Anyone have experience with JLP Chess Boards?

A couple notes:

1. November 25th, 2022 is “Black Friday” in the US, and ChessHouse traditionally has extremely generous discounts and sales on JLP boards. A $400 board could turn into a $300 board quite easily, which makes the decision a bit easier.
2. A… “little bird” may have mentioned that ChessHouse is looking into a limited run of 2.25” JLP Drueke boards with a full-size border, not the thin version seen above.

 

That little bird should get something nice this coming holiday.

Black Friday has been on my mind for sure.....MCH,I think many collectors of chess sets have a few that they can't/won't use,however it's nice to have a few different varieties....That would include boards too.

If I had more room and cash,I'd most likely collect more boards as well.So many nice and unique ones out there.Especially those stunning platform boards from H.O.S. Way too expensive for me,but gorgeous.

Btw,on Ebay,there is a very nice condition Dreuke vintage board(18 inch) for $95 and I believe a dead mint 21 inch vintage Dreuke for $200.

 

Ha, MCH! I hope I'm not a bad influence on the wallet.

I'm trying, I'm trying...one of this years I will get him to buy something that I say to you all!

Close to hitting the buy button......Sooo close!

How does someone evaluate a board to determine if it is “good” “bad” or “excellent”? I assume we can expect them to be as precisely flat as possible and have precise geometry. But how else?

 
In woodworking, the “finish” is what determines quality. Properly sanding, prepping, removing any tool marks, ensuring an even coating of finish, alignment of cuts, actual squareness of the board, etc cost a LOT of money.

In order to achieve this, your process has to be extremely laborious, and your quality control exquisite. Wood is a natural object, so the cost is quite high to ensure no second quality product leaves your shop but is instead fixed or destroyed rather than reduce your reputation for perfection.

That is JLP.

If we use auto terms, it is just like comparing the Lexus IS, ES and LS models. 
Also I encourage the review of people’s pictures and experiences in this thread:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/my-new-board-from-colorado-woodworker

For example, if you look at the border of the JLP boards in this thread, you can see that the grain of the wood is aligned to go the same direction as the grain of the squares.  This is a more difficult way to do it, but its important and I can't remember seeing many other boards do that.

The reason it's important is that all of the wood in the board will expand or contract in the same direction with seasonal changes in humidity.  In most places in the US, maple and walnut of this width will expand / contract about 3mm across the grain during the year.  If all the grain is in the same direction, it all expands and contracts together, but if the end grain of the some parts are connected to the edge grain of others and they expand in different directions, something might crack.

Note: it's ok in veneer boards because they're bonded to plywood or MDF which is dimensionally stable.

Just bit the bullet and ordered a JLP  21 inch Players Model from Chesshouse,opened box,but very minty, for $199.00

Shipping was free.....I couldn't resist the price.

Nice!!!! Any chance at a picture?

You can see the picture by keyboarding JLP Chess Boards for sale...It should pop up.Actually,now that I just bought it,the only picture is a small one and that will most likely get deleted by Chesshouse....but....It's the 21 inch Players Model.

Readily seen on the site. I was pleasantly surprised to get free shipping.Now I have 4 boards and have no more room for anymore,but one more set is going to come,when hopefully a Black Friday Sale appears....Ceska Klubovka.

Brother Magic! I've always said you're a man of style! Such a classy board, just imagine later on a Ceska Klubovka set on that board, next to a black Soviet bakelite clock... can it get any better?

Did you order a bag for it, or will you just use the box it is shipped with to store it in every time?

To those who responded to my question about quality, thank you!

When I looked at their boards, they definitely look impressive esthetically. I probably cannot bring myself to ever buy one simply because I have three two of the more premium inlaid Wegiel boards which probably will never see enough wear from my anyway as there are no chess playing friends in my circle of friends.

If I had to present a gift to a chess playing friend these boards look like a great option since it’s something not many players will have a courage to buy.

Here is some kind of related info from the tangent in my thinking.

When I looked at the JLP site it inevitably made me think about the premium Japanese boards(more like tables actually) used to play Go and shogi. (I am sure it’s obvious from my current icon I am a fan of go as much as if chess). You probably know that the most expensive ones are made from either a single fat chunk of wood, or carefully glued wood beams made from kaya wood. The cheaper ones are made from bamboo. You can look up what they look like if you’ve not seen one. I’ve not actually seen one in person either. For go it is called Goban. For shogi shogiban.

There is actually some market for go boards among go players in Asia and in other countries. The super expensive ones are made in Japan, and even more expensive if they are old and well preserved. For those who cannot spend too much on those there are the bamboo go tables and boards made in China and Korea. Mostly China.

I am sure JLP has considered it, but if not, I am sure American premium wood can make excellent boards that can be commercially competitive with the ones from other countries. Maybe I not aware of it, and they do make them already?

I wish that there were US-based goban manufacturers myself. 

Regarding a bag...No! It will always stay in my chess/hobby room.....The room was gifted to me by my wife(who wasn't wild about another chess purchase in that of the JLP,but the price was soooo good and I was a salesman in NYC right after college so I gave her a good pitch)......I put up a thread called "A Room With A View",showing some of my sets and boards recently.

A Ceska Klubovka set and nice box will "definitely" finish off the collection....or...my wife will finish me off! If you folks don't hear from me after the new year,you'll know she was successful.-

I want to give significant credit to MCH! This guy,aside from being a stupendously fine chess player,is literally an encyclopedia of all things that exude quality.....he turned me on to JLP and the classic vintage Dreuke boards,that I was seriously considering on Ebay.

MCH has some very fine sets himself,incl Noj and a vintage Dreuke board.....Classy guy....Superb Chess Player.

He gave me some good tips on this type of board,because I had always preferred a nice platform board....but....after being educated about the classic Dreuke designs I had to have an ode to that company.....Hence,JLP.

I highly recommend purchasing a felt bag from ChessPlayerStore - https://chessplayerstore.com/

The quality is unmatched, he makes a custom size for whatever board you have, and it protects my JLP boards perfectly. Much better than the vinyl type from ChessHouse.

My guests tend to have those grins whenever they played on my chess sets. Their gameplay tend to look a bit more fun when they’re playing on nicer sets and reliable electronic clocks.