instructables

Mid Century Modern Chess Pieces

by heyimamaker

My son loves to play chess and I have no idea how to play. So I decided to build a chess set!

I originally thought of turning these on the lathe but quickly gave up on that plan, as I lack the skills to do so. But I
am a huge fan of modern art and minimalist objects. And started to do some research and eventually came across a
set created by Lanier Graham in 1966 and fell in love with its simplicity and really enjoyed how all of the pieces t in
a tiny little box. This build is Part 1 of 2 and may likely contain an optional Part 3 which would be a box to hold the
chess pieces. What I really like about this set is that the dimensions are not terribly speci c. In my case, I chose to go
with chess pieces that were 20mm by 20mm, so a Pawn would end up being 20mm cubed. I will give the
dimensions of each piece in terms of blocks, allowing you to adjust the size of the pieces if you wish.

Supplies:

Thickness Planer - Optional

Band Saw - Optional
Table Saw
Cross Cut Sled
Ripping Blade
80 Tooth crosscut blade
Sand Paper
Tung oil
Pencil
Square
Ruler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO2gQJs-NO0

Mid Century Modern Chess Pieces: Page 1

Step 1: Sizing and Dimensions

Because I started with the chess pieces I wasn't
concerned too much about the size of the pieces, but
make sure to check and con rm the o cial rules of
Chess. I think your pieces are supposed to be about
25% smaller than the squares they go on. 1” square
would be a ¾” piece.
Pawn - 1x1 block Rook - 1x2 block Knight - 1x2 block
Bishop - 1x2 block Queen & King - 1x6 block, plus the
kerf of your bandsaw or hand saw blade.
Start by choosing two contrasting woods, I chose
maple and walnut.
Next cut them into strips of equal width and height,
optionally you can run them through a thickness
planer.

Mid Century Modern Chess Pieces: Page 2

Step 2: The Plans

Step 3: Now We Will Need to Do Some Layout

The Pawns are simple, create a cube

The Rook is also super simple, create a block 1x2

For the Knight, I made a mark in the middle and divided the width essentially creating a lap joint.

The Bishop is a 45-degree angle starting at one end and should end in the middle of the piece.

The King and Queen are a bit di erent, nd the middle and draw a 45-degree line on both sides of the half so that
you have a V.

Step 4: Final Steps

Once everything has been cut out and obviously for each color of the wood ( I chose maple and walnut, but you
could use any contrasting woods ) it was time for a lot of sanding. Because this chess set is “Modern” we want to
maintain the sharp edges so break the edges but do not round them.

Mid Century Modern Chess Pieces: Page 3

I applied a few coats of Tung oil, it was rather daunting applying then cleaning o the excess oil but it turned out
amazing!

Step 5: Done!

Checkout how you can store the pieces. They all t nicely together, and would look amazing in a nice little box!

Beautiful minimalist design :)

Thank you!

I love the shapes of the pieces! This is stunning. :)

Thak you so much!

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