Making an ebony and boxwood travel chess board with concealed magnets

In this video I show you how I make an ebony and boxwood travel chess board with concealed magnets. The squares are 2.25" (57 mm) to give a playing field that's 18" (457 mm). The frame is 1.5" (38 mm) to give an overall size of 21" (533 mm). The board is .75" thick (19 mm). It can be played on both sides, so it has 20 mm (.79") concealed magnets on the bottom to keep the two halves attached when folded. There is algebraic notation inlaid with boxwood on the top side. The bottom side has the owner's initials in gold leaf in lower right corner. The frame has a 1/8" (3 mm) brass border on both sides and it has boxwood edge banding around the perimeter of the outer edge. The board also has 12 mm (.47") exposed magnets along the edge of each half to keep the two halves attached when the board is unfolded.
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email: [e-mail]
Instagram: / woodumakeit
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Milling the ebony and boxwood
03:35 First glue-up
05:25 Cutting the chess board squares
06:19 Second glue-up
08:09 Milling the frame pieces
09:46 Making pockets for the concealed magnets
14:36 Preparing the edge banding and brass borders
16:57 Announcing the give-away winner
18:49 Preparing the tongue and groove fitting
24:36 Cutting the miters for the frame
25:31 Attaching the frame
26:45 Carving the algebraic notation
30:29 Preparing the gold leaf initials
33:00 Inserting the edge magnets
36:43 Applying the finish
Music provided by Epidemic Sound
00:21 Plum Blossoms - Yi Nantiro
05:08 Solace - Gavin Luke
07:47 You Took My Breath Away - Gavin Ludvigsson
12:46 Fairy Memoirs - Rand Aldo
17:38 Fault Lines - Gavin Luke
19:59 Faded Silhouette - Helmut Schenker
23:59 Logica - Rina Rinoa
26:33 Corals - Sam Eber
30:30 Berceuse - Lo Mimieux
33:00 Keep Calm and Carry On - Franz Gordon
36:43 Listening Through You - Jonatan Mollberg
#chessboard #travelchess #foldingchessboard

[@JoeyCour]

jaw dropping end result. Love how the finish turns the basswood and ebony into something almost synthetic. Looks like chocolate. So inspiring!

[@jatna77]

Good to see that you follow the old traditions of making a blood sacrifice to the Gods of Chaos! 🙏 🐉 Love your vids!

[@Apollo0351]

30 seconds in and I already had to pause it from laughing at the "Ebony doorstop" joke because if that's not a woodworker joke then I don't know what is 😂😂 I have a Goncalo Alves sanding block and a figured purple heart spacer because they were the perfect size when I cut them off 😂😂

[@le_fancy_squid]

25:21 "I probably should have gotten stitches, but I didn't want to waste time." - Well if that isn't the story of everyone who's cut their hand ever. I've been there too. 😂 That's a beautiful chess board by the way.

[@jakesazer-hopf8211]

Something about those ebony boards makes me emptional

[@ThePaul675]

that is absolutely beautiful.. I've only just made a few chessboards, and your video's are so helpful!

[@nicolasbertschy5881]

Another piece of art! I love to watch it. Thanks for sharing.

[@anonym5825]

Glad to see a new video from you

[@dassabgy]

A pleasure to watch and learn. Thank you

[@MrNebojanele]

The man has golden hands !

[@HeathenHammer123]

Awesome vid as always! Thank you so much for running the contest, email has been sent :)

[@Woodumakeit]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll get the product in the mail.

[@johannes.f.r.]

Another great one. Always enjoy how conscientious you work and how it pays off. I personally prefer a less contrasty board for playing, but that's up to the client and I can understand that the dark color might fit better with the sleek design.

[@monalisahota]

Watching your videos is so addictive!! Beautiful chess boards, all of them!!

[@johnryan1211]

Mike your craftmanship is outstanding. That you for sharing.

[@michaelnorman5640]

Always amazing work Mike

[@marcobucci]

Lovely board!

[@TarrafTarraf]

nice work, always a pleasure to watch you working chess boards

[@normalertyp7884]

It's a really great board. Your precise work is impressive.

[@brucejemcek6986]

Your tools, skill, patience, and knowledge come together masterfully to create precision works of art. I am in awe at the finished product.

[@bbartlow0307]

Another masterpiece!

[@AndrewR74]

Very cool. Really nice work

[@Rafael-xt1nm]

You bled for your craft - much respect dude!

[@douglasbrown3493]

Well done! Thanks!

[@07bently]

Nice board love the pieces. I have one similar most likely lager that stores the pieces inside however the 4 corners of the board when open are rounded no letters of numbers I love that piece I bought it off the web

[@joannelarose7282]

Beautiful work as usual :) ...those black gloves though! 😧

[@alistairsimmons2393]

Love you content, I wish I had your skills.

[@glennclapp2537]

The cut from the router bit reminds me of what feels like every time I use a new end mill. Seems like I always manage to get nicked.

[@vinceearl4240]

This was one of my favorites of yours. I would have loved to see a high-polish shine on the board with that black/white wood combo, but the matte finish looks a treat as well.

[@HenryLeslieGraham]

unfortunately there is no accounting for a client's taste

[@angelgar25]

A chess player will prefer a matte finish on the board, it's less distracting for the game.

[@danielenobile7859]

Woow... Fantastic!! 👍👍

[@MrCytree]

Beautiful work as always but I cannot even imagine what that ebony was worth.

[@bernieinsaudi]

Every jointer pass…. 10 bucks! 😂

[@Bernardgrubb]

the price I found was $100 a board foot...

[@mrgcav]

You are a Chessmaster craftsman. i would not make it but i would be proud to own one.

[@graff-philkoff17]

Wow, impressive 👍👍👍

[@dpmeyer4867]

nice

[@lawrencedeleurere4427]

How do you prevent it from cracking due to moisture changes? Ebony is a pretty decent mover. It's definitely gorgeous, but doesn't it expand against the frame seasonally? Do you have cracking issues down the road?

[@valentinkovshik]

7:30 "Those cauls are made from Madagascar rosewood" - a fancy board needs some fancy cauls 😁 Great job!

[@karimbelhedi]

Very good job. congratulation

[@gilbertresto4060]

My first time in your channel, I just subscribed. I love the details and the refinement of the work. I love to talk to you about the use of the CNC. I have one but have not started to use yet.

[@Woodumakeit]

Hey Gilbert, thanks for subscribing! I'd be happy to chat with you sometime about the CNC or anything else. I'll send you a message so you know how to contact me.

[@matthewbaker2573]

you can use the same technique on the actual board squares along with attracting magnets in the pieces to have them stick in spot rather than easily knock off

[@dicekar]

I know the video is old but a quick tip on clean cuts in the skin use some superglue and you are good to go no pain no blood and does not scar any more than any other way to patch it up. Its mainly good for clean cuts i have used it many times at work to not slowmyself down never really that deep so just skin cuts not sure about any other kind. Thank you for this video i was hoping for a trick with the letter inlays but the trick being a cnc is not helpful for me haha.

[@SomeDudeOnline]

Hello again, hopefully I haven't asked this already but do you have any issues with the corners of the spaces lining up perfectly? I've made a handful of boards now and often have corners where it's just not perfect. I've only had one that I had to scrap/repurpose because the corners were really bad but I've never seen a high quality hand made board in person and don't know if this is just a quick of handmade boards and no matter how good I am, I'll likely never have all perfect corners or if I can improve my process enough to actually have all perfect corners.

[@alainwelter]

Mike, can you please make a Go Board in one of your videos please? Can I buy it from you? Love your videos. Thank you!

[@DavinsonPortoJr]

This is awesome! Can I order one?

[@Shane-ce9fm]

Great work as usual. Do you find it better to use a v-bit prior to using a 1/8" end mill?

[@Woodumakeit]

Yes, I think it's better to use the v-bit first when there is all the wood around it to provide stability. I use the end mill afterwards because the bit is further away from the part that I'm trying to keep, so stability is not as important at that point.

[@ethanhumphrey5758]

Where do you purchase ebony and boxwood and how much did it cost? I live in Australia and there is only 1 company in Sydney that supplies ebony and they charge $100 per kilo (about 70 USD)

[@KeenX72]

OW? I hope Owen Wilson likes his board, it looks immaculate.

[@Woodumakeit]

😊

[@DebakulumToughguts]

👍 für den Algorithmus

[@davidcrossley7145]

I love playing chess, loved watching your craftsmanship making the chess board. “superb” 👍

[@randomkindness1470]

I am amazed by the black in that ebony wood... its marble-black, in all my many ways I have never seen wood that black up close... I'm curious to know if that is natural or it goes through some kind of processing to achieve that depth of colour

[@Woodumakeit]

That's the natural color of the ebony. Some pieces have a bit of brown in them but this piece was really black, which was perfect for the squares.

[@claudemirsantello5651]

BOM DIA NOME PROFESSOR, POR FAVOR VC PODE TRADUZIR EM LINGUA BRASILEIRA POR FAVOR. SOU SEU Fã E SEGUIDOR , TUDO QUE SEI APRENDI COM VC. OBRIGADO UMA DICA PRA VC....FAZ UM LIVRO DOS SEUS TRABALHOS ENSINANDO A FAZER , EU GOSTARIA DE TER UM LIVRO SEU DE COMO FAZER O SEUS TRABALHOS . MUITO MAS MUITO OBRIGADO POR VC MOSTRAR SUA OBRA DE ARTE. SHOUUUU

[@claudemirsantello5651]

ENTAO JÁ FICARIA MUITO FELIZ SE VC TRADUZIR SEUS VIDEO EM LINGUA BRASILEIRA.

[@sathyanp.g2000]

"Wood you " Make the coins ?

[@KnifeHandWoodDesign]

yes I would make it. actually had a customer reach out to me about making one just like this but he wants it made out of paduk and maple. not sure how I will stop the paduk from bleeding into the maple while sanding

[@Woodumakeit]

I've found that using compressed air after sanding works well. And then be sure to spray on the finish rather than brushing.

[@KnifeHandWoodDesign]

@@Woodumakeit thank you so much for the tip.

[@yamenalbadin]

Amazing work! How long did it take you to make?

[@Woodumakeit]

I shot the video from May 11 - June 2, so it took just a little more than 3 weeks to complete this one.

[@JackFright]

Hah! Rosewood cauls. Expensive board with expensive cauls :D

[@alistairsimmons2393]

Hey man, what’s the cheapest budget you would give someone for the tools to make chess tables like this quality?

[@Woodumakeit]

I think you'd need between $4K - $5K in tools, including a decent table saw, drum sander, planer, 6" jointer, various clamps, an inexpensive dust collector, and a random orbit sander. A band saw is nice to have, but not mandatory. That price range is for low/mid level tools, but definitely good enough for something like this. That's assuming you could forego the algebraic notation and concealed magnets because a decent CNC router would be several thousand dollars.

[@alistairsimmons2393]

@@Woodumakeit thank you!

[@protocolfree]

if that is not art i dont know what is!

[@kemei6105]

Its the gap between 4 and 5 squares, not the d and e

[@daveerickson5313]

What was that white marker device?

[@Woodumakeit]

It's a white paint pen like this one: amzn.to/3Ct5rA0 It works great on dark wood like ebony and walnut.

[@patraymond3791]

Where did you get the Ebony? Pat

[@Woodumakeit]

I live in Virginia and I get all of my ebony from Exotic Lumber in Annapolis, MD.

[@spridgejuice]

this is very nice commentary on process - I personally think the music is really inappropriate and takes me out of the flow, but it's a difficult matter if you feel like you need music (and I'm a pianist so obvs have my own prejudices, namely that this is like music for a romcom in a tv in a room in twin peaks!)

[@spridgejuice]

youtube should have a turn off music option

[@Woodumakeit]

@@spridgejuice KZbin apparently plans to release an option for multiple sound tracks. I'm looking forward to that option so I can release with/without music, with/without voice, etc.

[@spridgejuice]

@@Woodumakeit that "wood" be fab! more work of course but would give people options

[@michaelbradford4444]

Tried to tune out the piano but to no avail so didn't last very long.

[@michaelbradford4444]

There's also a thing called consideration , not every body likes your taste in music..some call it noise.

[@bparker4457]

Hold on... you didn't get stitches becuase you didn't want to "waste time"?

[@rehon101]

What kind of ebony is it? African, Indian…

[@SkillzMillz83]

Ahh yes, Madagascan Rosewood cauls…only the finest ♟