Here is a photo of another square. I also do wood working and would never give something like this to a paying customer expecting them to be happy with the excuse of it being a natural product and part of the wood grain.
House of Staunton
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Jan 15, 2026
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#2
Jan 15, 2026
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#3
It could be something in the wood, but it isn’t what most of us would expect. if you’re not happy with it, it will likely always bother you. Can you exchange it? I’d talk with a customer service person on the phone (rather than email).
Even if it is a natural feature of the wood, it’s still poor quality control. A decent maker would not select this wood IMO. Is it in the grain or is it dust from the darker squares getting caught in the grain after sanding? How much did you pay for the board? If it was cheap maybe lower quality control is expected, if you paid for a premium board I’d expect better. There are some good board makers on Etsy.
Jan 16, 2026
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#5
I'm not a wood expert by any means but I know a problem when I see it. Are all the white squares like that? I'd definitely push for an exchange or refund. Sorry for the hassle - we all expect better from HoS.
Jan 16, 2026
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#6
baudouin27 wrote:
It could be something in the wood, but it isn’t what most of us would expect. if you’re not happy with it, it will likely always bother you. Can you exchange it? I’d talk with a customer service person on the phone (rather than email).
I talked with customer service and they weren't helpful at all, but instead tried to convince me that the board was as it should be and those black specks were to be expected. I told them they should be as considerate with the boards they sell as the ones they photograph for their advertisement, because none of the boards shows these marks and if its so natural and to be expected, why is that?
Jan 16, 2026
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#7
beachero wrote:
Even if it is a natural feature of the wood, it’s still poor quality control. A decent maker would not select this wood IMO. Is it in the grain or is it dust from the darker squares getting caught in the grain after sanding? How much did you pay for the board? If it was cheap maybe lower quality control is expected, if you paid for a premium board I’d expect better. There are some good board makers on Etsy.
I paid $100 for the board and while i know there are boards that are more expensive, but this was my first "quality" boards purchase and im definitely disappointed with the experience, especially with the response from HoS customer service. I'm not a fool, these spots cant be expected.
Jan 16, 2026
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#8
GrandPatzerDave wrote:
I'm not a wood expert by any means but I know a problem when I see it. Are all the white squares like that? I'd definitely push for an exchange or refund. Sorry for the hassle - we all expect better from HoS.
Exactly! I actually have some experience with woodworking and no honest company is going to send a product out like that and then say thats the way its supposed to be.
Jan 16, 2026
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#9
The head of House of Staunton has an account here and from time to time jumps in. This would be the moment -
Feb 19, 2026
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#10
baudouin27 wrote:
The head of House of Staunton has an account here and from time to time jumps in. This would be the moment -
It would be nice if he jumped in. Because after I saw those major blemishes on my board, i was talking to a coworker about and went to the House of Staunton page and guess what I saw? Various boards, including the model I purchased, on clearance. I know they do sales, but this wasn't that. Its too much of a coincidence for certain boards to all of a sudden be on clearance for $20! And they didn't stay on clearance. What im guessing is that they put all the ones that had blemishes on clearance and once those sold out raised the boards back to the normal price. I called back and told them that the board I bought for $110 10 days ago was now on clearance for $20 and they still gave me a hard time. Told me that they would refund me the difference, but that i had to give them the money i would have used to ship it back. smh.
Feb 20, 2026
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#12
stevedifferent wrote:
baudouin27 wrote:
The head of House of Staunton has an account here and from time to time jumps in. This would be the moment -
It would be nice if he jumped in. Because after I saw those major blemishes on my board, i was talking to a coworker about and went to the House of Staunton page and guess what I saw? Various boards, including the model I purchased, on clearance. I know they do sales, but this wasn't that. Its too much of a coincidence for certain boards to all of a sudden be on clearance for $20! And they didn't stay on clearance. What im guessing is that they put all the ones that had blemishes on clearance and once those sold out raised the boards back to the normal price. I called back and told them that the board I bought for $110 10 days ago was now on clearance for $20 and they still gave me a hard time. Told me that they would refund me the difference, but that i had to give them the money i would have used to ship it back. smh.
I'm terribly sorry for your experience. I've been a HoS customer for a very long time and I certainly expect better, at any price point. They should have made it right. I'm quite sure it doesn't matter in the end but I'm going to give them some sht over this.
I ordered a board from House of Staunton and there are black specks all throughout the light colored squares which I consider a major defect to the aesthetics of the board, but the company is saying it's a natural part of the wood grain. I want to be happy with my purchase, but it's hard. What do you all think?