Folding boards

I am wanting to purchase a folding wooden board to carry with me for chess club etc. Am thinking I will get one of the HoS boards from USCF sales but have a questions.

How is the back of these boards finished? Are they raw plywood as shown on this other sales site?

http://www.chessset.com/folding-chess-board.html

Guess it is a small point but would be nice to know if they are raw wood, stained and sealed, or maybe just sealed with poly or some other varnish.

Also, anybody have one of the HoS deluxe carry bags that is big enough for a folded wooden board? Comments about that bag or any others that are appropriate for a folded board would also be appreciated.

TIA.

Here are a couple of links.  The first is for a bag from a chess academy that's a little cheaper than the HOS.  I don't own it (yet), so can't comment on quality.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360142593477?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

The second link is for an alternative folder with the proper lower case letters for the files.  I do own this and like it very much.  It might still be on sale.  Yup, it's still on sale.

http://www.chessset.com/folding-chess-board.html

The back does seem unfinished although I don't think it's plywood.  The front is a matte finish poly.

EDIT: OK, I'm officially an idiot.  Just realized that link you gave went to the same site.  Sorry about that...

Thanks for the ideas. The bag looks just like the one I have now except wider to accomodate a folding board.

Yes, I think it was one of your previous posts that made me inquire about that particular board. I also like the lower case annotations but not a deal killer for me. I am not a particular fan of HoS after some previous dealings but I do want a good quality board especially since it will be getting carried around and banged up to some extent. I guess how they finish things like the back of the board indicates (at least IMHO) the quality and attention to details.

It's a shame noboy sells magnetic foldable chessboards. I wanted one sooooo bad so I had to do it myself. Here's a prototype.

Since the prototype I made several nicer ones for some Slovenian GM friends including 8-piece versions (here's a video).

-Izmet

I have the folding chess board from the chessset.com link and I do like it for the most part.  It is a little heavy and the back is as baddogno said, unfinished but not plywood.  I carry it in this bag.

http://www.uscfsales.com/chess-bags/the-house-of-staunton-deluxe-tournament-bag-1.html

The bag is nice but the zippers, in my opinion, are somewhat subpar.  The bag will hold mutliple sets and is very spacious.

Just my $.02

Laser

Izmet, wow, very nice work. And using magnets is so ingenious, seems obvious now that I have seen your video but the thought never crossed my mind before. 

Lasertswift, yes that is the bag I was looking at. Too bad about the zippers have you had troubles with them tearing open or just suspicious of them?

Edit: I guess regardless of the finish on any of the boards, adding a layer of green felt over the whole back would be easy enough and finish it off in a very nice manner.

No problems with the zippers yet but I just suspect they might not stand up to heavy use.  Just a guess and I might be completely off base.  Hopefully they will last forever.

I love these. Any chance you'd offer them commercially?

First of all I have a folding board of Walnut & Maple from HOS. The board is made in Poland by Weigle. You don't have to worry if the back is finised or not. These guys know how to make a veneer board that is A-1. I have two solid veneer boards from them like new after 30 years. They do not warp or discolor over time or fall apart! I have a Mahogony & Maple veneer board from chesset com & it is fantastic as well as cheaper in cost than HOS & shipping is flat rate around 6.95 or so. The Indians know how to build Quality boards as well. Both are a dead Flat Finish as well. I would go with the chesset com folding boards myself again. Both boards are great & equal IMO. If you have any question on either just PM me.

Is that really you in the video? The accent is so... dramatic! Very cool...

Yes I like the magnetic board also, its very well done. Very nice Izmet, it seems there could be a market for them, kinda funny I thought about making my own years ago, but I could buy one cheaper, so never got around to it, plus I was thinking of using stainless steel, lol. I also like your accent, its cool. You should do some voice acting.

Thanks very much 9kick9, just the comments I was looking for. If the HoS boards are made by Weigle then I would have full confidence in it, all of their stuff I have seen is first rate. I still intend to buy one of their complete folding sets one day, just trying to decide which one I like the best.

However I do have a bit of an issue about buying from HoS and unless you comment something to the contrary, I might just go for the Chesset.com board since with shipping it is still cheaper. And I do probably plan to felt the whole bottom of the board anyway, easy enough to do.

I don't think you really have to felt the whole bottom of the board but, if you want to it should be ok. I think chessset com is the Rochester Chess Center. The guy is good & instead of sending it to me through first class priority mail he sent it UPS Brown truck...now thats service! PM me if you have questions... I will do my best to help you out.

9kick9, thanks, I went ahead and ordered from chesset.com. And he was running a flash 5% sale when I ordered so out the door was barely over $60.00. Now to find a bag for it, There are a few choices including the ebay link and a pretty much identical one sold by Thechessstore.com. They all end up costing about $30 with shipping which is quite a bit cheaper than the one from HoS.

Decisions, decisions. Anyway thanks everyone for all the help.

which board color did you get? You got it for less than me!

Izmet you are a chess board genius.  

I also like that there is no boarder as it likely means it weighs less and is good for travel.   I looked at the board in high definition and saw no lines.  Do you groove the sides to help them fit together better?

 Others who bought the house of staunton folding board, how does it look when it is flat?  Is the fold noticable?  All of the pictures show it partly folded.  

9kick9 wrote:

which board color did you get? You got it for less than me!

I got the mahogany and maple as pictured...

I was about to buy a foldable chessboard but then I got a nice vynil rollable one. You can, well, roll it so it's perfect to fit in a suitcase or briefcase or any other travel case :D; it weighs nearly nothing and it is easily washable. I got it here http://www.chesssetsuk.co.uk/product-p/2025.htm