Steampunk-Inspired Hardware Chess Set

video Steampunk-Inspired Hardware Chess Set

Make a cool, retro, steampunk-inspired chess set from assorted hardware, a found table and some common chemicals. This project is fast, easy and looks great.

Obscure and Obscene says: Dec 22, 2010. 2:21 AM

Nice job man!
that's mine ( the template is from GMJHOWE instructable )

omnommaster in reply to Obscure and ObsceneJan 17, 2012. 12:20 PM

wow.

FlatLinerMEDIC in reply to Obscure and ObsceneJan 8, 2012. 11:56 AM

I love it!

electridanger in reply to Obscure and ObsceneOct 5, 2011. 3:36 PM

O.O

THAT IS SOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Win Guy says: May 15, 2011. 6:27 PM

OMGOMGOMG This is awesome! (Insert number higher than five here)/5! I'll be making one right away!
Win Guy

scmtngirl says: Oct 1, 2008. 11:43 AM

That is a really great idea! I might make this for my hub for an Xmas present. Thanks!

scmtngirl in reply to scmtngirlJan 13, 2010. 11:00 AM

I finally got around to making this for my husband for Christmas 2009. I spray painted one of the sets of chess pieces gold instead of using chemicals and left the other one natural. I think I spent about 90 minutes at the hardware store figuring out the chess pieces themselves. It cost about $55 for all the nuts and bolts, I had the end table on hand already, and I bought a mis-mixed quart of paint for the base color of the table as well as a contrasting spray paint for the board and a high-gloss spray paint sealer to finish it off.

He was super impressed with it (a carpenter, by trade), and now we keep a game going in our den all the time. He's beat me every time. ;)

ramboninja in reply to scmtngirlJan 14, 2011. 1:25 AM

That is sooo awesome

danlab says: Mar 9, 2010. 9:47 PM

This is awesome, I plan to make my dad a set for his birthday next month, just a note, Michaels sells the "patina chemical" as "antiquing solution".

danlab in reply to danlabMar 10, 2010. 12:40 PM

A mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide and salt will work similarly to the "patina solution" albeit slower, but you can make a quart for 2 or 3 dollars.

bassclarinet23 says: Sep 25, 2009. 6:02 PM

That is amazing.

Indoloro says: Jul 8, 2009. 4:25 PM

What is the patina chemical that you used called? I've been looking around in hardware stores and I can't find anything that advertises that it rusts metal.

infinitysnake in reply to IndoloroAug 21, 2009. 2:59 PM

You can buy it at Michael's and other craft shops.

jktechwriter says: May 29, 2009. 10:42 AM

Really well done, folks... looking forward to more of your instructables submissions. 5-stars.

katandtonic says: Jan 12, 2009. 1:39 PM

My boyfriend just opened a new bar in SF and it's got some steampunk elements in the design. I've been wanting to put chess tables in the lounge area upstairs, so how perfect is this idea? SO useful, thanks :)

recon506 in reply to katandtonicMar 2, 2009. 8:21 PM

I'm heading over to SF for Spring Break Thankfully our delightful Mechanical Engineering professor did not assign too much homework over break, so my buddies and I would be delighted to drop by. Where in North Beach are you guys located? Side note: For anybody dropping by the ASU Polytechnic Campus in Tempe, AZ - a great brewery/restaurant is Gordon Biersch. The greatest beer one will ever taste, brewed in-house, for only $2.50 for a pint!

katandtonic in reply to recon506Mar 3, 2009. 9:16 AM

Oh fun! ChurchKey is located on Grant & Green in North Beach. When are you planning on coming by? We had to postpone some of our grander ideas of decor to deal with some electrical stuff (it's a REALLY old building and it got to the point where we couldn't turn the oven and the dishwasher on at the same time without blowing a fuse 50 times throughout the night). It's still pretty gorgeous inside, just very "Victorian Minimalist" if that's possible, haha.

recon506 in reply to katandtonicMar 3, 2009. 3:00 PM

Well, I'm hoping to go next week, (if my buddy can get the car, that is). If not, I guess we'll just postpone it until June, which would make me very sad indeed. But if I have to, I'll just satisfy myself with bar hopping all over Tempe until June comes rolling around.

sparkyrust (author) in reply to katandtonicJan 12, 2009. 2:18 PM

Thanks for the coment. What Bar? I'm in SF.

katandtonic in reply to sparkyrustJan 12, 2009. 3:10 PM

It's a brand spanking new small batch/micro-brew beer bar called Church Key in North Beach. It's definitely a place for beer lovers, but it's not pretentious at all for the people like me who couldn't tell you what makes one beer "hoppy" and what makes another "malty" haha. It's just good beer and good fun :)

sparkyrust (author) in reply to katandtonicJan 12, 2009. 9:48 PM

Just saw some pix on Yelp. It looks great. I'm in outer mission so I'm not over that way much, but I'll try to stop in and say "Hi" soon. If you like the chess set, enjoy this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pWVtQNex2E

RevRods says: Feb 16, 2009. 8:06 PM

wow, that's a cool chess set. i really like the board.

i build a chess set out of high performance engine and transmission parts. i call it "high octane chess"

check it out: High Octane Chess

finfan7 says: Oct 2, 2008. 6:12 PM

I saw a set like this years ago made by an artist who did some cool stuff. They're pretty cool but personally I would rather see more modifications to the hardware to better match the classic shapes.

sparkyrust (author) in reply to finfan7Oct 3, 2008. 12:38 PM

Thanks for the comment. Your idea sounds great. Make it and send a pic to www.gomistyle.com and we'll post it!

finfan7 in reply to sparkyrustOct 3, 2008. 11:20 PM

No guarantees but I will certainly look into it. I will have to go down to ace and piss the workers off again by sitting in their hardware department looking for some inspiration. ...heheheh when they ask what I am looking for I will have to tell them I am looking for a couple pieces of inspiration.