Introduction: 3D Chess Board

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A multiple level 3D chess board. Made of walnut, each block is at a different height to add a fun and artistic factor to the classic game of chess. With a proper workshop and a few pieces of walnut lumber, you can build your own 3D chess board in less than a week. This craft is both appealing to the eye and also a great way to test your skills of chess in a whole different way.

Step 1: Finding a Design

The process of actually deciding which style of chess board was hard. I wanted to make it very appealing to the eye, something that someone would be interested in with the first look at the board. But at the same time, not make it too confusing to play the classic game of chess on. So I went with the multiple level block design to give the board a 3D look that would give it immediate attraction. The only inspiration I had was from looking through different designs of cool chess boards online and finding a design that fitted my expectations of the project.

Step 2: Drawing Out the Plans and Materials Needed

The plans are in the figure above. Nick Fairishon, Liam Gorman, and myself all contributed in making the plans and the beginning stages of the project. We had to make the plans simple enough to be able to make the chess board in a short amount of time. The numbers in each block show the height (in inches) that each block of walnut will be. In between each level, there is a 1 inch difference. These plans helped a lot for organization and assembling all the blocks after each was cut down to size.

Materials Needed:

  • Proper workshop w/ all the necessary tools and machines
  • Walnut lumber
  • Wood Glue
  • Bar clamps
  • C clamps
  • Blowtorch
  • Protective fire proof gloves

Step 3: Preparing and Cutting Each Block

Steps:

  • Obtain walnut lumber
  • plain and cut each piece down to 3/4"
  • Cut 3/4" strips
  • Glue two pieces together, making it 1-1/2" in diameter
  • After it drys (typically after 24 hours), cut each strip down to the size according to the plans

Step 4: Assembling and Gluing

After all the cutting, I was able to place each piece in there correct places according to the design and the figure above.

Step 5: Burning and Final Gluing

Taking every other block, I used a blowtorch to burn the top. This would be the pattern for a typical chess board. After that I glued everything together to create the final product in the process.