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Author Topic: Chess Set Project  (Read 2090 times)

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RENovak

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Chess Set Project
« on: August 28, 2016, 10:39:01 AM »

Hi everyone. I've been thinking forever about making my own chess set and I wanted to post this here in case anyone can offer me any advice.

As it stands right now, I'm at the very beginning of the project. I'm considering the designs at this point and have not chosen types of stone. Here are my requirements:

- I'd like to have two opposing materials, one dark and one light. I've seen so many pretty stones that I don't know how to choose. The dark ones, I'm leaning towards some type of obsidian because I like the translucence. The light side, I'm looking for something that may not be vibrant, but is colorful and translucent. Like a rainbow caught in crystal. Like the rainbow bridge from the Thor movies.

- I'd like the designs to be completely different from one side to the other. Not like in a normal chess set where the pieces are mirror images except for the color. Maybe the dark side is sharper or more natural, while the light side is more sculpted or has fewer sharp edges.

- I'd like the pawns to be at least an inch and a half tall, and the king to be four inches tall, with the other sizes falling between. I realize this might limit my choice of material, but there are so many options that I can't imagine that's too restricting.

- I'm also going to have to do the actual board, and would like something iridescent on the even squares (maybe mother of pearl, for example) and something not iridescent for the others, but dark (not sure what material).

- I realize this is going to be a heavy board, not the kind of thing you'll take with you to the park. But I'd like to also create hinged boxes - probably using wood - to store the pieces on each side, so the player could hypothetically take their pieces with them and leave the board at home.

So, it's a big project and will probably take a number of years to complete, but I gotta start somewhere and this seems like the best place. Any opinions or advice or warnings will be helpful. Thanks in advance!
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RENovak

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Re: Chess Set Project
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2016, 10:44:44 AM »

This is sort of the material I had in mind for the dark side pieces: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510736413961652833/ They're calling it "fire obsidian" but I'm not sure if it's the actual name of the material or more like a regional thing.
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Jhon P

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Re: Chess Set Project
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2016, 11:38:47 AM »

Fire obsidian comes from a private claim in Oregon (near glass buttes?)
I have no experience with it but I do with rainbow. If it is like rainbow obsidian  you need very bright direct light to see the color well and usually in one plain. Be careful if you buy it I saw some slag glass that was being sold as fire obsidian. Have you done any hard stone carving before? If not see if you can get some lessons and practice.  How detailed do you want to make the pieces?
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RENovak

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Re: Chess Set Project
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2016, 11:58:33 AM »

Nope, no stone carving. My plan is to narrow down the material to a best choice, get a little here or there and practice like crazy before I buy or find pieces large enough to actually work with. I don't think the pieces will be overly ornate, but not too basic. Probably a little more detailed than this one:
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Jhon P

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Re: Chess Set Project
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2016, 01:20:10 PM »

That shouldn't be hard to do. You may want to do onyx or marble easier to carve and takes a good polish. Obsidian is harder but shouldn't be hard to carve. (I have never carved any even tho I have a ton in the back lot) it can be a pain to get a good polish
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rocks2dust

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Re: Chess Set Project
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2016, 01:25:30 PM »

Sort of strange to see several photos right off the bat in that link being ones I've taken of things in my own collection :shocked: I don't understand the pininterest business model of taking other people's photos and putting them up to attract clicks. Even weirder is that the clicks go to yet other sites that I never posted to. Anyway, as Jhon P said, the true Fire obsidian (aka, precious Fire obsidian) comes only from Glass Buttes and I wouldn't recommend it for carving. It has been under claim off and on for decades now, with the claim being disputed, though the operators may have just got a permit and mined the rest of the narrow seam. Haven't been up there recently to check whether there is anything left. Aside from the huge expense of even lower grade rough, the fire occurs in micro-thin layers. You have to sand down to just above the layer, without going through it, for the best display. Since you are paying for the color, you wouldn't want to carve through it, which limits how you can carve.

A better choice might be Midnight Lace obsidian or Ribbon obsidian, where the overall effect is dark, but it is a mix of highly translucent with sheets of dark or colored obsidian inside. Fire Sheen is another possibility for carving. Gold Sheen and the lighter gray pieces of Silver Sheen might make a nice contrast for the opposing sides, and both have a metallic-like flash. All make great carving - worth a trip to Glass Buttes to collect your own material if you'll ever be even remotely in that area (which is indeed remote, but just off the longest US highway). Rainbow Sheen material is more widely available, as it comes from several sources in both the US and Mexico, and would work for the "black" pieces.

For the board, I'd suggest something that won't easily scratch - or at least harder than the chess pieces - as it will get dragged across. If you can't do that, do something with a lot of pattern that will hide scratches. Light and dark petrified wood might work. If you want it to shout (and possibly overwhelm the game pieces), how about tigereye and quartzite? An inquiry at your local tile and countertop store can get you access to some scraps at very low prices (sometimes free) that might work for your board, as well as other projects such as mosaics.
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ToTheSummit

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Re: Chess Set Project
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2016, 01:37:11 PM »

You should definitely stop by my place and we can go through my stones.  I can give you examples of many different types of things to play with to get started.  You can do test carvings and see what you want to work with.  I have lots of stuff here and I'm sure I can at least get you going.
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