Chess Board

Background My boss at the time was from England and was preparing to return home. I wanted to make something meaningful for him, and a handcrafted chess and backgammon board felt like the right project. I used a plan from Woodworker Magazine, Issue 48 as a starting point, but because I wanted the board to be fully reversible with backgammon on the opposite side, nearly all the dimensions had to be reworked.

Checkerboard Construction The original plan called for gluing individual blocks together to form the chessboard, but I chose a different approach. I glued long strips of walnut and sycamore together using spline joints for strength, then cut and re‑glued the strips to form the checkerboard pattern. This method was cleaner, faster, and produced a very consistent layout.

Backgammon Side Once the chessboard surface was complete, I added edging to match the required backgammon dimensions. The two surfaces were bonded together using contact cement, then trimmed with decorative edging to hide the seam and give the board a finished, furniture‑grade look.

Base & Support Structure The bottom support rails were half‑lapped into decorative corner blocks. During assembly, I felt the frame needed additional rigidity, so I added a small inner support piece between the inner and outer rails. This permanently locked the frame together and made the board extremely solid.

Multiple Builds While making the first board, I realized the corner pieces were tedious to produce, so I made three full sets. I recently finished the second board using some beautifully figured walnut, and it turned out exceptionally sharp.