ColoradoWoodWorker solid wood chessboard

Last thursday was a big day for me, as I was able to collect a chessboard I have been waiting for for a long time at the customs office. It a solid wood chessboard made by Brad Borkowski a.k.a. ColoradoWoodWorker on etsy.com. I found him through one of the posts on this forum and was taken aback by the beauty of the chessboards he produces. One of them especially caught my eye. It was Drueke-style chessbord made of maple and brazilian cherry with a walnut border. It looked simply PERFECT. I do own a pretty decent chessboard, but for the asking price he offered (130 Dollars for a 2.25 inch spuare solid wood chessboard) I simply had to ask how much the shipping for this particular board from Colorado to Germany was. And it was pretty high, but Brad was very helpful and found a cheaper way of sending. I must say he is a really gentle and helpful person anyway. This did show because I was in constant contact with him during his production of my personal board (except for a few quickship items he makes them all from scratch). After only a few days (say 3 or 4) he had the board finished. But -oh no- it had a lot of grain in some squares of the dark wood and that was not really to my taste. I wrote to Brad and I was really willing to accept the board anyways, as it was still a beauty of a board. But he was incredibly generous and offered to make a new one for me. He even agreed to send me pictures before glueing it together so that I could decide whether I wanted it in this way. And he did send me those pictures, but there was nothing I would have wanted to change. He had already selected the perfect chunks of wood. So he made a new board within a few days and sent it to Germany. Unfortunately I had some trouble with the post and I had to pay another 19% tax at the customs office. Whilst being annoying this didn't really get to me, because I had MY cheesboard. Once unpacked I was really astonished how heavy and solid it was. You can really feel the work and quality put into this board and it is woth every penny I spent on it. Just two little things did bother me a bit. First the brazilian cherry wood was a lot lighter than in the picures. More of a red-orange than a dark, rich red-brown. And secondly I asked Brad to brand the board and he did so on the back of the board, but unfortunately he put it directly in the middle of what otherwise might have been a perfect playing surface. But after a litlle thought and test and play I must say the lighter colour has grown on me and seems to work better with most of my chesspieces, as their wood is often darker. I especially like the look of it with ebony pieces. So to be honest it is even more practical than the darker colour. And that is what I wanted the board for: a simple, practical board made of solid wood as I already had a nice veneer board with a lot of grain, but that has become a little too much for me over the years. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION. And Brad made that work perfectly here!

I cannot recommend this board and working with Brad enough. But now simply have look for yourself:

Brad is an excellent craftsman and has very reasonable prices.  That board does look like an original style Drueke. Very great looking board.

A beauty. Good story, a shame they hit you with even more tax.

Here's to many years of memorable play on your new acquisition!

So Brad didn't charge you for the 2nd board?

I wholeheartedly agree with both things you said about Brad. And the board indeed looks like a Drueke- though you buy a little piece of history with those boards.

That is good to know! Thank you!

Thank you, Richard!

He didn't. But he sold it to someone who didn't mind the grain. Everyone is happy now!:-)

Joker -

Congratulations on your purchase of a very nice board...

Coincidentally, I also purchased the same board from Brad Borkowski.  I love it.  

See photos of my board starting at post#64 in the following thread...(along with my new GM Blitz set from ChessBazaar.com)...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/cb-gm-blitz-set?page=4

Brad does great work for a fair price. He is a pleasure to deal with, as he keeps you updated and provides photos of his progress. I have ordered one chess board and two custom Teeko boards from him, all excellent.

My board I tried to make it a raised look as best as I could. I think that was his first attempt at doing anything not flat for  chess board.  The board turned out great.

Thank you, Russ! You board looks really nice as well! And some nice pieces you got there, too!;-)

He is really a nice guy!! What are Teeko boards?

Thank you, Robert! And thank you for making that suggestion!:-)

I really love the look of the raised boards! I would really love to buy one of those, too. If it weren't for the money...

Agreed!

Teeko boards are 5x5 square boards for playing John Scarne's game, "Teeko", an abstract strategy game for two people with four pieces apiece. It's a fun game for my daughter and me to play. The games are quick. Most last between 2-5 minutes. The object is to get four pieces in a line, orthogonally or diagonally, or to make a square. Here's a link to the wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeko  I asked Brad to make a 5x5 and a 4x4 board with 2" squares. He also engraved my daughter's name on the back of the smaller board. I sent him a digital picture of a computer generated image I found on the internet, told him I liked the  color of the wood in the picture, and that I wanted a matte or semi-gloss finish, and he took it from there. He was very helpful with a suggestion for wood, and made a mock-up out of plywood and sent a picture for my approval before he went ahead with the project. The whole thing, with two boards, was about $50. 

Looks amazing, love the beveled edges

Here's a photo of the Teeko boards Brad made for me.