Introduction: Sphere Chess Board
Here are a few pictures of the process I took took to make my sphere chess board. Unfortunately I do not have all the calculations I made to make the square pieces fit together. However, after selecting my light wood (Soft Maple) and my dark wood (Walnut) for my board, I went to work. Using those forgotten calculations, each square piece was cut with near exactness. Each piece then went to the drill press to make holes for the magnets. After putting magnets in them, each were glued together in horizontal rings, which were octagonal shaped. With all eight rings glued up, and the magnets held in with Bondo, the two halves were glued together. With the two halves glued up, it went over to the lathe where it was turned from octagon to spherical shape. The two halves were then glued together to make the sphere, which is about 9" in diameter.
The Base was a little easier. It is about 10" in diameter, also turned on a lathe. It has three main parts to it. The stand, support and arm. The stand and what I call support looks like a disk with a ball stuck in it. They are held together with a bolt with a flat thrust bearing between them. The support has a notch cut thru it with the arm glued inside of it to hide the bolt and hold the sphere. The Arm was made using mostly a router. The router was used to make the perfect arc to appear machined. Before the arm was glued in, a drill press was used to add the decorative holes to make it appear to have measuring marks. The teeth on the arm were also made using the router. (The bit used was homemade to be at an angle instead of straight.)
The Axle on the inside of the sphere was made out of a metal rod. Also on the inside there is a small spring loaded mechanism that keeps the ball from free spinning. (Apologies for there are not pictures of this part.)
Lastly, there is a spacer and knob to turn the board. Each were designed after the Queen chess piece. The spacer was modeled after the base of the queen and keeps the base of the board away from the arm to allow the pieces to rotate around the sphere without hitting the arm. The knob at the top of the sphere was modeled after the top of the Queen (I used the queen because it is the the most powerful chess piece. And it ties the whole design together). This and the spacer were both made using the lathe.
I hope that this design was helpful, if at least inspirational to whom ever reads this.

Participated in the
Woodworking Contest 2017
22 Comments
4 years ago
Awesome design, what was the final cost of materials and time?
6 years ago
Correction update: I thought of this idea when I was 10 or 11 years old, sometime back in 1985 or 1986, then I drew the concept/design when I was in high school in the early 1990's and won the art contest I entered it in. You may have built a functional spherical chess game; whether you were aware of it or not, I drew up the idea over 30 years ago and has been published on the internet nearly 20 years under my company name a logo. I own the artistic creative intellectual property of this design. http://www.artistictouch.biz/AT/pages/Lifes_a_chess_game.html
Reply 5 years ago
The design is different enough that there is no issue.
Reply 5 years ago
it's not just the design alone, but the concept of the idea applies as well.
Reply 5 years ago
the design is different as well. There is no "globe"/earth pattern. The squares are different. It's a physical object. On top of that, I made $0 on this over the past 2 years. "concepts" don't really hold up in court either.
Look, it's cool that you came up with a similar idea years ago, but before I made this, I saw 5+ other similar designs and a video game. This was a project to spend time with my father, and thought I would share what we did. So, if you feel a need to attack me over that, I'm okay with that. Just know the inspiration I got DID NOT come from you.
Reply 5 years ago
Relax, no one is "attacking" anyone; you're jumping to your own conclusions. I'm just telling you right now that as an artist, visionary and concept designer, I own the artistic license for this particular concept and design. I came up with it many years ago before you or anyone else who included the concept and design in any similar way shape and form, whether it's through video games, movies, cartoons, comics, art, etc. I basically own all rights to the design and concept, whether it has an earth pattern on it, extra checker patterns on it or not. The same concept, idea is there and I'm currently working on a copyright for it, maybe even a patent for future security. Good luck and glad you enjoyed making this.
Reply 5 years ago
By the way, is this you representing this design on kickstarter? Or is this someone else using the same design/concept with slightly enhanced features? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1585372093/globe-chesstm-spherical-chess-set-fully-playable
Reply 5 years ago
Nope. Not me. In fact, I tried suiing this guy, because I got an artistic copywrite on this particular design, and it still wasn't even enought to prosecute. Lost thousands of dollars....
Reply 5 years ago
Did you have proof of "when" you designed your derivative of this concept? Does he have proof of when he designed his derivative of this concept? Now days that should be a lot easier to prove if the work in progress is published with time stamps on each publication.
I have a time stamp on my drawing/concept design through a newspaper article that I still need to find. The other time stamp I have for proof of when I created this concept/design is the age category I entered the art contest in, those details are hand printed on the back of the art work.
I researched more about copyright and intellectual property. Anytime someone creates any original art of any genre, it automatically becomes that artist's inventor's intellectual property and they will own all rights to it. However, if they want to take a case to court, they will need to have it copyrighted, and that copyright will protect the original work no matter when it was created/developed, whether it was published or not.
Look into timelines on both your behalf and get screen shots for further proof. If his derivative was published before your derivative, then you may not have a case; but if it were the other way around, you may have a case.
I'm planning on contacting a local intellectual property lawyer soon to see if I may even have a case as well, based on the design and concept alone. The other guy who you claim "stole your idea", I will be contacting the kickstarter legal department about his infringment, as long as I have full confidence that I have a valid case as well. First thing's first, I will be in contact with an attorney for legal advice on this matter. If you have proof of your derivative being published before his was, maybe we can team up on this other guy. until then, good luck with everything.
5 years ago
To whom it may concern,
Hay I like to look of the Magnetic Spherical Chess Board. My only question is how can I get one? I am not really trying to create one though. You may email me at tintex@gmail.com.
V/R Mr.Bowen
6 years ago
I suggest you start a Kickstarter campaign and make some money!
6 years ago
bunu satın almak istiyorum.
6 years ago
This is amazing, makes me want to go hop on the lathe.
Reply 6 years ago
Do it ! Make 2. I'll buy one...
6 years ago
Don't own a lathe, never used one. I have seen that a decent hobby lathe suitable for turning *pieces* can be had for 100-150 bucks. But I would guess not the one you used to turn that board?
6 years ago
This is such a brilliant idea, and I'm glad to see it finished with such detail. Incorporating a Queen in to the center staff is so clever. What inspired this?
6 years ago
I cannot imagine playing on it but it is beautiful.
6 years ago
beautiful :)
6 years ago
Beautiful and amazing. This I such an imaginative interpretation of the chessboard.
6 years ago
Amazing!