So Guy, are you planning on sanding the glued ring to match the table edge? Or do you have some other diabolical trick? ![]()
I will take the glued up ring to the bandsaw and cut close to the line of the top and then use a trim router bit with a bearing to clean it up.
Wow. Got my chess board top sanded down to 220. I applied mineral spirits to clean it and after drying I will go 320 and 400. This looks fantastic and beyond what I expected.
Before mineral spirits.
After mineral spirits.
I plan on using wipe on polyurethane so the mineral spirit pic is what the finished piece will look like. The Peruvian Walnut really darkens when a finish is applied.
I ordered a nice set of chess pieces from Amazon.
I could make chess pieces but frankly I am ready for this project to be over and done.
Next is gluing on my segmented bottom of the top and let it dry overnight.
The top looks awesome. Great job !
@gdon_2003 that looks amazing! All the “trouble” you went through really paid off in the end. Nice job!!
liquid epoxy can be wiped off nicely with ethanol. I don’t know whether that could be done with the chess board. For that amount one will need a good amount of alcohol. Is a messy job however.
I was recommended to use a respirator when working with resin because of the Volatile Organic Compounds VOC. I also bought a measuring device that indeed showed extremly high VOC-concentrations in my basement shop. So I was happy my son told me to use the respirator.
What I did not see: I always had some rags around soaked with plenty of ethanol. When I once did some resin work and kept the alcohol canister closed and the rags dry in the cabinet: there was no VOC concentration spike.
While it is very well true that liquid resin has somen VOC to keep the resin liquid, the resin polymerization itself does not release VOCs, the resin “only” releases the VOCs for it’s molecules to come close enough to react and polymerize, and accidentally my resin was a VOC-free.
I was suprized how high VOC from alcohol can become just from some rags, so I recommend to keep that in mind especially for the ones of us that work with those substances a lot, finishing large surfaces, spray paint a lot or what not, and watch out for VOCs from paint thinners, wood oils etc., that stuff is less harmless than we think.
The MAS table top epoxy I have used acetone to clean up my mixing containers. If you spill some epoxy (drops) the acetone will clean it up as well. If you miss some spots and the epoxy starts to harden soaking it with acetone will soften it. Once dry there is not much you can do except scrape it off.
When you use paper towels or rags with aclohol, acetone, mineral spirits etc you should immediately lay the towel out and not crumple it up and throw it in the trash can. As soon as possible remove it from inside and take it outside and immerse it in water. Many solvents can combust and start a fire. If you are in an enclosed space use a fan to help disperse the fumes and if possible put the fan in a window/door to blow the fumes out.
Always have 1 fire extinguisher (or more) handy.
Got my segmented ring glued to the bottom of the table top. This morning I used my little bandsaw to remove the excess part of the ring. Later I will use a flush trim bit on the router table to clean it up.
The segmented ring was to make the top appear thicker. My next step is to attach the top to the base. The top ring of my base has 12 sides. So I think I will make a segmented ring to fit inside and use my SO3 to cut the 12 sided recess in the bottom of the top. That way the top can be removed but the 12 sides will keep the top from rotating. With a game in progress you dont want the table spinning and knocking your chess pieces off the table, specifically if you are winning. ![]()
Almost done Guy, the entire project looks great!
Getting closer. I had to add some layers to my base. I had the base sitting in the living room and sat the top on it. I pulled up a chair and thought it was a little low. I added 3 layers to the table. The beauty of segmented woodturning is you can add/remove layers if proportions need it. The added height is very close to the golden mean in proportion. Here is a picture of the addition.
I got my top finished sanded and the first coat of polyurethane on it.
Amazon delivered my chess pieces and the checkers today. So the project is coming along.
My last piece of the puzzle was to attach the top to the base. I wanted to be able to remove the top for transport but be stable when on the base. I made a 12 sided ring that will fit inside the top of the base and will use my SO3 to cut a corresponding pocket in the bottom of the top. It was glued up earlier and still needs some sanding and possible some fitting.

















