Tom Watson wrote...
I think that molten lead would char the wood

If you keep the thickness of the wood to 1/8" minimum and keep the pour
relatively cool, you shouldn't have a charring problem. That's how I did
mine.

I've got some ebony around here somewheres and I was thinking of using
some satinwood for the white pieces but might try to scratch up some
holly (or use some apple that I've got but I don't know how well that
turns and holds detail. See, there's another thing - the wood needs
to be able to hold some pretty fine detail without a lot of the small
stuff breaking off later.

Ebony is problematic for chess pieces. It turns beautifully, and takes
fine detail very well, but if the set will be used with any frequency,
you will break pieces. The collars of the pawns will go first. The
knights' noses and parts of the mouth (if it's open) will be right
behind. Basically any small cross-section of face grain will be weak. I
love the look of ebony, but it's just too brittle for a "player" set. For
an occasional set or decorative one, it's fine, though.

Cheers!

Jim