A rook is born
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Gorgeous!!!!!! Amazing work!
The bishops having the points with the Colour of the opponent is nice. Doing that with the king and queen would be nice
Feb 7, 2022
0
#25
I do enjoy the humility of wood workers and artisans on this forum - “Just spin a piece of wood and stick the sharp end of a cutter into it.”
Mate - if I did that, it would end up looking more like a Picasso version of a rook rather than your classical look.
Again, excellent work. 👍
Mate - if I did that, it would end up looking more like a Picasso version of a rook rather than your classical look.
Again, excellent work. 👍
Assuming the knights are also going to look interesting and Dubrovnik-like, I would buy this set as is!
Thanks.
Carving the knights will be interesting!
Gautham - the dub pattern seems to only have the bishops with opposite colour tops.
I've done king & queen contrast for my first set, which was based on a mix of generic Soviet club designs.
Next set will probably be based on the so called "Tal", which has contrast on all 3.
Here's my first attempt in olive & chackate, which was my first serious turning project - seriously, very little skill involved
(also no notches on the rooks, which seemed to be reasonably common in soviet sets)
Nice
Feb 9, 2022
0
#30
@M_Chavez…. As mentioned previously. Luv your work. I can see the pointy tools … may I ask what lathe you use? I am semi-seriously thinking … why not? Seems like a pastime worth having a crack at and I may make my way to a local Men’s Shed to learn from some local older blokes. Maybe not … but why not investigate?
I think any lathe will work.
I've got the most basic underpowered Record (DML 24x) that my neighbour was getting rid of - I'm not really into wood turning, and just wanted it to turn some chisel handles - until the idea of turning chessmen came along. I don't think this lathe is good enough for anything else...
It needs to be able to mount a 4-jaw chuck, and you'll probably need to make a wooden mounting base with a screw going through the middle of it for holding the pieces (see the brown base held in the chuck in the photos). You may need to buy a couple parting tools, but the rest of the turning I do with home-made carbide cutters (a mild steel rod stuck into a handle, with the carbide tip screwed on).
For weighting, I just fill the mounting hole with lead shot and drown it in epoxy.
For finishing, polish on the lathe until mirror finish, then put 2-3 light coats of 1-2lb cut shellac.
Keeping the wood dust under control might be an issue if you don't have a dedicated workshop /garage area for it though.
If I manage to inspire at least somebody to make his own set, then I'll be a happy man. 
The hardest thing is turning the pawns - you need them all to be similar in size & shape.
Found some free time in the workshop to turn a few pawns.
Snapped a pic every time I stopped the lathe to check the measurements. Enjoy.
Feb 20, 2022
0
#34
Bravo @M_Chavez! Bravo! Fine craftsmanship indeed. I so much appreciate the step-by-step tutorial and pictures. Well done!
Those are really nice pawns!
Feb 20, 2022
0
#36
Wonderful work!
I smiled with some irony when I read this update after the 3-second queen thread. Alas, the world is big enough that both methods of production have their place.
Any fantasy that I had of buying a lathe is over … I’ll leave that to others! @Wits-end … here’s one for you to purchase.
https://www.recordpower.com.au/product/heavyduty-cast-iron-electronic-variable-speed-lathe#.YhKVNGTZXYV
I smiled with some irony when I read this update after the 3-second queen thread. Alas, the world is big enough that both methods of production have their place.
Any fantasy that I had of buying a lathe is over … I’ll leave that to others! @Wits-end … here’s one for you to purchase.
https://www.recordpower.com.au/product/heavyduty-cast-iron-electronic-variable-speed-lathe#.YhKVNGTZXYV
Wow! That looks good. These remind me of Dubrovnik pawns with the bulbous bases.
Thanks!