sets and similar game pieces that is difficult.

11) What is blackwood?

Thanks!

 

[rbdoby]

Melissa,

I'm not sure if this will work for you. We have a lot of "Privette Hedge" (not sure on the spelling) on our farm. Legend has it the great grandma brought it up from the sand hills, along with willow oaks and bermuda grass. It is very light in color, not as white as holly but lighter than maple. It has little grain pattern and turns well. I have made a rustic chair from it and turned some pens out from it. It doesn't grow very large but I can cut some pieces 3" to 4" in diameter.

PM me your address and I'll send you a few pieces to play with.

Rick Doby

 

[timf67]

I love birch, and I've noticed that I am in a very small minority there! Yellow birch is similar in properties to hard maple but typically has less figure. the only issue would be that the heart wood is brown and the sapwood is white - but that could be a plus too... :dontknow:

I highly encourage you to keep looking for persimmon. I have turned with it and love it! I have a persimmon in my yard that I am watching like a hawk for signs of ill health... :gar-Bi

As for pear, it will probably have too much character for what you are looking for, and I have noticed that it doesn't like to dry without splitting.

If you want to visit Charlotte, I have about 100 BF of very non-descript 8/4 red birch and about 75 BF of 'flaming' 8/4 yellow birch. You are welcome to some off-cuts. I also have a very small chunk of boxwood salvaged from my yard. Finally, I have some 8/4 hard maple and 8/4 cherry shorts and a holly spindle blank that I don't have plans for. Maybe we could do some "horse trading"?

 

[mandm]

If you want to visit Charlotte, I have about 100 BF of very non-descript 8/4 red birch and about 75 BF of 'flaming' 8/4 yellow birch. You are welcome to some off-cuts. I also have a very small chunk of boxwood salvaged from my yard. Finally, I have some 8/4 hard maple and 8/4 cherry shorts and a holly spindle blank that I don't have plans for. Maybe we could do some "horse trading"?

That sounds great! I can't get to Charlotte next week, but maybe the week after?

I went into town and got some hard maple today at a local lumber yard, so am going to try that tonight.

Alright. We'll 'fess up. I haven't worked with wood long.

And I have had to learn all these skills that stood between me and Being a Master Turner...annealing, tool making, sharpening (Lord, how I sharpened...for three days and three nights I sharpened), running the lathe, and now lumber.

So enough already.

I was tired of learning stuff other than turning.

I go to the lumber yard and head in then wander around pretending I know what I'm doing. The guys ignore me. It's an age old dance. Finally, I asked about hard maple. I indicated the depth I need with my hands, "Nothing big. I am making chess pieces and that kind of thing." He nods and asks, "About a 5 / 4, you think?"

Silence.

I look at him.

He looks at me.

I do not want to learn about lumber right now.

But I finally sigh and ask, "What's that?"

After a working man's long stare at yet another female fool, he said, "Well, now, that's five fourths, you know?"

I cried laughing. I am sure he thought I was insane.

Of course!

Guy-talk...from the same gender that developed efficient verbiage such as "walk-board" (yep: a board on which one walks) and, for another example (this is on my website) the oddly pseudo-Orientalist term "go-nogo" ("nogo-go"?).

This last ain't rocket science either: one measures the standard and then compares the product.

GO = right size.

NOGO = ...................................................................wrong size!

Awesome.

 

[timf67]

Sounds good, though I will be in cincinnati the week after next... I'll PM you and we can work something out.

As for the 5/4 thing, don't feel bad. I grew up with a woodworker father and didn't know about the quarters thing until I was well into my own woodworking self-education...

 

[mandm]

I am a nurse and worked three 13+ hour shifts over the weekend, then got caught up in other stuff yesterday (see website if you have a moment--I had a good session at the lathe!).

Anyway, I have gotten many offers of help and cutoffs and the like, all of which I have tried to answer.

And the sad news that my motor is too little for my tool. Isn't it always the way? :eusa_hand

If I did not answer your note, it simply was overlooked, and send me a PM if you will.

THANKS!