Chess Pieces

[Greolt]

Some of my grandchildren are learning to play chess, so I thought I would make them a chess set.
All the pieces are made on the rotary axis. With UCCNC of course. The board not so much.
Jarrah and Australian Cyprus.
.

[ger21]

Very nice.

[A_Camera]

Wow. That's really very nice. Where did you find the G code? Or did you do the design everything on your own? The pieces look really beautiful. I have a Millennium King Performance chess computer which I like a lot and also considered making new pieces for, but I simply don't have the patience and the code... Maybe next year when I'll have a bit more time...

[Greolt]

I downloaded a free stl model from one of the many sites specialising in 3D printer models.

Modified a couple of the pieces to make them more readily machinable on my 4th axis. Queen and rook.

The most challenging piece was the knight. It did not work so well with, what to me, is a normal 4th axis toolpath. X, A and Z
So I used the 4th axis as an indexer and machined from two sides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmROvkcButc

[A_Camera]

Thank you. I watched your video and it is really nice work you have done. Did you add some weight at the bottom afterwards? The weight and balance is very important because otherwise the pieces fall over or move too easy. It improves the playing experience when players can concentrate on the game and not on keeping the pieces standing up on the right spot.

[Greolt]

No weight added. The pieces all have a fairly large base. They don't feel like they are about to fall over.

I actually should have made the board squares a bit larger. Could feel just a little crowded.
However the kids won't even notice such a thing.

[A_Camera]

No weight added. The pieces all have a fairly large base. They don't feel like they are about to fall over.

I actually should have made the board squares a bit larger. Could feel just a little crowded.
However the kids won't even notice such a thing.

Thank you. Yes, maybe the board is a bit small, or the pieces are a bit too large... depending on how you see it. I asked because I have the King Performance Millennium Chess Computer and considering making steel pieces. Might be a bit too heavy, but I'll test with one and if I feel it's too heavy I'll make it out of aluminium. Anyway, it's a long term project because the design will take time. I only play with myself so it doesn't matter if the pieces are too heavy unless somebody knocks over the board and the pieces would fall on the living room floor. In that case, wooden pieces are better than any metal.