How to (NOT) make a Chessboard | Beginner's Mistakes

Hello!
This is me making my first chessboard.
I'm a beginner woodworker and I'm sharing my experience for two reasons:
1) I hope to help others avoid mistakes that I made
2) I hope to learn from others through feedback, so please share any advice or tips you have!
Follow me:
/ benandwoodworking
I hope you enjoy!
Music: bensound.com

[@benofalltrades]

Wow at nearly 3 years old this video has exploded! (At least for me). I appreciate all the views and comments of advice. Just a bit of background. This was my very first KZbin video and is cringy to watch for multiple reasons! The saw technique being the biggest reason. My editing and voice over skills being another big one for me personally. I still consider myself a beginner in both regards, but the recent response to this video has inspired me to continue to make videos and improve my skills. Rest assured I do not use the table saw like this anymore 😀 Thanks so much for watching and subscribing! If you have a sec check out my other videos!

[@edmilner]

I think it's almost certainly a result of the Netflix 'Queen's Gambit'.

[@benofalltrades]

@@edmilner that totally makes sense. I'll take the exposure!

[@jimleonardson4268]

@@edmilner On NPR they had a news item that chess sets are selling out because of "The Queen's Gambit". They also claimed people socially distancing and staying home seem to prefer a physical set to play.

[@nicolasmartinez6288]

I thought it was great through and through.

[@benofalltrades]

@@nicolasmartinez6288 thanks!

[@ronmcgilton1327]

Don't sweat the early mistakes. You've got a decent mix of tools, and you'll gain the experience over time to do some nice stuff. When glueing strips, clamp a couple of straight rigid boards across the strips, top and bottom, to keep them flat. Use wax or parchment paper to keep them away from the glue. This will really cut down on the planing and sanding.

[@michaelcummings2590]

Two words --- riving knife.

[@jean-pierrelandry8575]

two more --- dust collection

[@rl8631]

Another 2 - luna-tic. stand back and stay outta the way? great advice. this is definitely a what not to do vid.

[@RaymondTusk74]

First thing I thought when I saw the table saw, then he almost shot that board into his chest to prove us right.

[@Johnny010]

I am a complete amateur, but even I can see this is some horrible H&S. No knife, no blade cover, leans over the blade, no push stick thing and also no dust collection.

[@michaellewis7758]

crosscut sled, that was scary to watch - accident waiting to happen...

[@David-fv7zg]

Dont beat yourself up too much over this. Anytime you make your "prototype" project, it always takes a lot longer as you are working through things as you go. The next time will be a lot easier. In the end, you have a really nice chessboard, and unless you are making these for production, thats all that counts.

[@lmgreenwood6632]

You made this video some 3years ago and this is my first visit. I think it’s inspiring to any wood worker beginning or experienced. You learn from your mistakes and find a way to make it right. Your shop looks well equipped and one thing I can offer is to use them, it’s a lot easier and safer. Your honesty and narrative made this a pleasure to watch.

[@tonywwp]

I'm sure after 4 years your skills have truly improved. I wish you best of luck in your woodworking endeavors.

[@vaughanholtom4921]

Wonderful. What a helpful tutorial. Love it. Thanks for your humility and candor.

[@SomeSayApple]

This is great! Thank you for sharing the entire process and all the pitfalls!

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! And thanks for watching!

[@tomchan081]

Thank you for this video. I learned a lot about fixing some of the mistakes I’ve been making. Great final product!

[@benofalltrades]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!

[@richardmarcosek1786]

Absolutely beautiful - very generous to share that. I have seen lots of videos with perfect presentations which are obviously geared towards selling. But your video is actually inspiring dudes like me who have never done this and don't have fancy machinery to make something like that. YOUR chessboard and especially the way YOU made it is my favored. THANK YOU

[@benofalltrades]

Wow, thank you!

[@richardmarcosek1786]

You are very welcome, the world needs more and more people like you, who simply share their experience, instead of pretending or trying to be perfect due to a lack of self-acceptance. All the best!! @@benofalltrades

[@kmeehan21]

Great vid, thank you! I'm going to give this a go this year (when it's warm enough to be out in the shop) and your video has been really helpful. I think I'll keep the border square, cut the 45 degree angles and then add a chamfer with a router after its glued. I don't have a table saw so that's going to be my biggest challenge I reckon. If it comes out half as nice as yours I'll be happy!

[@nathaneckel4937]

Thanks for the video. I'm a beginning woodworker too. It's nice to see someone else who makes mistakes and has to figure out how to fix them.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! I'm just learning as I go and almost every project I post is a first for me so mistakes are kinda my thing! Haha

[@ItsRud1]

I love your honesty and humbleness. Mistakes happen and we learn from it. This video inspired me to make one. I hope you stay safe and healthy and nothing bad happens to you in shop. Love your videos man. Keep up the great work.

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you! I really appreciate that. I'd love to see what you come up with. Tag me on Instagram @bawoodworking82 with some pics of the final product

[@rcort4864]

Dude! Make yourself a decent push stick! A scrap piece of wood is not a push stick. I cringed when I saw you using that thing. As far as bar clamping, use more clamps and alternate them top /bottom to even out the forces and as you say, do not overtighten. Clamping cauls may help to even out the pressure as well.

[@peakhour]

Tip for gluing - add some salt to the glue, it helps them not to slide around when clamped.

[@pixelmangler]

Good to see you still have all your fingers. Man, that table saw stuff very scary and hopefully you are up with the program these days. The end result was easily acceptable, notwithstanding how hard you had made the work for yourself. Keep going... the only way is forwards!

[@raymondjoseph7177]

Great video. It doesn't matter how long you work with it, it's wood mistakes happen. Board turned out great. You recovered very well.

[@paulattree4171]

Good video. I have just started getting into wood working and i am going to attempt my first chess board build. This is the best vid i have found. Thks

[@user-kk8bu4ki8x]

When I have some trouble with varying thickness of boards causing trouble on the table saw like you described, I use some hot glue or double sided tape to attach a smooth carrier (MDF of somthing similar) to the bottom and let that slide on the table saw surface. Easy peasy for taking care of that until you get it dressed down smoother. There are also lots of videos using a router sled to smooth the surface down. I have used this method a couple of times and it is great for reducing the amount of sanding required to get the surface smooth.

[@Bass-guitarist]

Thanks for sharing this, warts and all! Great vid. Well done.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! I appreciate that

[@jamesclark3208]

Gorgeous looking wood. Board looks lovely!

[@dilshanperera8264]

You're Perfect👍🏻 In your first time. Like me, learning by ourselves. Also, learning from the mistakes. Thoroughly enjoyed your woodwork. I love that two-wood colors.

[@imover9999]

That was a rough journey. And I only say that not to dog you, but because I know exactly how that feels. Man, you perservered and you made a lot of small mistakes (we all do) but the point to take home was you ended up with a beautiful piece at the end! The mistakes don't matter. What matters / mattered was you stuck it out and fixed them. Great work. I hope mine turns out that nice in the end!

[@willytrouble88]

Despite your "learn as you go" errors, it really turned out beautifully! The contrast between the wood squares is really nice. I also liked your choice of finish going with the satin. I am going to try to build my first entire set, starting off with the board and then on to the pieces, but at a smaller scale of 75% USCF size (1.5" squares). I just bought a Dremel 4" table saw for the board and a small Dremel lathe for the pieces. A full size set would likely exceed the capacity of my tools, so I'll just plan on scaling everything down. Great job again!

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! That's awesome! Good luck on the project! Share pictures on Instagram and tag me @bawoodworking82

[@mondujar279]

What a great video! The board turned out great in the end. I liked the explanations of the mistakes knowing that I would make numerous errors also the first time doing anything. It’s good to know I’m not alone 😮

[@dalek.6171]

Thanks for Sharing Ben. Interesting.

[@The_Real_Indiana_Joe]

It turned out great!

[@keshavaprasad2422]

Great job man!!

[@Tminsquero1975]

Great video, i really appreciate all the mistakes! :)

[@BrItZeeEee]

LOVE this! Regardless of the mistakes, it turned out pretty great! 👏🏻

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks!

[@sdevane75]

I'm sure you'll excell at whatever you do - as you clearly seek and accept advice rather than thinking you know everything as (some) others do. Great honest video, which gives someone with far less skill some hope. Thanks for posting flaws and all - it really helps.

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you! I'm glad it helps in at least a small degree

[@wayneworkman2184]

You done good! It looks very nice, and professional !

[@Matsanovic]

That was a lot of hard work behind that beautiful chess board. Looking great in the end. Good feeling to play chess with a home built board.

[@benofalltrades]

Indeed, thank you!

[@ronroffel1462]

This is the second video of yours I have watched and like that you tell viewers about the mistakes you make during the build. It helps me learn as much as learning the correct version the first time.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! I figure if I'm gonna dive into something new the least I can do is share hiccups along the way to hopefully help someone else. Glad it's helping!

[@ronroffel1462]

@@benofalltrades Thanks for replying to my comment. I am the type of person who learns by watching others and your demonstrations are very good. I get a lot out of them.

[@benofalltrades]

@@ronroffel1462 sure thing, I appreciateiate the feedback. As someone fairly new to the KZbin scene it's good to hear that my videos are worth something to people

[@beck8880]

Great! i made one for a school project back in 1995 I've still got it. They are things of beauty to me. 👍👍

[@benofalltrades]

That's awesome! Yeah they really are beautiful!

[@donesry2902]

I love it. Thank you for sharing! I cringed at your mistakes and cheered at your "but I can fix it". A chess board is hard to execute. The theory is really simple but you have to do everything right. A day of woodworking that doesn't involve bleeding is a success. I appreciate your humility. Your board looks great!

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@luisayala9301]

fun process if I get some smiles but it was worth it this beautiful congratulations

[@strangus]

Looks great!

[@michelsavoie6971]

Good job! It looks nice as a final product, don't fret about the small stuff, it's the final product that counts.

[@etiennedevignolles7538]

Hey, that turned out to be a lovely, classy-looking board! I'd buy it. 😀

[@denniswilliams148]

Thanks for the video, glad to see the same mistakes I’ve made. Thank you.

[@northcackalacky4694]

Excellent, honest video. Congratulations on tackling a complex project to start out with! I usually do a simple version of my dream project first. I will subscribe

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! I appreciate the view and the sub!

[@pantherpawz3435]

Thanks for showing us this. Turned out real nice

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! And thanks for watching!

[@johnshick4303]

the best way i find to do accurate forty fives is by fussing and caliberting your saw to a couple thousandths or so true. It is easier to have a high end miter gage like the incra which is tedious to set up true but stays there and will only need to be trued to ninety degrees the forty five settings are true to the ninety to a couple thousandths or so. it has taken me quite a few years to actually learn how to set up my mitre gage correctly using the five sided board method.

[@curtis9701]

i appreciate this.

[@katieanderson2184]

beautiful result!

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you!

[@randallmacdonald4851]

There are (and will be) lots of people just starting out to work with wood and woodworking machinery. Experts can explain how they easily make something but the beginner will struggle to accomplish close to the same thing. Watching YOUR mistakes and learning just as you did is much, much better than watching an expert craft a perfect piece. Thank you, tremendously, for showing your mistakes. This video is a treasure!

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad it was helpful!

[@nouraal-zeyadi4747]

Wooooooooow amazing 👏🏻

[@mikemonahan2580]

It’s easy to rave about your successes, but it takes real sand for a man to show others his failures. Cheers for that. You’re ahead of the game for two reasons: First, KZbin. I wish I had access to so much visual instruction when I first started woodworking. And second, you seem smart enough to ask for help. Best of luck on the journey.

[@benofalltrades]

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for watching!

[@nissan240sx4]

Hey man when gluing enything take a small bar clamp and a straight board put it on the top side

[@craftychinurse5240]

Great video! Thanks ❤

[@yatratechtvcom]

Wow Awesome & Humble and lovely heart to tell the making process....You nailed a Beautiful chess board bro🥰💗👍

[@alanedwards2217]

Nice job. Learn so much when making the first one.

[@benofalltrades]

It's true. I feel like I'm always making "the first one" for whatever I make 😂

[@alanedwards2217]

@@benofalltrades 😂

[@anniebot_45-73]

looks professionally-made

[@mickeyjett9197]

I’ve found getting the rough stock true on one face and edging them helps. The gluing and a hand plane to finish the glued boards square

[@benofalltrades]

Yeah I definitely need to get a hand plane!

[@brianrao8926]

awesome! and very useful tips! going to try to make one of these sometime

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! Glad you saw some value in the video

[@captwar]

Thanks. I want to compliment you on making the video. You did a great job on that.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! I appreciate that

[@wimitoevel]

It honers you that you talk about the mistakes , but still improvised , adapted and overcame. The result is super and you will treasure this board for years. The little imperfections make it unique and human.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks!

[@TheDelarch]

A really beautiful board. Great job!

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you!

[@bhazen5510]

Checkmate!! Looks like years of fun. It will be handed down. Still have my grandfather’s that he made about 100 years ago. Yours turned out beautiful❤️

[@benofalltrades]

That's awesome! And thank you!

[@antoniokauzlaric6923]

Excellent work, I really like the look of the board at the end of process. I would really love to have that board to play chess.

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you! Yeah there's a lot of beautiful boards out there

[@demonknight3986]

Looks amazing for a first one! Subbed

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks!

[@joemullan6924]

Turned out pretty good 👍

[@daf3000]

Beautiful end result!

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you!

[@guevara74]

Great honest video, keep up the good work man, after all, it looks great !!!

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you! Yep somehow I made it work

[@sk13ppy]

Thanks so much for your honesty! Kudos to you for your persistence. Loved the commentary and no music during the demo. Awesome work! 9.9/10 If you haven't already been told how to mitre the corners, there's probably a video on youtube about it. :)

[@benofalltrades]

Hey thanks! I appreciate that. And yeah there's been lots of suggestions on mitres. And I'm still learning more and more

[@justsayin7704]

You weren't born a master woodworker. You learn by doing. Your chess board was a great challenge and learning project. Something to be proud of. Display it with pride. It would be great to see where you are now in your woodworking journey. Keep "doing" and learning.

[@metals_etched]

I really like the fact that you shared your mistakes. We all make them. Turned out very nice. Well done.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching!

[@RayC6607]

I love the beveled border. A nice change from the traditional border with the numbers and letters. I think the board looks fantastic. I'm not going to critique the process. I've been wanting to make a chessboard for quite some time now and I could see myself having some similar issues with fit up, alignment, and the miters. Nice job.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for the feedback! Some of the comments below have some good tips for glue ups and getting good miters. Good luck!

[@wolflahti412]

Using your push stick right next to the fence tends to rotate the stock into the blade-a recipe for mangled stock and a mangled body from kickback. Get or make yourself a decent push stick, one that applies pressure to the top of the workpiece as well as pushing it forward. [Ah, I see one in use at 7:25.] When cutting really thin strips, it is far safer (for you and the stock) to cut the strips so they fall away from blade, not between the blade and the fence. It's a bit more fiddly to get the thicknesses consistent, but it's not that hard and decidedly worth it. When filling gaps, it's best to use wood glue; superglue will darken the wood, making the repair more evident. You ended up with a nice piece, and without having been told about the mistakes made along the way, it's unlikely anyone would ever know.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah definitely still learning all the tips and tricks!

[@imover9999]

Can make a stop block at the infeed to have a consistent size so all you gotta do is slide the fence over and sandwich the board between the stop block and the fence. The fence only moves the width of the cut plus the saw kerf every time. Should - in theory - get consistent size strips then. Still scary to me though since my table saw has an actual chasm next to each size of the blade. 😂 Kickback damn near broke my hand / wrist once already trying to cut thin stock. Have a zero clearance throat or buy a bandsaw for that kind of work.

[@brendanmcgeehan5812]

Really helpful to see how you fixed your mistakes.

[@benofalltrades]

Oh good! I'm glad!

[@RayC6607]

Never mistakes, we call them happy accidents. (Bob Ross)

[@ericwilliams538]

Thanks for sharing your trials and errors with your adventures in chess board making/ building. How do we learn!!?? We learn from our mistakes that we make. Hopefully we don't keep repeating the same ones over and over, because that's the definition of insanity.

[@johnhales3682]

I enjoyed the video and I made the same mistakes as you and I will making my next chess board soon, hope I've learnt some thing. You learn by your mistakes. Well done.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks much!

[@samstone1884]

Looks amazing well done

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks very much!

[@ryanellis7520]

For cutting board glueups I have a few pre cut/tape wrapped 1\2" plywood squares that I lay on top of the glue up. About 1/4 inch edge exposed around edge, and I use pipe clamps. Helps me.

[@benofalltrades]

That's a great idea!

[@nathandcole]

It looks great.

[@x1Ricardo]

Great result in the end!

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you!

[@brianwebb7908]

Good job! I realize you (like me) aren't a master woodworker, but I'm impressed with your perseverance. The end result is great and that's what matters most. 😊

[@johnthompson3462]

Looks great.Love that you shared your errors and mistakes.Everone makes them but not all have the guts to admit it. I don't have a riving knife so don't worry.The sad ones that criticize are usually the ones that don't do anything

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! Yeah honestly I'd feel a bit better with one, but the one that came with the saw is to thick and prevents wood from being pushed through soooo 🤷🏼

[@emostorm7]

Turned out nice. These are common problems i think all woodworkers face. Ill be reading tips as well. Good video production as well

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks for watching! I hope it helps others avoid similar mistakes

[@HURTURFEELINGS]

Nicely done! I used walnut and tiger wood for mine.It was out of square by 3/32", so I turned it into a cutting board. I'll use a different technique next time. It looks great!!!

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! That sounds like a very pretty combination. The best way to improve is repetition!

[@waynemiller6070]

Thanks for your humble presentation. Many of my projects are the "second" attempt. You were able to salvage your first attempt with surprisingly good results. The gap filling on the 45's was particularly impressive. If you'd like to play a game... I'll play white... E4...

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you! Yeah first projects are always tough. And I'll admit, I rarely play chess even with a board. I wouldn't even know how to play by just describing the locations of the board 😀

[@austintomkewitz7206]

E5 always brotha nah just kidding I play Sicilian

[@waynemiller6070]

@@austintomkewitz7206 hit me up on Lichess.com TheWayneShow

[@yanchuen7869]

Great looking chess board! Observation : You need to align your fence to your saw blade, or you will be sanding more than you will be sawing. Spend a few days calibrating your saw fence and making sure your saw blade teeth has enough clearance to material as well as a thick steel so it will not bend during the cut. After the cut you should only need light sanding instead of trying to sand off the burn marks. Let the blade rest on hardwoods and even use lubricate to cool the blade to prevent it from overheating & bending while going through a lot of material.

[@philparrish8892]

Use cauls to put across the board - clamp then to the table/workbench and then clamp the glued surfaces together. You do not need to clamp super tight just enough to get the glued surfaces to adhere to the next one.

[@maxmorehead1569]

I'm not an experienced woodworker, but the strategy that Wood You Make It uses for the glue up is to put weight on the top of the board before clamping the sides. He has a custom jig for clamping chessboards, but yeah having some downward force to prevent bowing seems important.

[@luisayala9301]

As you can see, I love to watch and it doesn't matter as long as I enjoy it. Maybe in some time I'll come back to congratulate you, one more time aguien jejejej

[@ARCWoodCraft]

Making mistakes = fastest way to learn 👌 Good work chap 👍

[@benofalltrades]

I agree. Thank you!

[@rubyxcroft2015]

Not bad at all!! I appreciate your honesty.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! Just trying to help in some small way

[@ilyasmehdiyev609]

Amazing 😺

[@gabrielcoronado6395]

You are a MASTER. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@benofalltrades]

Oh I'm far from a master, but that's very generous, thanks! Haha

[@stevefowler3398]

I have now watched several very skilled craftsmen making chessboards. They come in ultra high-end, using expensive materials, down to this one, which uses off cuts. They are all fantastic, but this one brings it down to MY level. I have to hunt down some wood now. Thanks for the video. It is great!

[@benofalltrades]

I'm glad the video helped in some way! That means a lot to me. Happy hunting/crafting!

[@jc03571]

Came out great! Lots of tune-up in the end but that’s how we learn. Definitely get a splitter or riding knife. Increases safety for newbies like us.

[@benofalltrades]

Thank you, yep it was definitely a learning process. And yeah, definitely need to get a riving knife

[@wmgrom2754]

edge: work big to small. Make angle cuts (table saw bevel) on one long piece, safer to cut on table saw and cuts (45 angle) will match up

[@petrusscott3038]

I love how you fixed the mitres. They look great after the fix 👍

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks!

[@pawelowi7528]

Regardless of some minor mistakes, it looks awesome 👍🏻

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks!

[@zTribalstylerz]

I think the final result came out nice and clean! Well done

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks! I appreciate that

[@johnhales3682]

Hi BA, just in the process of putting the boarder around the playing area, I'm going to do square joints and not mitre as I know the board is not square. I done the same mistakes as you I just didn't record it, but so pleased you did, just to know I'm not the only one to have made those mistakes. Great video so informative. All I have is a festool orbital sander, dewalt table saw, and my makita plunge saw.😂. I love it though.

[@benofalltrades]

Sounds awesome! I'd love to see the board when you're done. Tag me on Instagram @bawoodworking82

[@shannelowe183]

Thats a beautiful board. Great for a first try.

[@benofalltrades]

Thanks!

[@HeatherDavis13]

It is a lovely looking board..

[@jcoat007]

I just made my first chessboard and even if I had watched your video, I probably would have still made some of the same mistakes. I learn by doing, and I learned a lot. One thing that amazes me about woodworking is how similar it is to PGA golf. While it’s nice to be in the fairway and on the green, the most important skill is recovering from a bad situation. In woodworking this typically involves a lot of sanding!!! 😂😂😂😂😂 Great video!!!