New Board and Pieces - Acceptable tolerance?

This is my favorite solid wood board. A local woodworker made this for me at $240. Walnut & Ash are the woods. Drueke boards are my favorite solid wood boards. Man I need to get a better picture of this board. I don't use it much but before COVID. I would bring it to club here and there on occasions. Not a board meant for travel but sure is nice to play on. Ash is such a beautiful wood. I like it more than Maple. At 1st the Ash was kind bland but with age. It's becoming a warm soft yellow that really complements the chocolate brown of the Walnut.

Here's another place that you can get that American Staunton set. 

American Staunton Wood Chess Pieces | Wholesale Chess

I guess there are similar sets but made by different people? 

The king weight on the one I have is 70g and there are no extra queens.

Would you often see very similar designs but manufactured in different places?

Thank you for the photos of the DGT non-electronic board. They are quite possibly the only images of the board posted on the internet showing a detail closeup of the DGT non-electronic side label and underside of the board. A first for the World Wide Web. Haha. Congrats.

@forked I really like the Drueke boards as well and the solid wood boards that I've seen on here and in person (from other people) seem to grow in character over time. Similar to that yellowing of the Ash squares which I find beautiful.  

I just tried board an instate wood worker, Sweethillwood.com , and I am excited in seeing his work.  If the board arrives looking like the pictures he has online then I'll probably order a few more from him.  

Assuming the board is new, just unpacked, The 1st photo appears to be from wood shrinkage, i.e. is the wood properly aged/dried? It can be an indication of more problems to come in the future. The 2nd photo, is obviously damage. For a £500 board, I would not accept either issues.

The DGT board is laminated; not solid wood as the OP's board. So, in some ways, it can't be compared apples-to-apples to a solid wood board.

The board is £99.

I debated buying what is probably the cheapest solid wood board out there, vs an inlaid board for 60% of the cost.

i think the first issue is more “workmanship” than anything. I should probably take a photo of the entire board so people can see - The camera has amplified it quite significantly. 

Same with the scratches to be honest. Unless you look at it from eye level, you struggle to see them. 

Thank you for sharing the pictures! I like the pieces but like you, I’d be somewhat disappointed with board. If it were used, I’d expect some blemishes for sure but... As an up and coming woodworker, the gaps just aren’t acceptable at any price really. My first solid wood board is of my own making and yes, they’re are a few spots I’m not pleased with, but i wouldn’t try to sell it either. That’s just my personal standard. Even spending 100 or so would come with an expectation that this new board doesn’t fulfill for me. If you decide to keep it, good for you it is your decision and only your decision. One way to look at it is my mantra, “Enjoy the Journey” and this process gives your new board a story to be cherished and told every time you use it. Good luck friend!

Ok, so I thought it would be worth getting the whole board in from a birds eye view.

The “scratch” the corner of h8 and is only really visible if you are much closer to eye level. 

The “gap” is h7 and a little bit between b4 and c4.

From all of your experiences, does this look like a typically board? At £100, should I be expecting perfection for an all wood board (my research tells me I shouldn’t). 

Thanks!

When I enlarge the image the board looks like amateur work. If this is the case in reality too, then it is not acceptable.

looks nice to me

What makes you say that?

I'm really trying to work out if my perfectionism just isn't realistic with this (especially at this price point).

I've seen other solid woods boards that are not perfect, which cost quite a bit more (hence my questions).

But like I sad this is maybe only on image

Yeah, I've noticed those little misalignments - They aren't massively noticeable when playing, but certainly can be seen when inspecting closely.

At £99 though (and solid wood), it seems to be (from my research), pretty good overall.

There are many things that can “go wrong” with wood; was it sufficiently dried (moisture content), sanded, glued, clamped adequately, boards squared up with precision, is the climate it lives in friendly (humidity excessively high or low) etc. Think of any wood instrument; guitar, violin, mandolin, Native American flutes, woodwinds, etc., they are all prone to expansion/contraction with the weather. Wood is a beautiful medium, but like all things has its positives and negatives. The real question to me is, do you like it? If you’re looking from a collector’s viewpoint would you feel the same? As with anything, one can spend a small fortune to buy what they want. But is it necessary? My advice is to set a price point and find the very best one you can. My guess is that you aren’t satisfied with your purchase and that is why you’re asking for input. You know yourself better than we do, so if you can enjoy the board in its present condition... than look no further. Play and enjoy! If you know you’ll have that little nagging thought every time you set up the pieces “wish i had returned this when i had the chance”... then return it with all do haste. 

One more thought. If we were playing OTB and you pulled out this board we’d never even think about or talk about its condition. We’d play! 

So, the biggest issue for me is the lack of experience with in-person wooden boards.

On the one hand, I could return it, buy the same model again, and hope it's better (a lot of hassle though).

On the other, if the experienced voices on this forum say that it's pretty common for solid wood boards to look like that, then I'll not bother.

I guess it's getting that confirmation from people far more knowledgeable than I am (with much more experience), that in actual fact, what I have is perfectly fine.

I've tried to look around, and I get mixed results to a degree (some people not accepting anything less than perfection for a very, very steep cost), and others happy with the little misalignments and everything else.

I've not even ventured into the veneer vs wood debate yet.

Appreciate yours, and everyone else input!