Cow Box Checker Board

This game box was built for my Father-in-Law’s 80th birthday.  He is a champion checker player, and a retired farmer.  I tried to incorporate farming with his gaming by using simple alternative materials from the farm along with the woods in the project.

The box itself is made from black walnut from his farm.  The patera is quilted maple.  The game board surface is sandlewood and rosewood.  The stringing was made from sycamore and walnut.  The leather surfaces on the back of the board are simply cowhide, hence the name.  The nesting checker pieces are made from pink ivory and african blackwood.  The box lid is hinged with cast stop hinges, making a lid support unnecessary.

The unusual alternative materials that make this box fun include little bun feet turned from cow horn.  The cushion pieces in the corners of the game board are turned from cow hoof I bought at a pet supply store.  The ivory escutcheon covering the keyhole is one-half of an ivory piano key I recovered from an old upright piano a church was sending to the dump.

 

 

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