Turning a Free Pallet into a $500 Chessboard

[@malvoliosf]

A minor tip: instead of chopping the wood into 64 squares and ebonizing 32 of them, rip it into 8 strips, ebonize 4 of them, and glue them in an alternating pattern. Now you have a striped board. Cross-cut the board into 8 strips (each strip consisting of alternating black and white blocks), invert half the strips, and glue them all back together into a chess-board pattern. Much less fiddly. (Hat-tip to my luthier uncle who told it to me after I did the exact thing you did in 1975.) A major tip: now that you have all this knowledge (and all these CNC patterns), make TWO more, at one time. Making two will only take about (SWAG) 40% more time than making one, and you will be much faster now that you know how to do it. Sell each board for $700. Maybe it would help if you soaked the wood in the tannin and the ebonizing solution, make it less likely to sand off. Dunno, but worth a try - NOT on the chessboard, on a sample!

[@therutenshi]

such a great tips!

[@nathan1sixteen]

I was thinking that last tip while watching.

[@CeeJayThe13th]

I'm pretty sure the cutting board style technique you mentioned is how I've seen most of them built online. That's probably the way to do it the most efficiently!

[@ESkog]

$700 is outrageous for a chess board

[@malvoliosf]

@@ESkog Anything goes for its market-clearing price.

[@belindahameister5977]

Pro tip: when trying something for the first time, do it on scraps of the same material, NOT the project itself!

[@mschauer97]

that's what i though as well. Maybe he did and just didn't include the recording in the video.

[@Eli.McDonald]

YES. I thought this the second he said his first time about flocking.

[@TheDivergentDrummer]

Ok, so here is a tip for you. When you get a pallet to disassemble, BEFORE you cut it up, raise it up and SMASH it down on 2 opposing corners. all 4 if you [really don't want any issues. Nails used on pallets have a glue on them that binds to the fibers with the heat generated from the nail going in. That's why they are so hard to break apart. By dropping it, or 'squishing' it from the corners, you are forcing it out of square and breaking the bond of the glue. Don't believe me, TRY it and let me know! GAME CHANGER!

[@Swift1156]

Will try this bit of wisdom out, thank you sir

[@Vicryl007]

16:56 look at all the black pawns 😅

[@ThatCardTi]

Waiting for the day Morley does a test piece. Not today! The best way to learn in from “failure” although not sure I would call any of this a failure. Great project.

[@scottcampbell96]

I read the title as “Cheeseboard” and wondered “who would use pallet wood anywhere near food?”

[@sagemagicWow]

😂

[@fadetonoir6152]

Okay, how about a chess board where the pieces are made out cheese and you get to eat whatever you capture?

[@sssaaammmd]

I also read it as Cheeseboard hahaha

[@TheZephyrChannel]

@@fadetonoir6152 Genius

[@rithhhzz.gaming]

Your not the ony one 😂😂

[@Sir_Leelord]

As a chess player, the black square on the right of the set up board at 16:50 drove my OCD mad, lol, (it's supposed to be white on the far right every time) but amazing craftsmanship and piece overall.

[@azzaisme]

Can't you just turn the board 90 degrees

[@LoreTunderin]

@@azzaisme yes, it's just annoying that the 'beauty shots' have the board setup wrong.

[@EarlCo]

I have a custom handmade wooden chess board as well that I got for my birthday and it also has to be turned 90° to play. Fortunately, it's square, so I just consider that the drawers are on the left and right sides of each player rather than in front of them.

[@ThePastaManCan]

@@azzaisme he set the draws... but okay.

[@LukBacca]

he also just put the pawns behind the other pieces lmao

[@DJMetalstone]

Awesome project looks pretty high end well done . Allot of detail in that. Thanks for also including the hourly rate on this at the end. It really helps for people starting up shop now or in the future to have a guess as to how long certain things should take and if it's worth it with current skill level or that it would be a loss for now. Seeing multiple of these kind of projects across KZbin helps us average woodworkers get more ideas and crafting skills to expand on. I always love Reclaimed wood projects , especially if it's from raw salvaged to high end upscaling like this. Right now I'm slowly upscaling my workshop wood shed bit by bit be being very 3 dimensional about my spacings of my machines. My shed is only 3.5 x 2.1 metres so about 7 square metre in size. So I'd say bit over 20 square feet , yes very small for wood working and actually to small. I'm doing my projects making segments put together from smaller pieces since I can't cut or plain full 6 a 7 feet boards in my shed . ( It's Just a tiny shed meant to store bikes since I live in an apartment and it's in the basement of the complex ) . It's enough for now. I'm upscaling the inner design of the shed to as appropriately as I can mount my machines in there as work stations to have it transform my apartment into a cabin in the woods kind of look ( for as much as I can legally can it's a rental afterall ) . But paneling all the walls with wood panels and making furniture combined with cast Iron metal door hinges and everything :) I plan to use all reclaimed wood for the wood part of it. Keep up the good work :)

[@lorrainebrunner2490]

I have a recommendation that can help you. When you come across something you're unsure of, like with flocking the droor, ALWAYS test it on scrapped material before applying it directly to the project. Just replicate the conditions and see how it turns out so you don't have you restart all over again. 😊 I hope this helps. Good luck! 👍

[@hansdegroot8549]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. You are one of the very few who shows all the expenses and spent time. 10 USD as an hourly rate is very low, but you learned a lot of new techniques on the go, and you for sure had also a lot of fun making it. The last two things are unpriceable.

[@darrenmooruthv2]

Second video, love your work. Very entertaining and inspiring, especially after only finding a pallet to tear apart, removing all the nails and keep stock in case I need it for any future projects. It’s so cool to see you make beautiful unique pieces. Keep up the great work. 🇬🇧 ✌🏽

[@emperorscorpiousii9675]

The pinkish hue you mention the unidentified boards have at the start of the video are most likely just heartwood - it can be any number of species of tree, you just happen to have boards made from the center of the tree (the "heart"). Many species have a pinkish center, including pine, oak, and maple.

[@imboerdfromlife]

Thanks I was actually curious about that haha

[@Michaeldoesdrumsofficial]

8:35 The kitty cat Is just so adorable I can’t help it oh my god how it just wants to check it out and not let you see anything is so adorable

[@fauge7]

The board is set up wrong... The queen always starts on her color

[@fadetonoir6152]

The Queens are technically in the right place, but on the wrong colour because the board is the wrong way round - should have a white square in the bottom right corner from each player's perspective.

[@rileykellogg2935]

And in some shots, the pawns are on the first rank!

[@modernlegend_gaming]

oof

[@1ma4ighter]

Meh, good thing he didn't make it to play with

[@cabrerarodrigo82]

Wow, the most basic thing to get wrong

[@satis_btc]

LETS GOOO NEW PALLET PROJECT, I have been waiting 8 months for this moment

[@keepmovingforward6518]

Hey Morley Just a little hack for you. As well as free pallets for projects you can try stair building shops. They usually have bins of free scraps. Kiln dried hardwoods from the stairs and railings. I get them all the time to burn in my fireplace in winter. I'm located near Edmonton Alberta. Any larger city will have stair shops. Enjoy your content.

[@Chiselchip]

That pallet you passed on first 00:32 looked like Oak, but the one you settled on looks nice for sure!

[@MorleyKert]

Haha I thought that as well while editing the footage 😂

[@Chiselchip]

@@MorleyKert it can always be deceiving in the moment depending on the lighting and everything 😄 beautiful build though, love the creativity!

[@bobs8495]

I was thinking the same thing, definitely oak

[@ApexHerbivore]

@@bobs8495 if it was oak you could tell from the weight. Would have been super heavy.

[@TheDivergentDrummer]

@@MorleyKert A knock on the wood is a good test as well. Hard wood will have a different tamber then soft lumber.

[@lulzmoney99]

bruh you could just dye a test piece and sand that... why would you build the whole board and then see what happens when you sand?

[@yours12342]

I thought the same with the flocking, both times he did it. Id have tested on a piece of scrap wood first.

[@treymack1874]

Hi. I noticed in some videos that you’re using your tablesaw and freely pushing the wood through. You may want to think of using a tool to push it close to the blade just in case of a slip. Love your work.❤

[@Zonatapio]

He's using push sticks and it's on a sawstop

[@ag3ntle]

OH MY GOSH I’M LIKE 99 PERCENT SURE SOMEONE I KNOW OWNS THIS BOARD NOW (I originally suspected that they were the same board when i saw those laser cut wood pieces) i’m pretty sure i saw your signature burned into the side of it, and those pieces look the same as the ones i used If they are the same thing, i wanna say it looks REALLY good, and you did an amazing job on the interior I’m definitely going to check next time I go to their house

[@yanderehypnolights]

When you find out, let us know! That's so cool if it is!

[@verbalance5630]

Cool that you show all, especially the mistakes and problems you can run into doing Projects. Good luck with your Channel 👍

[@Thom1973]

I am so glad you came back with these videos ......... your other videos were good and i do still like seeing them i just missed these ones also

[@Flummiification]

i really like how transparent you were with the cost. at first the price seemed a bit steep for the quality but I can absolutley value the time and effort that went into this wich would make it worth even more. It is a bit sad that even something relativley easy like this would have to cost so much to bie viable

[@Dean-w5z]

I watched one of your videos a couple years ago when you accidentally broke the leg off the table and I just found your channel again and subscribed and I’ve watched your videos all morning I love your channel. You’re very creative.

[@lordhickory3322]

I love this. In my year abroad in Canada I had half a year of woodworking class - the first time I really came into contact with all the different kinds of saws and machines and woodworking in general - and after finishing the projects given to us by the teacher I had a few weeks spare before the end of the year in which I got to do my own project. I decided to make a chess board as a gift for my father, and I made it out of maple, walnut, and african padouk for the edge. It wasn’t perfect in any sense, and there are quite a few big gaps between the rows (as you said, tiny mistakes multiplying themselves), but it still looks great overall and I‘m really happy with it seeing as it was my first own project, without and guidebook or instructions. This video reminds me a lot of that. Thank you so much!

[@lordhickory3322]

(With „big gaps between the rows“ I mean the rows not perfectly lining up, so there are visible steps in the pattern)

[@pjbolt3844]

Its cool to see someone from Vancouver be so good at making a KZbin video

[@Chariizard]

ive been learning about wood and stuffs and i saw this vid of yours and its really great, were doing a project right now too and outside our rv were making a flooring and we are also using pallets from home depot and i feel optimistic after watching your video

[@jimmerseiber]

This sold for this price because it's you, a youtuber with a following. Hands down.

[@CreativeUsernameHere-r1k]

Thank you for the ebonising recepy. IT IS GORGEUS! i use a lot of pine and reclaimed furnitures and this trick turns a simple wood pattern 50€ sell an instant 100€ uniquely designed piece haha.

[@Geckob8]

Morley! The 3/4 inch cutout pieces would work awesome for a 2D chess set with magnets! We have some stuck to the side of our filing cabinets in my office.

[@tinag6855]

That's a great idea! I was wondering what he was going to do with those. I was thinking of how a clock made out of some of them would be nice.

[@tanzekabe2305]

I like how the cat come to check each chess pieces with a good sniff

[@collie147]

I make to learn, discover and I have a particular drive to be creative, both to use my imagination but if I'm proud to have made something that's is the ultimate goal, and its all my spare time. If I make money from it, I put it back into the hobby. I'm making a financial loss overall, but to be fair it's fairly cheap as far as hobbies go, even if I buy my own equipment it's still cheaper than a golf membership! Anyway, you made something, learned something, honed your skills and somebody appreciated your work enough to pay for it. Even as a full time job it's a win win as you're establishing your reputation and brand as well. Brand is HUGE. Keep up the fantastic work.

[@SamiTheAnxiousBean]

8:33 AWAY YOU GO, CAT!

[@fermentedworld]

Comments are full of energy, I can’t wait to make my 1st piece. Got a few bits I need to buy 1st but have asked if some pallets are available locally 🤟🏻 I’m thinking a little bed side table to start with. Maybe. 50x30cm just to test the water 😎 stay awesome

[@tayred81]

Nice job. My first thought was not another pallet wood video. You took it to another level, really liked the flocking part. Cool man, go Marley 💜🤟🏻

[@TheCtphotographer]

Love this. I clicked as soon as I saw it was you and there was a pallet involved. Great work, it’s too bad there was so much of an expense versus the income. Take care!

[@Corner_twisted]

I clicked this as soon as I saw a chessboard in the thumbnail (despite my pfp I also love chess!)

[@Ryber1]

“I turned a free palet into $500 chess board” using $5k+ machines for it tho

[@TheShoxter]

Your VO audio quality sounds really nice! The studio (closet) and whatever audio settings you use sound great!

[@MorleyKert]

Thanks! I put a lot of effort into it recently 😊

[@isaaczeitoun7767]

Great video! I love how you breakdown the price.

[@27Football.]

I discovered this channel and i have to say that youre an absolute natur talent! Kepp going bro

[@koccarter]

i love youtube when suggesting quality contents, like this one. keep up the good work mate, love it.

[@TadpoleTrainer]

One thing you could have done before the sanding is shellac, sand smooth, then water based polyurethane or oil if the yellowing potential won’t matter. 2k clearcoat (automotive paint generally) would also work and is extremely durable and won’t yellow.

[@imequationzyt]

Let’s goo thanks Morley love the woodworking videos, you’re one of the few KZbinrs I like watching

[@TitoSabbyPH]

Again Amazing Work Morley! Great Job! Fan from the Philippines!

[@Steveperlmaster]

To make the ebonizing darker without adding any of that powder, take about 5 teabags and steep them in hot water and let them sit for a few days. Brush on the tea solution and let dry. Then do the vinnegar and steel wool solution. Turns almost black

[@patriciahogg5763]

Beautiful!! Fun to watch you process your project!

[@alfonsoPina]

Dude! that mic you started using is fantabulous. You sound great sir! Also, I'm stealing this entire process and video to have my Nephew to make one for his Annual ACE (christian school system) convention. I think this is a great build!!

[@Coffeetheegreat]

Love these kinds of projects! Another great video Morley🫡

[@patriciahogg5763]

Beautiful!! Fun to watch you process your project! 19:59

[@dancewithml]

i use 77 at work. once it dries, the surface becomes like that of a post it note. It does this so that you can reposition the elements being glued. 77 sets with heat so after I get everything sprayed and positioned, i then heat it to set the glue.

[@davidcouch6514]

The Actor Charley Grapewin enjoyed hobby woodworking. My Ex’s Stepfather’s Father was General Manager of a Krohler Furniture Factory in Englewood, California, and let the Actor sort through “select” scrap piles as needed. Mr. Grapewin presented him with a handcrafted Chessboard in appreciation. I think our younger Son has it I’m gonna have to check the orientation lol.

[@Shinypug123]

The flex seal worked so well and even looked better also great looking board

[@Alex-ds4vy]

I am constantly checking your channel, love your videos!

[@Fin3dPrinting]

Looking good!

[@Michaeldoesdrumsofficial]

20:11 the kitty cat omg you have one very cute cat my friend

[@sammyfata-qb7tf]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a light square should be in the lower right and upper left corner - you got it backwards also, the pawns should be in front of the rest of the pieces

[@rlmartinusa]

Morley, have you considered in determining the price you’ll ask on a project like this, calculate backwards. First determine the minimum you expect to make on your hourly efforts then multiply that by the number of hours you worked on the project. Then add your expenses on for the total asking price. You can always lower the cost if you decide you’re not getting hits.

[@eyecandy-gaming]

pallet projects like most wood projects only will make good money if you record the process and start a youtube channel. That way you capture your time in stead of use your time. Then the project goes from Price per hour to views per project and there is no time limit for the viewing to happen.

[@justcars2454]

I dont know but i think if this video reaches at least 200k(166k) views of this video will make arround 2000 dollar it would be good. Its a good idea where making videos can cover a lot of expences, like you sell it for 400 dollars, and this video will make 2000, maybe another 500-1000 from the links and refferals on this exact video, its good in the end. While if its about someone who just sells his products without social media, its kinda hard i think, i dont know anything about wood, i just watch for entertainment, so maybe iam super wrong

[@albireo9]

That's a weird chess-setup variation at 16:56! I'm calling it "Morley's Pallet Chaos" variant. Traditional chessboard orientation: "Light square on right." Traditional chess-piece starting positions: "Queen's shoes match her dress." The white pawns start on a2 through h2; the black pawns start on a7 through h7.

[@randomnonsense6333]

I just finished the other pallette ones and then this comes out yay

[@brendanlenane2685]

That turned out amazing. I've 3d printed a set of weighted chess pieces and i'm going to be making a board to go with them.

[@woodyourather7835]

Great video! I built a board exactly the same way. Within a year, it turned into a warped mess. I guess you can't glue thick wood to plywood and expect nothing to happen. Wood movement will cause problems.

[@johndrummond3954]

I've been down a bit of a rabbit hole watching wood u make it videos on chessboards and he makes the playing surface twice and glues on each side if the substrate to avoid exactly this.

[@Brody-printing]

Love seeing your maker videos!

[@get6149]

Good to see you wood working again

[@GamingStepByStep]

That's just good business advice all around and applies to any venture: buy the things you are bad at / are tedious to do

[@EyeBallGamers]

i made my first guitar out of poplar but i didnt like how green it was so i used oxalic acid on it and it came out a really beautiful brown, a lot of pallets are made of poplar so i suggest trying that for a future project it really does come out nice and not as ugly as everyone says poplar is.

[@MorleyKert]

Cool!

[@matthewmathis62]

8:59 "Buy the things you're bad at." I totally agree.

[@GOBINDOS]

7:17 just dip that wood for some time, you fool 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@P1ngpongmonkey]

1:02 this kind of syncs to the music ngl

[@HankThePug1119]

That’s the point lol

[@friday8370]

I forgot about flex seal!! 😂😂😂 you have such a big brain

[@awesomekacee]

We use flocking in the model car world. How most people use it is spray paint down and then put the flock on the wet paint.

[@rasmusvedel]

Don’t sand that high when applying a finish. You’re clogging the wood and the stain can’t penetrate. Stop at 120.

[@JulienB_BTW]

This is mostly true with a penetrating oil finish. He's using a top coat finish/varnish, so you can sand fairly high, especially pass the first coat.

[@TotalBoat]

What a cool way to transform pallet wood!

[@Jords_A]

Test things before you assemble them? Test sand the wood square to see if it would lose colour, test the glue works with the flock?

[@ShadyButFresh]

19:18 - holy smokes you did a great job covering up how bad the seams between the pieces were until that moment. Your miters are also glaringly poor (19:25) with that wood filler sticking out like an eyesore. I appreciate your ambition and look forward to you improving your craft with each project, but I personally wouldn't have charged someone the insane amount you did for this project.

[@LoreTunderin]

it's almost an insult to charge that much for poor workmanship, especially when he couldn't be bothered to set the board up correctly for the final pictures.

[@ShadyButFresh]

@@LoreTunderin Hah no kidding. I didn't even catch it the first time, but apparently the board is built wrong entirely as well as white is supposed to be the far right corner for each player.

[@LoreTunderin]

@@ShadyButFresh you can just rotate the board 90 degrees to get the corners aligned, but then the drawers don't line up. For some shots he also has the black pawns on the back rank with the pieces in front of them on the 7th rank. Just amateur all around.

[@davebauerart]

Nice results! Those chess pieces work well with the design of the board. Would be interesting to see if there’s a way to soak and get the ebonizing to sink in.

[@Toysinaction.TV.]

1:33 he said ranned

[@prodzoid]

Never heard this

[@kenney8656]

Great project! You did good!👍🏻

[@rossmurrayfam1568]

this was awesome buddy, well done

[@olafzijnbuis]

Nice work! But... At 16:39 the chessboard is in the WRONG ORIENTATION The lower-right Square MUST BE WHITE And at 17:08 the pieces are also in the wrong position. The Black Queen MUST be on a Black square. It is a good thing you did not put A...H and 1..8 along the edges.

[@NxFals]

Yes and no. At 17:08, the Kings and Queens are actually on the correct squares. That's where they would be if the board was in the correct orientation. But there are other parts in the video where he does place the Kings and Queens on their colored squares while the board is rotated 90 degrees, making it even more incorrect.

[@Sir_Leelord]

this drove me craaaaaazyyyyyyyyy

[@olafzijnbuis]

@@NxFals Good comment. You are correct. I have seen heavy concrete chessboards in a park with fixed concrete benches... All in the wrong orientation.

[@ezforsaken]

the problem I see with the pallet wood money-making is that people use them to make nice stuff (like this chessboard which looks amazing!), but you have to spend time to make palletwood look nice, by that standard just buy good wood. Palletwood can make well rustic looking stuff; rustic desks, decor, shelves, boxes, and so on; but mind you those won't sell for a high price. I make things with palletwood but just for myself and they are "good enough" but I don't take that long and you know it's free wood; if you work it as little as possible and rush it as much as you can, for projects that don't need to be very pretty, it's amazing.

[@Hasan-xj8jy]

you just got yourself a new Subscriber and from only one video

[@Repjnmmgaming]

WELL FOR 500,000 VIEWS THATS AN ADD UP FOR 2221$

[@djmdog8754]

Nice to see you back doing woodworking projects

[@SparkTools]

Love this! Great video

[@stanwiggins3423]

I wonder if this would be an opportunity to put the squares in a larger bag like a vacuum bag you put steaks or a woodworking vacuum bag, liberally coat each square with a flood of the dye, then apply the vacuum to suck the dye into the wood at a greater depth?

[@3s-Woodworking]

I kinda expected some 3d printed chest pieces.

[@Corner_twisted]

Chest? Or chess?

[@3s-Woodworking]

@Corner_twisted sometimes your phone will auto correct and you don't catch the typo, but there's no need to point it out when you clearly know what I meant. Sorry for human error......

[@mikep3813]

My wife has some nice chest pieces

[@maomekat2369]

@@3s-Woodworking Chest? Or chess?

[@reaganpm7968]

7:28 moment you said 'rustic', i was thinking it looks like a cracker barrel chessboard

[@mylastlight]

I'm spray glue is like a contact cement, you spray 2 items wait till it's tacky and glue them together, that's probably why it didn't work

[@JoesExpressLLC]

You could have used the cutouts from the drawer inserts to make more chess pieces. Just needed to file them round instead of flat.

[@jennaelizabeth3980]

Love love love this kinda stuff!

[@ConstantXplorer]

Environmentally conscious people appreciate and understand the time, effort, and artistry of upcycled furniture/fixtures. Even though it's slowly becoming a trend, it's well worth the money despite people's reluctant response. I dig it myself and would love to buy unique pieces... with an environmental thought in mind.

[@M0esmac]

I think I commented about this before, but I’ll do it again… Please bring back selling “anonymously” before trying your socials!!! Please!!! OG videos with pallet builds that tried selling anonymously were much more fun!

[@dronko-fire-blaster]

very nice, Im makeing a literal building out of palettes, I dismantle them and make them in to wall segments and over parts, I have several that I can not dismantle and one thats part of a wall that almost impossible to put screw's in even with a impact driver.

[@EastTactics]

Honestly, if you would’ve put it up for 8 or 9 hundred… you might’ve sold it. It’s unique one of a kind. And people pay for one of kind chess boards.

[@PitchBlackCat]

why, my guy, do you not test stuff on some scraps? xD i'm glad you were able to salvage both the sanding slip up and the flocking fiasco. The result really slaps 👏

[@nbuford]

Came here from your other pallet video to see how many fingers you had left. Using push sticks now… hallelujah 😅

[@dyvel]

Anybody can create a free pallet into a $500 chessboard if you already have a $200'000 workshop.

[@186scott]

My thought exactly why not make something using just the basic tools/ power tools people would have like angle grinder

[@thearmeddiyer9343]

He could have done that whole project with a table saw, router and palm sander...

[@dyvel]

@@thearmeddiyer9343 whatever he can do but doesn't actually do is irrelevant.

[@BelalHossain-i9j]

man I was expecting a giant chessboard but its still really good