That's black walnut and maple with a movingui perimeter and a wenge outer frame in #17. Nice board too but I guess you're not biting on a purchase or will you? You'll have to custom order that one for sure. At one time he had it in his website for sale, I don't recall if the 2.25" square size was the one selling. Perhaps the 2.0" square and 2.5" square were selling in 2018 if I remember correctly.
That's black walnut and maple with a movingui perimeter and a wenge outer frame in #17. Nice board too but I guess you're not biting on a purchase or will you? You'll have to custom order that one for sure. At one time he had it in his website for sale, I don't recall if the 2.25" square size was the one selling. Perhaps the 2.0" square and 2.5" square were selling in 2018 if I remember correctly.
Not buying anything at the moment, but maybe in the future. It is a very nice board but I already have a few maple/walnut so I probably can't justify adding another maple/walnut; if I pull the trigger on an MTM board I'd probably go with the one you're ordering (purpleheart and movingui), just not sure which type of frame/perimeter I would go with.
I understand although black walnut isn't like regular walnut but there are some nicer looking woods like sapele or even darker wenge and bog oak. Not sure how dark you'd like to go but I also have a couple of walnut boards and the black walnut had an interesting color contrast so I picked it. Take a look at this webpage, from mtm.com wood, just copy and past it above your search box. It shows the type of woods he can obtain. Some he may not because this page was from 3 years ago. Try it, you might like something in there to your tastes.
file:///Applications/DESKTOP%20FOLDERS/MTM%20wood%20Colors%20Lacquer%20Finish/Website%20MTM%20The%20colors%20of%20woods.webarchive
I understand although black walnut isn't like regular walnut but there are some nicer looking woods like sapele or even darker wenge and bog oak. Not sure how dark you'd like to go but I also have a couple of walnut boards and the black walnut had an interesting color contrast so I picked it. Take a look at this webpage, from mtm.com wood, just copy and past it above your search box. It shows the type of woods he can obtain. Some he may not because this page was from 3 years ago. Try it, you might like something in there to your tastes.
file:///Applications/DESKTOP%20FOLDERS/MTM%20wood%20Colors%20Lacquer%20Finish/Website%20MTM%20The%20colors%20of%20woods.webarchive
Yeah I've often wondered about black walnut and kind of concluded that it's similar to regular walnut; sounds like I might be wrong. I actually like the look of darker squares (e.g., wenge), however, I've realized that they simply aren't practical (since I prefer very dark pieces for the black pieces), so I opt for lighter color woods (sapele is a great example). I was hoping the board in #17 was made with some kind of unique lighter colored wood, however, the wenge frame really does set the whole thing off and makes it look quite striking overall. I'll take a look at that link, much appreciated.
What's extremely helpful on that mtm woods webpage is that you can see the woods in 3 forms of finishes. Natural, Lacquered, and Mineral Oiled finishes. The Mineral Oiled finishes really bring out the wood grain in the lighter woods and darken the naturally dark other wood species with quite deeper and darker earth tones. It helped me tremendously making my board picks.
What's extremely helpful on that mtm woods webpage is that you can see the woods in 3 forms of finishes. Natural, Lacquered, and Mineral Oiled finishes. The Mineral Oiled finishes really bring out the wood grain in the lighter woods and darken the naturally dark other wood species with quite deeper and darker earth tones. It helped me tremendously making my board picks.
Yes that is very interesting; I assume mineral oil must be maintained/re-applied vs lacquer being a "permanent" finish?
I believe so but not as often as you may think. It's nothing different than keeping a quality cutting board in good shape by oiling monthly but then again you won't be washing a chessboard to remove food material that's the reason why the reoiling is necessary on cutting boards monthly to keep them waterproof and preventing them from drying out excessively from the constant daily washing if utilized in that fashion. FYI.
I had a retired postman on Etsy make this one up a few years back for about $160 with shipping. It's a 2-1/2" Padauk and Northern Ash. Since all my over the board playing is done off-site, getting boards without borders (sounds like a charity) allows me to use a larger set. The board above actually has a smaller footprint than a standard 2-1/4" indexed vinyl board. The same guy also made me a 2" and a 2-1/8" board in the same style with different woods.
I have to say that the Sheesham wood platform board I got from C.B. is really quite beautiful.
I got it a couple of years ago for about $169.00 shipped
Lots of good choices out there and I have 2 more really nice boards,but this board is really nice.
I was thinking today...it appears like this board has a layer of wood under it (which is smaller in dimension than the top/visible layer) to raise it up off the surface and make it appear to float (which is very cool):
In this screencap from an MTM video, we can see Andrei using the design I think was used above:
I think this is a great design for border-less boards because it creates a floating effect and adds something to compensate for the lack of border. I think it would be cool to see this same design but in reverse; the lower layer being larger in dimension than the top creating a "step" effect, almost like the squares are growing out of the table.
Want something way more expensive? Check out:
They're extremely costly. Have fun!
Lol
The bishop reminds me of "Little Shop of Horrors".
Figured I bring this thread back to life after the plethora of issues coming from some well known sellers,offering such shoddy dreck lately!
"This" is what quality looks like in chess boards!
Btw,I have the hots for the board in the first post........NOJ quality in chess boards,I believe.
Undoubtedly some fine craftsmanship represented here! Well done.
+1
Some of these high-end boards are amazing - I often revisit this video just to admire the skill and craftsmanship. It’s out of my league but I love it nonetheless. 👍
Would U Make It.
Yeah.....I'm looking for an excuse to go for that first one,in post # 1.....but.....15 lbs is a bit heavy for where I want to place it....Drats!
Yes! The thing is,I've always enjoyed the short lived feeling of buying on emotion.-
Doubtful I'll pull the trigger....but....I want to soooo bad!
I love MTM boards. Like Magic, I really want one too. Aside from money, the only thing holding me back is the grain being a little too grainy if that makes sense. The boards are beautiful too look at but I am not sure I want to stare at it when playing or studying for long periods of time. I have never had one so I can't say my concern is from experience. It is just an assumption.
Yes, that one has the playing squares in that wood combination in that photo post #31 you shared a little while ago. The frame appears to be black walnut which is one of my favorite types of woods for a board's squares or accenting frame. The grain structure in the movingui wood is quite prominent and flows rather nicely for the light squares in the playing field of 64.
Yep. What's your guess on the woods used in post #17? I'm interested in it for the muted/light'ish colored woods used for the squares with the dark frame setting the whole thing off; it could be maple/walnut (I hope not) but it seems like something a bit different.