Reinventing a Chess Set: Decorative, Functional, and Portable!

I aimed to craft and remake a stunning yet practical piece of home décor which fixes a problem that I was facing in my own life. This chess set not only boasts exquisite aesthetics but also features clever internal storage, making it an ideal addition to any living space. It is also portable and makes it much more convenient to take chess on the go. The chess board can close into a box which I can use to safely store my chess pieces. This way, I won't loose any of my pieces when I am outside! My project fixes many of the problems at chess players may face when they want to play in locations away from their home. With ample room to stow away chess pieces and more, it seamlessly combines utility with elegance!

Supplies

This project was fairly basic when it came to the materials apart from the Laser cutter itself. Most of the materials are adaptive and are decorative. It is completely possible to use alternatives for these!

1. Laser Cutter
2. Wood (Balsa 1/8 inch and Plywood 1/8 inch)
3. Wood stain
4. Wood Glue
5. Clamps
6. Hinges
7. Screws
8. Screwdriver

Step 1: Design Your Pieces and Board

I used Inkscape to create what I wanted my design to look like. It is completely possible to use other software like Adobe or whatever is compatible with your particular laser cutter.

1) The Chess Pieces

1. I used an online outline of chess pieces in order to create what I wanted my chess pieces to be shaped as.
2. The white pieces are simply cut out while the black pieces are engraved with a design to further emphasize the difference between the colors.
3. The design was a simple overlay of a pattern that I found on the internet as well. You can engrave whatever you want into these pieces.
4. The pieces are not exactly 3 dimensional, they are standing with the use of a trapezoidal support at the base.
5. By creating slits on each of the pieces, I was able to easily slide the pieces into each other.
6. The width of these pieces at the base was a bit less that 1 inch. I used this information later on to make sure the squares on the board was a bit bigger.

2) The Board

1. I wanted to split the board into two sides in order to make a collapsable box.
2. My chess board dimensions are 4 inches by 8 inches. I added a 1/2 inch border on three of the sides, the fourth side doesn't have a border so that it will be flush against the other side.
3. I made the height of the box when it lays flat to be 2 inches tall.
4. In order to make the black and white checkered effect, I wanted to use a tile design to darken alternate squares. This adds a decorative feeling to the board while still reading as a chess board.
5. Later on, I added additional staining to the dark squares in order to make the color deeper.
6. This decoration would be beautiful in a living room and thus the box can be used as home decor.
7. I manually created and designed each of the wedges so that all the pieces of the box would fit together perfectly. You can use pre existing software to create these grooves to make the process simpler.

I have attached some of the designs that I worked with below! These files may not be exact as I had to do some edits in real time to guarantee a seamless fit. (keep in mind that there are some segments on the planes that include cut lines where they should not be)

Step 2: Laser Cut

I plugged in my Inkscape file straight into my laser cutting software. Since I didn't use a software to create my box and the grooves, it took a little bit of trial and error to get it to fit well. I was able to get all the measurements to fit flush together in the end!

Step 3: Assembly

1) Putting together the Chess Pieces

1. Since I created slits in my original chess pieces design, the base and the pieces fit perfectly together!
2. Some of the fits were so perfect that they didn't even need any glue to keep it together.
3. For the others, I added some wood glue where they would be interlocking and make sure to let it dry for a couple hours.
4. I found applying the wood glue with toothpicks to be the most straightforward.

2) Putting together the box

1. I used wood glue on all the edge where the pieces met.
2. Since the planks were bigger than the individual chess pieces, I made sure to add a generous amount of wood glue for the intersections.
3. I also clamped together all the pieces to keep the wood in place and make sure that it was stuck strongly.
4. Since the wood had interlocking joints, the pieces fit together pretty will and seemed strongly held.

3) Adding hardware

1. I wanted my chess box to have rustic looking hinges with a smooth locking system.
2. Using the set I found on amazon, installation was fairly simple.
3. I screwed in all of the hinges, making sure that they lined up with the other side of the board exactly.
4. The hinges I used were very thin which made sure that the gap in between the two sides of the board was minimized.
5. If you do not have access to hardware like this, it is also possible to 3d print your hinge.
6. I tried this method using a free stl file I found on https://www.thingiverse.com/.
7. While this hinge was functional, I realized that it was far too thick and caused the gap to be too noticeable. This is why I opted for a metal thinner hinge.

4) Final touches

1. Varnished the sides with the same wood stain.

Step 4: Done!

Decorate your space with your brand new box that doubles as a beautiful rustic chess set!