House of Staunton

Beautiful set Mike; I'm sure it will give you enjoyment for decades.

There's a nice Drueke set (board and pieces) newly listed on Ebay right now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181034323306?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Worth taking a look at.  The listing price seems realistic to me.

Lee

I love the Drueke boards, also.  Unfortunately, they are no longer manufactured.  You can still find some unsold stock here and there but your best bet might be eBay if you want a 2.25 Drueke. You used to find these for around $120 but not anymore.

I wonder how much a very simple, basic design in maple/walnut would cost from one of the custom board makers?

Fancy materials and elaborate designs isn't neccesarily better (esp. in my eyes). Plain and well-made is quite good, no?

For example, I have an old 2-1/8" maple/teak ANRI board. Something like this in maple/walnut 2-1/2" would be perfect for my 4" sets. It's thin and has a relatively small footprint.

I wonder how hard it would be to just make one....(a board)?

Mike

There are actually a number of mostly retired American craftsman making solid wood boards right here in the gool old USA.  Unfortunately, few of them play chess and while some of their creations can be quite stunning, most have some imperfection you learn to live with.  Wander over to Ebay, do a few searches for "custom" "solid wood" handcrafted"  or something similar chess board and check it out.

 An extremely effective cost cutting measure a lot of these guys use is to simply glue down 1/4" thick squares onto a thin piece of high grade laminate ( OK plywood, but stuff like multilayered marine or aviation grade not what you use to board up a building).   Put a decent frame around it (or take it to a framing shop) and you're in business.  Well, after level sanding and finishing that is.  

The finished product can be awful or awfully attractive depending on, well, everything.  At $250 to $300 the result can be pretty much depended on.  At the $75 to $125 range is where it gets interesting.  Stunning woods, sloppy finish.  "Unusual" joints at the corners of the framing.  If you don't mind doing a little finish work yourself with some wet and dry sandpaper and the finish of your choice, anything from rattlecan poly to oils.....It can turn out nice for cheap.

And there are at least a couple of guys making traditional Drueke style solid wood boards.  They usually sell cutting boards as well.  I got a very pretty 16" board for $80 delivered.  Why so cheap?  He beveled the top edges and since there is no frame... So just turn it over, right?  A full green felt backing.  Is the beveling that distracting?  No, but you know it's there.

Happy shopping!

Here's a listing for one of the "new" Drueke boards, made following the original design and method by one of the Drueke family members:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chess-board-by-Drueke-Model-64-Select-Walnut-and-Maple-with-2-1-4-squares-/360510919195?pt=Games_US&hash=item53f020121b

Lee

@Licxjo: That is a very sweet looking board at a fair price.  ^

Well ... Looks like Chess Express might still have some of the 2 3/4 Drueke's in stock, though I haven't verified this.  These Drueke boards are now Americana, minor works of art, in my opinion.  Get one, if you can.  http://www.chessexpressstore.com/ovdruek.html

The home page of chessexpressstore.com indicates that it's "temporarily" closed . . . and "no longer accepting orders at this time".  It's too bad, because they have some interesting items on their pages, including the Drueke board. 

And Karapovian, yes, they are beautiful, works of art in and of themselves.  The one on Ebay interestingly still has no bids.  I'm a little surprised about that.

Lee

The Mark of Westminster makes beautiful boards and sets - high quality woods and excellent craftsmenship.

For high end chess sets you might want to check these small shop manufacturers outside of India:

Kadun from Russia: http://www.kadun.ru

G. Benedict from the States: http://www.gabrielbenedict.com

-Izmet

For lower budgets, I highly recommend ChessBazaar from India, they ship free globaly: http://www.chessbazaar.com.

Here's another newly listed Drueke set on Ebay:  It's a tiny (12" X 12") chess board that I didn't even know they had ever made:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drueke-Wood-Chess-Set-51-33R-Deluxe-Gift-Set-Rosewood-Pieces-/300827668587?pt=Games_US&hash=item460ab9f06b

Lee

[COMMENT DELETED]

Please clear self-promotional, business-related activity with kohai. Mod.

Hi,

The House of Staunton chess men are made in India by Amritsar Ivory Works...This company has the best carvers in the world. The HOS chess men styles are very nice, you can get sets made by AIW that have similar quality without a heavy mark up though.

I like chess men 4" and up, my 4.4" HOS set is my favorite set by far. Try to choose one that has the style you like in the right wood. I'd get ebonized boxwood, in that price range from HOS. You could get real ebony wood for the same price from other sellers...They may not have the same quality level though.

HOS boxes are also very nice and you could get men and a laser etched box for around that much money.

I'd get The Classic Series Chess Set - 4.4" King with Premium Chess Box

Good luck,

Sean