Metal chess set

[mklotz]

One of my very first projects after getting a lathe was an all metal chess set. Since childhood I had imagined making such a thing and now I had the means to do it; what a thrill !

My lathe skills were not yet well developed so I made myself the requirement that all the pieces were to be made only by turning on the lathe - this to make the project serve as skill development practice. This ruled out anything like the classic Staunton pattern for the pieces. I had to design my own. I settled on a very modern interpretation that still captures some of the iconic features of chess sets. All the pieces were made from 1" diameter steel or brass. [Yes, this was back when that much brass was still affordable.] After turning, all the pieces were finished with lacquer to ward off corrosion and a closed box was made to house the set.

Here's how they look set up on the board. The board was bought. My woodworking skills are not up to making something like that and the set deserved something better than my poor efforts.

And here is a close up of each of the unique shapes. [For the benefit of folks who don't play, they are, left to right, king, queen, bishop, knight, rook, pawn.]