Please help! Afraid my chessboard is ruined :(
Hello,
I’m making a chessboard for my husband for Christmas, and I think I made a fatal mistake. I hope someone can give me a tip to fix this if it’s possible — or maybe it’s not as bad as I think?
My chessboard is about .55″ thick. The squares looks great together and the wood is just beautiful. I’ve used spalted maple and walnut for the light and dark pieces.
Here’s where I think I messed up — I wanted to make the underside nice too, so I glued up two panels of extra walnut the exact size of the chess board (and almost the same exact thickness) and then glued that to the chessboard, underneath. So right now it’s a big thick block of wood.
Did I just sign this chessboard’s death warrant? Is it going to explode due to wood expansion come the summer? I just wasn’t thinking 🙁 I basically woke up in the middle of the night going “OH CRAP!”
I cut a groove out of the chessboard for a tongue and groove frame to go around it. I’m hoping someone tells me this isnt a complete disaster…
The chessboard measures 16″ x 16″ and the total thickness, including the top and bottom parts is a little over 1 inch.
Thank you in advance, and please be nice
-K
Replies
What kind of glue did you use? Did you alternate grain direction with the 2 walnut panels?
I used Titebond II, and I'm not sure if I alternated the grain. I'll have to check when I get home.
(I have a feeling I did not alternate it.)
I did the same thing for an end-grain cutting board that I made. I used .5 thick end-grain squares and .5 thick boards that I laminated to the bottom in order for the cutting board to sit over a sink opening in an RV. I felt I needed the boards on the bottom for strength because the center of the board is unsupported and would be subject pressure from cutting, etc. Anyway, since it's a cutting board and sitting on the sink, it gets wet and does all kinds of funky warping because of the grain mixtures between the end-grain and the boards underneath. It never occurred to me when I was building it, but it was a great lesson for me--I won't do that again... Since yours won't be wet, maybe it will be okay.
Interesting Bob! Good to know I'm not the only one :P
What kind of warping happens with the cutting board? Has it ever cracked?
If you glued the walnut panel on the underside so its grain runs the same direction as the grain in the squares, you may be just fine. Just don't trap the chessboard tightly in the frame. It's wide enough that if it expands with seasonal humidity changes, it would try to break the frame.
What we can see in the photo looks nice. It should be a striking chessboard when finished.
Dave -- I think that I glued the panels in the same direction. I'm anxious to get home to check. Thank you for your advice.
And thank you! I'm very pleased at it is my first real woodworking project :)
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Maybe you could go home and count it as family leave time. :) Just say you have to go home to take care of your husband. Leave off the 's Christmas gift part, though.
The uneven removal of material on the underside of the chessboard would normally have a significant effect on the exchange of moisture in a solid board. Since this chessboard is glued up out of many small pieces of wood, it won't behave like a solid board. Cutting channels into wood unevenly can have a significant effect on a board made of solid wood, but I think you can rest easy since this is an amalgamation of so many different pieces of wood. Even though the grain runs in the same direction with the pieces in the chessboard, they can't exchange moisture between them the way uninterrupted wood fibers will. Also, there's the matter of the glue sealing off the endgrain, which is likely going to clog the pores of the wood, making moisture exchange through the endgrain nearly impossible. You haven't signed the chessboard's death warrant, and your husband is going to love this chessboard!
Thank you so much for the advice!
Here is a picture of the bottom of the board. I looked when I got home and the grain on the bottom is in the same direction as the top. Dumb luck :)
Bottom of Chessboard:
(Also, I think walnut is my new favorite wood. It’s just beautiful)
Walnut is very nice and it sounds like you should be in pretty good shape.
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