Building Chess Pieces and Checkers

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to Popular Woodworking’s Classic Chess Board plan.  Since then, a few readers have asked if I could find any plans to build chess pieces for the board.

After some searching, I found this link by ShopSmith which shows how you can build a full set of chess pieces as well as a set of checkers for those who prefer that game.

While the plans refer back to using the attachments of a ShopSmith, you can build these pieces with any band saw by using a compound cut method.  In fact, all of the pieces, with the exception of the bishops, require just two cutting setups.  The bishops are just a little more complicated due to the saw kerf cut that gives them their unique appearance.

Full -scale diagrams are available for you to print out and use to cut the pieces.  This is a great way to make chess pieces, especially if you don’t have a lathe.