Steel Chess Board

[chatofab]

Hello everyone,

I just recently got into metal working, and I'm currently working on a steel chess board for my girlfriend for Christmas. It doesn't stack up to the projects around here, but as a novice I am pretty proud of it so far. My current hangup is that I'm not exactly sure how to go about coloring the squares. I want to keep the natural steel look as much as possible so I'd rather not paint or anything that would cover it up. I was considering acid etching, but I'm not sure if that would give quite enough contrast to make a good looking board. If possible, I would like to achieve something similar to the second attached image. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Matt

 

[RedRabbit]

Well for starters, thats a great idea for a gift, she better like it. And second, have you considered using thin coats of black paint or translucent paint so you could still see the steel in a way.

 

[dowmace]

Maybe some cold bluing like what would be used for gun repairs.

 

[Toxicscrew]

Just wire brush/sand one set, leave the other set as is and then clear coat both.

 

[Jsf721]

I have a nice set made of marble and onyx. My kids destroyed them, how much for a steel set? Love the one on the right.

 

[polydan]

what about masking in some squares to allow the others to rust somewhat then clear the whole thing!

 

[TauntDevil]

Can do what toxic suggested or you can get some light dark tint spray paint for tinting windows and just spray teh squares one or two coats (however dark you want it) and then once dry, spray clear over it to keep it from scratching off easily.

Looks good though.

 

[IOWNJUNK]

In the last pic it looks like individual squares. If thats what you are doing then I would use stainless and carbon steel for the contrasting colors.

If all one sheet then go with the gun bluing comment above.

 

[chatofab]

Thanks for all the ideas, guys! Gonna go grab some gun blue and paint and sanding discs tomorrow and play around on some scrap to see how everything turns out. Will update with pics when it's done to show everyone how it turns out.

 

[catalytic]

If making it from a single piece of steel plate, then use a UV-activated resist with acid etching. Then a thin coat of paint, and finally sand it with a sanding block to bring out the contrast of the lower (etched) squares (too low for sanding) and the higher squares (high enough to have paint sanded off). A PCB (circuit board) kit will give you everything you need for a shallow etch.

Alternatively, mask off every other square and take it to a media blaster. This might look pretty awesome -- many store front signs around LA are made this way.

If making it from many blocks, then just gun-blue all of the dark squares. Clear coat over everything when done -- the blued ones have rust protection, but the others don't. Or use stainless for the other ones. Or aluminum if your GF doesn't like lifting a 20lb chess board.

Or use contrasting steels with an acid etch to bring out the contrast. Google "damascus dagger" on somewhere like bladeforums.com.

If you're not tied to steel, then contrasting metals such as brass or copper would look nice. You can also use heat to oxidize these to various reds, greens, and bluish tones. Clear coat over them for preservation, as they will rub off over time when sliding chess pieces across them.

You could also add a 'swirl' surface effect on the light colored pieces -- this might add a really nice touch to your chess set. Easy to do if you have a mill or drill press or lathe. You just need a jig to hold the chess square, then hit it with a wire brush using the drill press. Google 'brushed swirl steel drill press' effect for many variations. If you have a 2-axis CNC mill, you can do a very fancy chess square every 2 seconds plus loading time (just program 4 swirl locations on each square).

 

[Hephaestus29]

You can do a google search and see all kinds of different chess sets. I saw one I had thought about doing in 3D but someone beat me to it. Another in aluminum & brass that looked really nice.

 

[jhelrey]

Hope your kids don't throw the chess pieces at one another...

 

[-->]

Maybe some cold bluing like what would be used for gun repairs.

This. Or cover some squares let the others rust then clear it with POR15

 

[srmofo]

If you are doing individual squares like in the pic, I would consider grinding them all in 1 direction. Then clock the pieces in an alternating fashion so the grind marks could oppose each other. Just use a flap wheel.

 

[1grnlwn]

Using hot rolled steel, leave the dark scale on the dark squares grind/sand the light squares. Coat with clear.

 

[PelicanPines]

My suggestion is to avoid masking out the squares... I would make 64 squares and assemble them after 32 of them are properly blue'd or darkened in some way.

 

[raiderhillbilly]

Stamp the squares with a shop press and a wide square cut from a scrap file.

 

[-->]

Im sure most of us here are curious as to how it came out ? Post some pics ?

 

[chatofab]

Im sure most of us here are curious as to how it came out ? Post some pics ?

I ended up running out of time while experimenting with the acid etching so I just painted it for now and it turned out ok. Not exactly how I was hoping, but she loved it which was cool. Also made a cutesie little bird thing for her out of some scraps I had left over. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[jhn9840]

Turned out very nice. I'll bet she loves them.

jhn9840
John