Woodturning a Modern Chess Set

In this video I am woodturning a modern chess set out of hickory. The design was inspired by French artist Yves Tanguy who created his well-known design in the late 1930s. These pieces are intended to fit on the regulation size, end-grain chess board that I made that has individual squares that are 2 ¼” x 2 ¼”.
I was hoping that the hickory would have been dense/heavy enough for the pieces, but they just didn’t feel right, so I ended up adding some lead weights into the bottom of each piece. I also show you how to apply felt to the bottoms of the pieces.
General guidelines for how I sized the pieces:
1) The base of the king should have a diameter that is about 75% of the width of a square on the chess board.
2) The height of the king should be in the range of 2 - 2.5 times the diameter of the base
3) The base of the pawn should be sized to be able to comfortably fit four pawns onto a square on the chess board.
I’ve seen some modern chess sets that have some ambiguity when it comes to identifying the pieces, so I tried to incorporate aspects into my design to make it clear what each piece is without have to compare with another piece to figure it out.
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[@Thom4123]

Absolutely beautiful!!! I would make it if I can tell my wife we have to take a vacation down South ( that’s mandatory) for this chess set... Going to be tough since I don’t know how to play chess lol. Awesome work on the chessboard and all the pieces. Take care

[@Woodumakeit]

A vacation down south is definitely an integral part of the project. Don't skip that part! I'm sure you can watch a KZbin video and be an expert chess player in no time. 🙂

[@harimg9942]

I don't think ull be an expert that quick but I swear one of the easiest and most satisfying games out there... All u need is half a brain

[@ThisNameisalreadytaken.]

@12:13 bishop in hindi is not घोड़ा , it is actually ऊंठ and @12:54 knight in hindi is not ऊंठ it is actually घोड़ा .

[@emilyfearnley5453]

🇿🇦South Africa has no plans and no more for all things to be a game that they will have a game in game and watch it really bad game in a good way and I need some really really cool game friends

[@emilyfearnley5453]

South Australia has not really been bad in a good reason and they aren't good for all of them and not only really really cool

[@murbella7]

Love the design, simple, modern and very stylish.

[@desperados986]

einverstanden.

[@ekstrapolatoraproksymujacy412]

and completely useless in practice

[@rsauve999]

@@ekstrapolatoraproksymujacy412 ??

[@ekstrapolatoraproksymujacy412]

@@rsauve999 Chess pieces have to be EASILY differentiable by shape, these are not. The fact that chess sets on tournaments are standarized and never look like that is for a reason.

[@rsauve999]

@@ekstrapolatoraproksymujacy412 ok, now I understand.

[@nickdavison9771]

Hats off to you for having the skill and confidence to hand turn each piece by hand and get consistent results. Most hand made wooden chess sets are made in India, and rather than using a turning chisel to shape each piece they use a custom profile tool for each different piece. The profile tool is a small piece of high carbon steel sheet with a "half silhouette" of the piece cut out of it. The profile tool is then used to shape the turning wood, creating an identical profile in one cut. The only pieces that are hand carved are the knights, which is why generally speaking, the more detailed the knights are, the more expensive the chessmen set will be.

[@iamcarbonandotherbits.8039]

Very informative on the history of the chess pieces, Thank you.

[@G-Deepanshukaushik_]

this guy has done some real hard work making those pieces, appreciated

[@-Benedict]

That's a lovely set, and I really enjoyed the fascinating etymology lesson.

[@abuwabu]

Listening to your commentary while watching you practice your craft so beautifully was a pretty hypnotic experience. Very enjoyable and informative. Thanks.

[@noelu.2382]

I really enjoyed the running comentary, including the various histories of each piece. Most of all, I appreciated the inclusion of the diagrams and measurements of each piece! Thank you!

[@joshbenedon1164]

Wonderfully done and very finely crafted. Thanks for making these 15min enjoyable!

[@MohamedAhmed-ok8qy]

your doing a great work... also teaching some new words... amazing video

[@blueblur6447]

Great video! Will be making :) Was skeptical of the horse, but it finished and matches the set very well! Love it.

[@mykstreja8648]

I like your version over the Tanguy set. Less ambiguous while retaining the minimalist appearance. Your design has the added benefit that it could be made quick and cheap with pine, or lovingly with ash and black walnut. Well done.

[@sithari8165]

Love all the chess info to go along with the lathing!

[@essinem4130]

Love that you explained the history of the pieces. I've wondered about the origins of them so this was great. Relative to the other pieces the rook makes no sense. A castle is stationary. A chariot or a boat make a lot more sense. This was great.

[@beebob1279]

During Wood Shop in 9th grade we made chess boards. Never found pieces for it and it now sits in the mountain house that my father built without power tools. He was a wood shop teacher himself. Maybe I'll finish the board with turned pieces as you did. I was in ninth grade at the time and today I'm 56. Thanks for the motivation.

[@beebob1279]

@Johnny Lee Ours were.

[@moosemanuk]

Wonderful looking chess set, and like others I really enjoyed the history lesson too! I play a bit, so to see such a nice set created from scratch is a real treat

[@MasterKawkki]

You mixed the names of knight and bishop in hindi. A knight is called "Ghoda" and a bishop is called "oont".

[@nasifurrahman2641]

I've always known the bishop as a haati though

[@minyoongigenius6923]

@@nasifurrahman2641 haati is rook

[@phoenix4193]

​@@nasifurrahman2641 haati means elephant

[@nasifurrahman2641]

@@phoenix4193 i know haati is an elephant. Where I'm from the bishops are called haati and the rook is called kisti which either means boat or tower

[@vikramkrishnan6414]

@@nasifurrahman2641 @PHOENIX You are both right, in Chaturanga, Bishops were called Gaja, and rooks were Raths, when Chaturanga went to Persia and became Shatranj, the Persian word for chariot was Rukh. The Persian army didn't use elephants but they used camels so the Bishop was called Camel. When the Persians introduced Shatranj to the Mughals, they didn't use chariots, but had seen elephants in India, so the rook became the elephant piece. The current representation of the rook is the howdah on the elephant

[@gordonhill645]

A lovely, stylish set, I'm going to have a go at making it. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[@pablolynch1152]

Love it, and so thankful for all the explanation.

[@tsuchang1]

Amazingly wonderful. Thanks for the very well made video.

[@kofiringo]

Wow one of the most beautiful and relaxing videos I’ve seen, its truly great 👍🏻

[@MrVis0075]

All I can say is WOW!!!! Truly amazing.

[@stun9771]

Enjoyed your video, and a nice and somewhat different design of chess piece...👍🏻

[@georgefulford4917]

Thanks a lot for this awesome video! I am in the process of making a rather unique chessboard and was looking for inspiration for the chess pieces. This vid has given me some great ideas! Thanks again :)

[@reneheider3604]

In german language we have. König=king, Dame=Queen (Lady), Bishop=Läufer (runner), Rook=Turm (tower), Knight=Springer (Jumper) and a Pawn ist a Bauer (farmer or something like that). Very great work. I would buy it. :)

[@RonLeblanc]

To add weight to some chess pieces I made, I used a large bolt in each one. Worked perfectly and added a nice heft to each piece. Looks fantastic btw!

[@aaronjacksoncrabb]

Fantastic, idea! Thank you for the instructions, dimensions, etc. Really enjoyed learning the history of all the different pieces. One day, I'll share with you the set that I have created! Until then.. cheers!

[@_selva_negra]

Wood Turning class,, History & Language! This has been one of the most interesting videos I've seen yet!

[@JAK_EDITS.]

Absolutely MESMERIZING video. Truly a master of the craft, this is art!!!

[@Chilllybob]

Great job absolutely amazing.

[@sibagproduction5422]

great video! now i know a lil bit the process and the information too, good job Sir!

[@ryanswain8259]

Love this! Nice work!

[@Gabrielr8]

What a beautiful chess set you have there! Well done!

[@matthewharper9615]

I really love the modern lines of this design, and I think I would make this set, but I would shape the head pieces of the knights to be less angular and have more of the sweeping curves of the rest of the set. Well done! Your precision is admirable!

[@orirune3079]

I agree, I think the set is beautiful but the heads of the knights look inconsistent with the rest of the set. The knight is always a bit tricky in chess, as it's the only piece that isn't rotationally symmetrical and is clearly meant to be a model of something (it's clearly a horse, whereas the other pieces only vaguely suggest a human form or a tower).

[@elroyjacobs8126]

My goodness, you're very talented.

[@NJS-TL1000S]

Really enjoyed this video Mike.👍 Informative and inspirational.🙂

[@taylorbistline3601]

I made a set years ago when I was in high school using Osage orange and black walnut two very dense woods with strikingly contrasting colors, it turned out awesome!

[@dirttdude]

those chess pieces are elegant in their simplicity and i rather enjoyed listening to you speak of each piece as you made it.

[@ShopOfTheseus]

Stunning

[@keroy4588]

You’re good and educating! Very good job

[@llapmsp]

Very cool design. I like it alot. Thanks for showing how you made the set.

[@youcefassou1592]

Very inspiring work thank you for sharing

[@atomv1872]

Beautiful set!

[@decenthardik]

What a Beautiful design! I love how sober and stylish it is 😍

[@yourixf9698]

Awesome looking chess set! Great job

[@marius4900]

Nice. Very neat!

[@dougprentice1363]

Top notch work.

[@AriannaEuryaleMusic]

Beautiful work!

[@sauletto1]

Very nice work !

[@romanmechetnerful]

Really good work. Although the pieces look similar, they are smooth in form. I'm 50/50 on the pieces. Cool work.

[@OliviaBaldanza]

This video is so well done

[@searask7018]

Very nice, absolute masterpiece

[@littlebear4264]

what a beautiful set

[@ScottHaun]

researching ideas for my own chess set, I found your channel. and you live like an hour away from me. small world! lovely design.

[@Woodumakeit]

Yes, small world! Thanks for watching.

[@jaffarali5008]

It's amazing... how much interesting job I am very happy to seeing

[@torqueali8566]

Well done 👍

[@terryboyd9875]

Fantastic

[@siribiriz]

Turning a chess set is definitely a bucket list item, nice video!

[@kenburnette1121]

Very interesting and informative, love your videos.

[@JS-rp7qb]

I’d bypass the gel stain and, like you said, either use a contrasting wood or switch to something more penetrating, oil stain or even a good wood dye. Had a maple set once whose dark colors were dyed a bright blue. Very pretty.

[@kellyklaask7su990]

Great job!

[@pickle_256]

6:16 In Arabic rook doesn't mean (مَلِك) It's (قَلعة) which menas castle And مَلِك means king

[@mohamedb737]

rokh is more used then kalaa in North Africa

[@pianomarianopiano]

WONDERFUL!

[@asaga2035]

Amazing, Thank you

[@annprank2158]

Too simple and beautiful. But with a soul!

[@randomkindness1470]

firsrt time i watched this i thot elegant... this time i think those horses could be better... while staying in line wth the simplistic design

[@mustafanaser4099]

Beautiful 👍👍👍

[@DevanSabaratnam]

I don’t normally like modern chess pieces, but these are beautiful! Great work.

[@garymccraw1466]

Wow you done a amazing job on that Chess set.

[@DumbassPen]

Gorgeous

[@immortal9716]

I love the video and your work... And especially when you translate the word for many languages including the Arabic ❤️❤️

[@gilbertlibiloane4649]

I love your work Sir this Chess board its beautiful

[@abdullahasem3245]

You know what, subscribed. You're a great guy.

[@steveh8724]

Thanks very much for this video! Excellent job on the production and the project itself! I also enjoyed the commentary on the naming of the pieces. And thanks for including shots with the dimensions of the pieces. Since I clipped those out for possible future review, i'll go ahead and list the times for each in case anyone else wants an easier way to quickly find those parts: Pawn (2:39), Rook (7:03), Knight (5:35), Bishop (4:29), Queen (7:41), King (9:36).

[@Woodumakeit]

Thank you for taking the time to do that! If anyone wants a diagram with the dimensions, just email me at [e-mail] and I'll reply back with the file.

[@johnoneill6827]

Many thanks. I would love to do it. Please send dimensions etc@@Woodumakeit

[@Cover1973]

Excelente trabajo!!!! Muy bueno

[@guntherschulz7709]

I really like these modern figures! Greetings from Germany

[@dougprentice1363]

Fantastic work. So many videos on KZbin of people doing shoty work that looks nice now, but will not stand the test of time. This will be around long after all of us.

[@johnnyhuerta6416]

Verry nice work the pices look sharp and clean

[@rob187art8]

Cool research about history of chess, fantastic art work and research...I like if craft art have story behind like yours research and inspiration...

[@dennismoody8140]

Mike your doing a great job Yes I would make it

[@tonyennis3008]

Very nice indeed

[@JonFordWoodworks]

Excellent work - the pieces look great! Do you have a video showing how to make the screw chuck you used?

[@ogandreyka]

Seems futuristic 👍🏻

[@bobwebberkc]

Gonna start this tomorrow! Great job and I got an eduction as well

[@mohammadrezanedaei5236]

I watched your projects and all of them was a masterpiece and as a Persian speaker, I can say that you pronounced the word Rukh very well

[@whistletutor]

If I had the skill, I would definitely make it! Lovely stuff!

[@thomasarussellsr]

Thanks for the link. Interesting "modern" design. Everything looks fairly recognisable to what the pieces usually are, but the knights are definitely somewhat different, but cool looking all at the same time. Neat looking set. Great job. As my skin tends to stain relatively easily, I believe I would have to wear gloves while messing with the black stain, but yeah, I think I'd make those.

[@aronhegedus]

really enjoyedthe video,especially learning about how other languages change the names of the pieces!

[@scottalexander4063]

Again amazing video I think I will try and make these pieces 👍🏻

[@MANJITSINGH-ko2oi]

U wood turners make it look so easy. lol. one day I might b good as u guys. thanks.

[@tleav61]

Nice!

[@anthonyvogler1986]

brilliant

[@alilakhany5355]

amazing

[@ahmedelnady3704]

Wow. i'm from Damietta and if you know most of people of this city are carpenters and i would say from my experience that is well made job you are artist

[@gladious7894]

It’s nice. I like it

[@jordandominy7295]

A buddy just gave me a lathe. I think I’m gonna these as one of my first projects. So yes, I wood make this. Thanks for sharing!

[@ChrisAnnasMom]

Thanks for the etymology!

[@rpc717]

Great video! The set is growing on me the more I stare at it. At the very least it's utilitarian, which I didn't expect. I still think I'd put some kind of top on the king, probably just a small cylinder, and something to make the queen stand out, maybe a dome top. I'm also not sold on the knights at all, though they came out better than I'd expected. I think maybe something with kind of an S profile would fit the theme, and all in one piece rather than pieced together. The bishops, rooks, and pawns are great, and the etymology lesson was an especially nice touch!

[@tonyennis1787]

I'm a chess set snob. I like Staunton designs. But I have to say you've got a nice design here, there's an elegant simplicity to it.

[@SomeDudeOnline]

Was watching some of your other videos and realized you’re the person who made this video, so I wanted to come by this video and thank you for this video if I hadn’t already. I’m making a unique chessboard for myself and wanted the pieces to match the board but I don’t think I would’ve been able to make a nice looking set if I hadn’t found this video. It’s been about a year since I made the pieces and I still love them. Though, I did modify the knight so it looks more like a horse.