Roy inspired me to get started on a chess set. I'd had it in mind
for awhile. I decided to use the Shopsmith design,
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/p...es/90080-3.jpg
but rather than do Dutch turning just cut a master out and rout out my
pieces. Later I'll cut some plywood discs and use them for bases. That
should be a bit of a PITA, getting the discs out of the hole cutter.

I had pasted the patterns on some plywood and rough cut them out.
Tonight I very carefully followed the l ines and cut out a master that I
then used to rout out a king. Learned right off to take very light cuts
and to hold on firmly.

Came out pretty good looking. But then I got back in the house and
started looking it over. It's just a bit off. Not from me cutting
wrong. When I looked over the pattern again I could tell the two sides
on the king aren't quite the same. So printed out two more copies, and
now I'll have to cut each piece out then flip one and get both sides
exactly the same, then glue them to some plywood, carefully cut each one
out and rout them out. A bit irritating, to say the least.

I'm not a perfectionist but I do like to try to decent work. But,
even as is, it doesn't look real bad. A set would be good for out on a
picknick table where it's apt to be forgotten overnight. And a damn
good way to get rid of a lot of those small pieces of wood I been
waiting to find a use for.



JOAT
Teamwork is very important. It gives you someone to blame.

I agree I have allot of small peices of walnut that were in some boxes in
the attic when I bought this house that was a great idea. Thank you.


Al


"J T" wrote in message
...
Roy inspired me to get started on a chess set. I'd had it in mind
for awhile. I decided to use the Shopsmith design,
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/p...es/90080-3.jpg
but rather than do Dutch turning just cut a master out and rout out my
pieces. Later I'll cut some plywood discs and use them for bases. That
should be a bit of a PITA, getting the discs out of the hole cutter.

I had pasted the patterns on some plywood and rough cut them out.
Tonight I very carefully followed the l ines and cut out a master that I
then used to rout out a king. Learned right off to take very light cuts
and to hold on firmly.

Came out pretty good looking. But then I got back in the house and
started looking it over. It's just a bit off. Not from me cutting
wrong. When I looked over the pattern again I could tell the two sides
on the king aren't quite the same. So printed out two more copies, and
now I'll have to cut each piece out then flip one and get both sides
exactly the same, then glue them to some plywood, carefully cut each one
out and rout them out. A bit irritating, to say the least.

I'm not a perfectionist but I do like to try to decent work. But,
even as is, it doesn't look real bad. A set would be good for out on a
picknick table where it's apt to be forgotten overnight. And a damn
good way to get rid of a lot of those small pieces of wood I been
waiting to find a use for.



JOAT
Teamwork is very important. It gives you someone to blame.

J T wrote:
Roy inspired me to get started on a chess set. I'd had it in mind
for awhile. I decided to use the Shopsmith design,
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/p...es/90080-3.jpg
but rather than do Dutch turning just cut a master out and rout out my
pieces. Later I'll cut some plywood discs and use them for bases. That
should be a bit of a PITA, getting the discs out of the hole cutter.
...

As you probably know some hole saws have a couple of holes in the
top of the saw, You can poke a couple of dowels through them to
push the disc out. SInce you usually have to pound on them to get
it out you may consider cutting a couple of steel rods long enough to
clear the top of the shank It might be worthwhile to enlarge those
holes too, so that a wider dowel can be used.

It is also easier to remove thin plywood discs than thick.
1/4" plywood discs can be stacked and glued after they
have been cut to make a 1/2' or 3/4" base. They'll have
nice hole in the center where you can use a bolt to
clamp and align them.

--

FF

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 9:18am (EDT-3) doth sayeth:
As you probably know some hole saws have a couple of holes in the top of
the saw, snip

The however is, mine doesn't. May have to drill some. Thought
about putting a spring inside, around the drill, but think that'd cause
more problems than it'd solve. One way I've found that half-way works
is cut half-way, then flip the piece and cut the other half. That
leaves enough of the disc to grab on to and pull out, after not too much
wiggling on it.

Do you think an air valve on it, then hook up an air compressor and
blow it out would work? LOL



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

J T wrote:
Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 9:18am (EDT-3) doth sayeth:
As you probably know some hole saws have a couple of holes in the top of
the saw, snip

The however is, mine doesn't. May have to drill some. Thought
about putting a spring inside, around the drill, but think that'd cause
more problems than it'd solve. One way I've found that half-way works
is cut half-way, then flip the piece and cut the other half. That
leaves enough of the disc to grab on to and pull out, after not too much
wiggling on it.

Do you think an air valve on it, then hook up an air compressor and
blow it out would work? LOL



Come to think of it, on some you can remove the nut on top and tap
(e.g. pound) out the disc by tapping (e.g. pounding) on the top
of the shank.

--

FF

J T wrote:
Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 9:18am (EDT-3) doth sayeth:
As you probably know some hole saws have a couple of holes in the top of
the saw, snip

The however is, mine doesn't. May have to drill some. Thought
about putting a spring inside, around the drill, but think that'd cause
more problems than it'd solve. One way I've found that half-way works
is cut half-way, then flip the piece and cut the other half. That
leaves enough of the disc to grab on to and pull out, after not too much
wiggling on it.

Do you think an air valve on it, then hook up an air compressor and
blow it out would work? LOL



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

G'day Joat,
A method I use to remove the disks from the holesaw is to set the depth
gauge on the drill press so that the holesaw stops a millimetre or less
from the bottom of the timber. Drill as many as you need from one side,
flip the timber and cut the remaining mm or so. Most of the disks just
fall out. Another trick is to set up a fence on the drill press so that
the hole saw cuts the circle right to the edge of the timber, about half
of the blade thickness cutting through the wood. This allows the saw
dust to clear, stops burning, and makes the process much easier.
Just tips that work for me.

regards
John

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:08am (EDT-3) doth sayeth:
Come to think of it, on some you can remove the nut on top and tap (e.g.
pound) out the disc by tapping (e.g. pounding) on the top of the shank.

That would be a PITA. Which is why I consider that probably my
last option.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:51pm (EDT+4)
(John*B)
snip set the depth gauge snip Most of the disks just fall out.
Another trick is to set up a fence snipThis allows the saw dust to
clear, stops burning, and makes the process much easier. Just tips that
work for me.

Yep, that's about the way i do it, but the discs do not tend to
just fall out, they need pulling on.

I'll give the fence a shot. Thanks.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:51pm (EDT+4)
(John*B) doth sayeth:
snip so that the holesaw stops a millimetre or less from the bottom of
the timber. snip

Ah, I saw what you're saying, as soonas I hit the send button.
Yeah, I do it that way, but I don't go down that far on the first side,
only about half-way. Yeah, I can see where your way would be a lot
better. That's one of those simple little things you should have
thought of yourself - but didn't. LOL I think that'll do it for me.
Thanks.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

J T wrote:
Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 11:51pm (EDT+4)
(John B) doth sayeth:
snip so that the holesaw stops a millimetre or less from the bottom of
the timber. snip

Snip
That's one of those simple little things you should have
thought of yourself - but didn't. LOL I think that'll do it for me.
Thanks.

JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

One of those forehead slapping moments Give ya the sh-t's don't they.
A couple of times I've read things in the group and gone and kicked
myself around the block for not thinking of it sooner. That's the beauty
of this forum.

Have fun
All the best
John

Wed, Aug 16, 2006, 4:24am (EDT+4)
(John*B) doth hit it with:
One of those forehead slapping moments Give ya the sh-t's don't they.
A couple of times I've read things in the group and gone and kicked
myself around the block for not thinking of it sooner. That's the beauty
of this forum.

Hi John:
Perzactly. I spend more time now trying to think out my problems,
or how I will do something, so I'm sorting out a lot more of those
little problems than I used to. Still some slipping by tho. One way
that helps is talking it out - to myself. Kinda amazing at times how
many good ideas pop up that way. Apparently I got on the wrong subject,
and didn't think of your way. LOL

On the referse side, you can think about something and it sounds
absolutely great. But that's when it's only bouncing from one side of
your skull to the other. You're convinced you're the new DaVinci. But
if you put it into words, and say them outloud, even if it's only
talking to yourself, so often you suddenly realize what a absolutely
stupid idea that is. Not every idea is bad, but saying them outloud
does tend to sort out most of the bad ones before you get the chance to
really screw up.

Sometimes coming here is the equivalent to talking outloud.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

"J T" wrote in message
Sometimes coming here is the equivalent to talking outloud.

And sometimes just to convince yourself that you're not just talking to
yourself again?

Wed, Aug 16, 2006, 5:41pm (Upscale) doth sayeth:
And sometimes just to convince yourself that you're not just talking to
yourself again?

More like reassuring myself I make sense listening to myself.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

Well, made some minor mods to the patterns, and got most of them
cut out this evening. They're l ooking good.

The king's still giving me some probs. Measured, remeasured, and
re-remeasured. Looked good, so cut the pattern out. Damn if the crown
isn't still just a shade off, even tho I took my time cutting it out,
and fo llowed the lines very nicely. But, no prob, It's just the two
sides coming off the very top, and I'll be able to wrap some sandpaper
around a roll of dimes and get it right in a few minutes. Otherwise the
kng is good. I'll have the last couple masters cut out in a day or so
and start making some chess pieces. Did find a void in a couple of the
pieces, but they're just the right size I'll be able to glue a popsicle
stick in, trim after drying, and viola, perfect. Nothing like using
professional level tools. LOL



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

Hi,

I made a SketchUp model of the pieces to get a feel for how they'd
look. They are not drawn very symmetrical. If anyone considers makig
them, it'd be best to redraw them in a drawing program.

See the model here.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehou...898cef6f2f0809

Fri, Aug 18, 2006, 7:06pm (EDT-3) (Jim) doth sayeth:
Hi,
I made a SketchUp model of the pieces to get a feel for how they'd look.
They are not drawn very symmetrical. If anyone considers makig them,
it'd be best to redraw them in a drawing program. snip

Not drawy very symmetrical is right. I finally got the king
symmetrical tho, after five tries. I'm finally satisfied with it. The
others only needed minor mods. I've ginally got all the masters cut out
and routed our a knight the other night. Except for a small "lip" under
the jaw, while scrollswing it, it's good. To me the "lip" makes is
remind me of a hawk a bit. I'll sand the lip off the master. Even so
it'd do for a knock-about set. I'll start routing out a piece or two,
as I get the time, until I've got a complete set.

I'm not making them by Dutch turning, if anyone is not sure. I'm
routing them out of scrap plywood, which will give a profile on two
sides, and the other two sides will just show the thickness of the
plywood. I could do the same by scrollsawing the pieces out, but that
wouldn't be near as interesting, and a lot slower. I'll be cutting
discs for the bases as I get time too. I'll probably be using latex
paint rather than staining, but that's to be decided later. I''m
starting to think about some sort of padding, felt or whatever, to put
on the botome of the bases. I've got an old naugahide covered chair I'm
gonna get rid of, so may just use the naugahide from that. Naugahides
are an endangered species now, and I can't afford a hunting trip anyway.
All in all this is a quite satisfying project. Good for the soul ya
know.

Added bonuses: Starting to get rid of a lot of small pieces I'd
not wanted to toss, and I'm putting sawdust into old clothes washing
detergent jugs. The sawdust? Thatl'll be saved and carried in our
vehicles in the winter, ithen use the sawdust if some traction is
needed. A handful or two is ually all it takes. I'm screening the
sawdust first, and saving some of the real fine sawdust for making
sawdust clay - and to get the screws, useful nails, etc. that've
dropped.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.