Chess Board Box
Supplies List:
DAP All purpose Adhesive and sealant
This project was designed for an art auction to raise funds for our local elementary school. My daughter's classmates decorated tiles to serve as the black squares and we used plain white tiles for the white squares. The tiles were arranged on a backer board of luan and glued into place with DAP all purpose adhesive and sealant. The tiles were sealed on top with Krylon triple thick clear glaze. The playing surface measured 15.625 inches square. The sides ended up being 16.625. The final length of the sides was determined by adding the length of the chess board with the thickness of the wood doubled. (15.625 + 2x.5) Next, we eased the top edge on the router table then cut our Dados to receive the top and bottom panels. I then labeled my pieces to ensure that the grain would flow as much as possible around the box in a continuous fashion. Next we set up the table saw at 45 degrees utilizing an electronic angle finder to ensure accuracy and the saw stop at 15.875 to cut my miter cuts. After test fitting to ensure everything would fit together we sanded and finished the sides. I used multiple coats of Watco Danish oil in Walnut to stain the box. The mitered edges of the boxes were glued up with Tight Bond II glue with the top and bottom panel in place. I used a band clamp in the glue up process to hold everything together while the glue set. 48 hours after the glue set I cut the top free on the table saw using wedges to prevent binding, then cut thin inserts to stand proud of the inside top edge to center the lid on the lower part of the box. The project was finished with a coat of clear finishing paste from Minwax.
