Not sure why it censored me, but the squares are 1-1/2”.
Chess piece suggestions for " squares
Consider something from etsy like
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1163067227/medium-soviet-chess-set-made-of-wood-in?ref=share_v4_lx
It's probably not weighted and might be a little crowded, but soviet boards generally were pretty tight.
A&A makes decent wooden Staunton sets with 3" king size, 1-1/2" squares. Too bad the pieces are no more available separately; yet a 15" folding board set would provide you with a nice storage box as a bonus... Already close to your budget price; you might consider finding it second hand for cheap.
Another option from etsy here.
I'm building a board and am looking for some pieces to go with it. The squares are ", which puts me in the range of 3" King height. I have browsed all of the chess websites and there are a few options, but not that many to choose from.
What I'm looking for:
-Staunton style (prefer interesting variants such as Soviet, etc)
-Weighted (This board is meant to play on, so the pieces need to be good for playing)
-~$50 max price
- Wood or plastic. Prefer wood, but would consider plastic for the right set.
The board is made out of stained white oak, when it's done I'll post photos.