Buy once whatever. The point was that on one hand he says you don’t need fancy expensive tools and then immediately grabs an expensive fancy tool to demonstrate that you don’t need expensive fancy tools.
There was certainly some thick irony with that one. The actual idea still stands to some extent. You don't NEED fancy expensive tools but not having them limits your range in the type of builds that are even viable especially if you plan to make any money. It definitely is a point that you should only make right before you ACTUALLY show an audience a build that is completed using basic tools. Anything other than that and you risk offended or irritating some segment of your audience even bringing it up.
Shame on you for paying someone a living wage instead of buying it much cheaper from a country that utilizes modern sl@ve labor. How do you sleep at night?
What is something worth? Whatever the person buying, and the person selling think it is worth. May you use the board in good health. I used to dabble, (but never got a ranking). My daughter got slightly more serious. Worked /went to school with some serious players, including a guy (May he RIP) who was a grandmaster
During the resin crazy days of the early 1970's we made a pair of chessboards that look surprisingly alike that one. We used black walnut for the dark squares and just stuck them down to a flat board in the shape we wanted for the boards and then poured the pearlescent resin all over it. When we were done and flipped it over, it did take a lot of polishing on the surface, but it worked out pretty well. We didn't have any kind of lights that would work under it at the time, but LEDs would have been great. It wasn't a sealed surface, so the walnut and resin were contrasting textures, too.
@13:02 It might just be because I don't have my table saw as perfectly tuned as it could be, but I've found that rotating the strips instead of flipping them aligns the corners better (14:42). Though, a big part of that is also being extremely careful when doing the final glue-up (13:06).
@@Patrik6920 You're making my point. The "value" of something depends on what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept in exchange. It has nothing to do with objective "worth" or even the value ascribed by others.
@4:10 A completely unique chessboard that (almost) no-one else has is my Battlefield Chessboard concept. I've made 4 in total now (one just for me), so there's currently literally only 4 chessboards like it. Also, each board can be made to be completely unique (you'll understand why if you go to my channel to see what I'm talking about). I realize that it's too late for the customers you're referring to in this video, but if you get a request like this again, I urge you to suggest a Battlefield Chessboard. Obviously, I'd like to be the one to make it, but I'd be just as happy with someone who's already got a great youtube following to be the one to make it and get the concept out there a bit more.
As someone who sells quality building envelope products hearing tuck tape or tyvek tape referred to as expensive was a total culture shock lol. That out of the way amazing project thanks for sharing!
25 hrs? I'm struggling with this one. I've build many chess boards with complicated borders, and I think I average 4 hours per board. This one is a little different, but the cutting of the squares to make the 64 checker board pattern is two glue ups, one rip cut setup, and one cross cut setup at the table saw. Ripping the boards, 10 mins. x 2. Insuring great joints (jointer/planer), 10 mins. x 2. Glue up, 10 mins x 2. That should take you max 1-1.5hr to do this. My complicated borders take 1-2 hrs to mill the wood to thin .03/.06/.125 strips and glue them up to make striped borders cut at 45 at the edges and glue to the checker board pattern. I spend the rest of that 4 hrs. sanding and finishing. Are you including over night cure times for your glue ups? I leave all my glue ups over night but I don't include this in my labor cost because I'm not working physically working on the board.
He must have which is definitely questionable as far as ethics and basic business acumen go. The buyer was another Woodworking TH-camr though so it isn't representative of a build like this being likely to actually sell on the open market for that price.
@@matthewhall9692 I'm an avid chess player and the boards that they use for the World Championship are $1600 boards (last I checked) that have magnetic sensors under each square and blue tooth so that they can display the moves to the crowd and online viewers. Spencley's board is an art piece more than a chess board. You are paying for the name of the maker at this point, same as a Jackson Pollock painting is something you and I could paint but the value isn't in the quality of the painting but name of the painter.
I wanted a combination keyboard and trackball that I could put on my lap to help with my shoulder pain. I couldn't find anything that had a normal size trackball. It was all either tiny useless trackballs or industrial grade trackballs that cost hundreds of dollars. So I decided to build it myself. I designed the circuit board and designed and 3d printed the case. I would only be willing to pay about $75 for something like this pre-made. I spent well over $200 on the parts to build it, and probably a good 120 hours or so in time designing the circuit board, designing the case and then 3d printing it as well. If I were to value my time at just $15 an hour, which is crazy low for a custom build, that would be $2,000. So yea, a $2,000 or $2,500 chess board is completely reasonable. It might have only cost you a tenth of that in parts, but the time you put into build it far outweighs the cost of the materials.
No fancy clamp storage rack in the previous chessboard build. Limited space in my workshop means wall and floor space are premium. Beneath the long flat lumber and jig storage hanging from the ceiling I put some 2x boards to slip long pipe/bar clamps above with shorter clamps clamped beneath. It gives me lots of 2 sided clamp storage in an otherwise thin unusable area. Haven’t had a clamp fall on my head yet. It works for me.
I have no problem with the price. My problem is with the wood used. I find it a little too plain/ordinary in overall appearance for the price. Given the choice I would have gone more exotic, maybe a macassar ebony, or a more highly figured lighter colored wood, e.g. thuya burl. But if it uses wood that is already featured at the client's house, then it might be perfect as is.
Melamine is relatively expensive at big box stores. I was surprised how much such a utilitarian sheet good costs. I'm not one to cry "safety first" but I have cut thin sheets of plastic on the table saw and it wreaked something awful. I couldn't imagine that epoxy smelling any better. Definitely wear a facemask.
@@CrazyManwich Cheep like a chicken, or cheap as in price? About 3 years ago 3/4" maple plywood was $50, now it's $100. What was melamine then, about 25 bucks?
Damn man... I had that happen where my cast stuck to the melamine - the mold release spray did not work. And what I was casting was an 8-foot maple slab. And I don't have a planer, so I had to smash it all off with hand tools. I don't know that I've ever sworn so much in any other project in my life. I was NOT impressed!
The most expensive piece of art sold at auction was da Vinci’s Salvatore Mundi at $450MM. Woodworking is a form of artistic expression. Whatever price the buyer is willing to spend for an artist’s work is their business.
I watch your channel in spurts. I feel like I have to watch the $5000 table thing because I don’t understand why you didn’t look for a wide belt sander rental when seeing the little sample video here haha
Whatever price the buyer is willing to pay is the right price. The everage Joe comparing a mass produced chessboard to a custom made customer spec board doesn't account for the labour involved. My wife makes one off pieces of clothing from scratch using her loom and her late mothers old built like a tank Singer sewing machine. She charges too low of prices in my opinion considering the huge amount of time she puts in to string the loom with individual strands of wool or cotton to create the fabric which then has to be cut, shaped and sewn into the final product. It can take over a week just to create a scarf but she loves doing it so that's all that matters.
Looks good. (And yes, it is a shame you forgot the plastic on one of the epoxy pours.) Just "spit balling" some things though: Ok, the epoxy is a nice idea to also protect the wood/board and keep it looking nice. The TOP surface: Why not use glass? (Float glass - of course) Basically do what you did, but one side don't fret too much. The board is the FINAL SIZE you want. Get some thin-ish float glass the same size. Put the glass on the top side of the board - be it you have it upside down when attaching them together - and you would only need a thin layer of epoxy to attach it Then you are guaranteed a FLAT surface on the top. Ok, it can crash/split/(what ever) but if the person to whom it is given knows this and treats it with respect.... That shouldn't be a problem.
I was talking to a guy after golf the other day. We spoke about the upcoming election. RvW being overturned, the trans issue, and the war in Gaza. But then the topic of OGEE profiles came up and it almost came to blows. We we ejected from the bar!
I'm not at all a fan of chess, but definitely a fan of hand crafted, unique items. This board turned out amazing! IMHO, words to describe the work put in & the end result 》 SPEECHLESS. 💯
I've been woodworking for 35 years. I've built and sold $30,000 pieces. Theres no way id charge 2500 for a chess board simply because thats not a 2500 dollar job. Time is valuable. But the biggest time factor of this is waiting for the epoxy. That means you work on other projects in the meantime. Not charge the one client for all of that
@@gorak9000 and the reason I have survived this business without TH-cam and have multiple repeat clients who still spend thousands of dollars per project with me is because I don't treat them like they're suckers. That same $30,000 dining room table I also built the chairs for, the China cabinet beside it for $12,000, the coffee table in the living room along with the entertainment stand, book shelves and every piece in every bedroom for almost a million just on that one family. Trust me, I make it just fine lol
@@woodworkingandepoxy643so you "make it without TH-cam," good for you. But then you probably massively underestimate the amount of work that is necessary to produce and edit videos. In some cases it can be like another whole job, and filming while working can slow down your pace significantly. I'm not going to argue what this chess board should cost -- the price is whatever a willing buyer and seller say it is -- but it's not like TH-cam is some easy way to turn a business profitable.
Well, to each his own. I like wood . Dont really care for epoxies. Might have something to do with grinding fiber glass boats when i was 14. Maybe not , but to this day, watching people mix that stuff makes me itch.
I got some mirth from the comment about not needing big expensive equipment a few moments before you pulled out a track saw that costs 3x what a decent prosumer benchtop jointer runs.
We've all heard that "The customer is always right," but that is not the complete saying, and it can easily be misused to imply that the merchant, artisan, etc. must comply with all customer demands. The complete aphorism is "The customer is always right in matters of taste" that means the customer can have their own preferences, but cannot dictate the maker's process or business practices. As for the Roman ogee, an artisan may think the customer's design choices are ridiculous, ugly, and distasteful, but if (IF!) the artisan accepts the customer's order, then the design choices of the customer must be honored. I, an ole phart, like the Roman ogee, but I completely understand that others might not share that opinion. You do fine work, Eric, and you have every right to express your sentiments on your site; those who post impolite comments should be thoroughly ignored.
The most amazing aspect about this build is, that there are actually people out there who'd get a wood worker build them a custom made chess board for a small fortune, while a decent board could have bought from the likes of Amazon for far less. These people need to get some serious meaning back to their lives! What's next for these people? Getting a custom made tooth brush for 500.- just because they can? What's wrong with our world?
You have tools? All I can afford is my own two hands and a hammer I made from a stick and a rock. It must be nice to such luxuries like "power tools" and "indoor plumbing"!!!!! Some of us aren't rich!!!!!!
Thought you would use led lights? I guess I mis-heard. How would putting cavities in the walnut blocks and placing the led facing the epoxy squares. Score the squares, fill with black resin and run the wires along the black resin? No? Ok just a thought.
sorry not impressed with the chess board the marbling affect so so at best and the two "white " corners get lost out into the outter edge i would have thought an additional black around outside to define the edge of the chess squares might have been a nice additional touch Then the clear/white marble 1/2 border i think the accent of the fine black or darker line wouuld have added an extra snap to it even now router in a thin groove and insert a piece of blacked brass or antique treated or a strip of ebony
You are making 1 chess board, hence the high sticker price. There are ways to scale up your production and thus cutting costs. Imagine if you took orders for 500 chess boards and could make them together. I'd think you could plan out working on 4 to 5 boards at a time. But figuring out a process for one chess board does take work.
Hey i noticed your Stock Guides on your table saw. I have recently.purchased these. I am wondering if you used the 150lb or 95 lb magnets. As i feel 95 lbs each should be more than enough no? The 150s are 50% higher cost. Would appreciate your input. Thanks! Also that board turned out amazing! I've not yet had the Cahones to try working with epoxy
Hey Mr. Spencley! I have a question about your DeWalt planer. Do you use the stock knives? Or did you replace the knives with an aftermarket tool bit rotor? I ask, because I’m contemplating replacing my rotor, but the aftermarket tool bit rotor is kind of pricey.
Amazing craftsmanship bro. As all of us woodworkers know, we don't want to work with clients who don't value the handmade and unique products craftsman make. Love your videos
Good on you for making a living from doing something you love, and being able to charge top dollar for it. Personally I'm a bit tired of all the plastic covered wood products around these days. In my opinion it defeats the purpose of wood in the first place. Being natural, and biodegradable.
The plans say 13inch square. I always make them tournament size. Seems some people don't care or maybe don't know the correct size. No silicon mould is tournament size but half size.
@@MsHeebiejeebies I'm not interested in an argument but your information is incorrect. I just measured my USCF official tournement board. The individual squares are 2.25" x 2.25". The playing field is 18" x 18". The non-playing edge part can vary but in my board's case each edge is 1" wide, allowing room for square coordinates. FIDE's recommendations are that the board squares be 5-6 cm (just under 2" to just over 2 - 5/16") each side and that the size of each square be at least twice the width of the base of the pawn (enough room so four pawns can fit on a square). This makes the playing field of a FIDE regulation chess board roughly 16" - 19". Piece size and board size (within these guidelines) to be agreed upon by the players. In both FIDE and USCF, pieces for official events are to be based proportionately on an approximately 3.75" tall King. Officially permitted chessmen have bases proportional to their height. The base dictates the square, and the square dictates the board size. Now, this is only for tournament play. Outside of that world, chessmen and their boards can be any size, shape, and proportion you desire. There are municipal chess boards with human-size pieces, and tiny folding travel sets. Both boards and pieces have been made of all sorts material (eg: Spencer's), and all sorts of styles (including themed pieces, eg: so-called Renaissance pieces, but as widely divergent as Smurf pieces, Civil War pieces, or sculptural art pieces). Collectors often have dozens of different types. Basically, there is no "one size fits all" for either pieces or board. For the average player the only general rule is aesthetic. Most players find pieces placed on squares sized proportionally to the base of the pieces to be the most pleasing (and least distracting from play). All that aside, most club level amatuer players are most familiar with and most likely to play on boards that are 2.25" square (18" x 18" playing field), with pieces scaled to a King that is 3.75" - 4" tall. Hope this helps.
I would suggest a drinking game where you drink whenever he says "absolutely", and a shot when you see a goofy thumbs-up hamming for the camera, but I'm not sure anyone could live through that. Nice board though.
If you want epoxy, and tips on using it with wood, do blacktail studios epoxy table course. The ins and out of epoxy is way more than molds and air bubbles. That crap gets thermally outrageous and burn yo ass up
2500 is not excessive. I wouldn't pay it, I'd spend the valuable time on it. 😅 People who don't do quality work for others know the price of everything and the VALUE of nothing. Suggestion : Proper dust contril. Look up COPD, mate. Like your presentations!
Hey Eric, I don't get all that discussion on the pricing. If I get it correctly, you charge a 25% margin on times and material before tax. So where is the point? Or do I miss something U.S. specific, since I am from Europe? From my experience, a 75$ chessboard from Indonesia will include at least a 100% margin if not more (that does not go to the poor guy who made it). Designwise, this board would not be my favourite. In general, I am not a fan of masses of epoxy, but the customer must be happy. Don't know, perhaps an inlay of 2mm stainless steel strip around the field itself (like the dark wood strip on the older board) plus a stainless steel frame around the whole board would change my mind. OTOH - thinking of semi translucent lamp screens made from veneer, I start asking myself, if not a walnut/maple pattern glued on a piece of acrylic could be planed down thin enough to become translucent... guess I have to run to my workshop for some testing. As always, thanks for the inspiration! Greetings from over the pond Andreas
There is a reason that classic designs have survived. modern (meaning 1930s) is out of style, and more recent stuff is not likely to last either. Best not to insult the people paying the bills. Or watching.
the roman ogee has survived for millennia. Trendy "modern" designs become ugly as sin next decade. Epoxy is ugly. I would take that first beautiful, classic, wood board over this abomination any day of the week.
Roman ogee is a classic profile that looks great. We can disagree, but it has stood the test of time. New isn't better, just newer. While there are new profiles that are cool and look good, how will they look in 50 years? Like the wood paneling, shag carpet, harvest gold and avacado plumbing fixtures in your parents unremodeled 1973 home? Haha! Don't sweat the small stuff. There is no such thing as "perfectly flat", "perfectly straight", "perfectly milled", or "perfectly anything" in woodworking. Even machinist reference surface plates have tolerances, and wood working doesn't come close to machinist tolerances. Seriously! Epoxy? What a novel and completely not over done fad. Not! For the record, I only made it to the 4:40 mark before I punched out. Best of luck to you and check your ego. Haha! Don't take me too seriously. I'm just one dude who's opinions are no more valid than anyone else's.
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Link to metal work table for the dog accessories? -Thanks
HaHa 2.34 You don't need fancy expensive tools as he reaches into his Festool storage wall 🤣🤣
Buy once and get a lifetime service warranty? Sounds like the cheaper way to do things if you are serious about woodworking
@@dylanhunter8613 🥱
Yeah and Woodpecker tools for everything else😉
Buy once whatever. The point was that on one hand he says you don’t need fancy expensive tools and then immediately grabs an expensive fancy tool to demonstrate that you don’t need expensive fancy tools.
There was certainly some thick irony with that one. The actual idea still stands to some extent. You don't NEED fancy expensive tools but not having them limits your range in the type of builds that are even viable especially if you plan to make any money. It definitely is a point that you should only make right before you ACTUALLY show an audience a build that is completed using basic tools. Anything other than that and you risk offended or irritating some segment of your audience even bringing it up.
When doing whiteish epoxy, ALWAYS add a tiny bit of blue dye, this makes it pure white(no yellow hue) and stops the epoxy yellowing over time.
If the client is happy, then zero controversy. Plain & simple.
viewers agreed with the client. The only controversy was by this guy.
A thin brass inlay/border between the board and the white epoxy border would've looked quite nice
I am the client who paid $2500. Please send me your hateful comments directly.
Shame on you for paying someone a living wage instead of buying it much cheaper from a country that utilizes modern sl@ve labor. How do you sleep at night?
Grrrr *shakes fist *
Damn that (insert your favorite) music!!
What is something worth? Whatever the person buying, and the person selling think it is worth.
May you use the board in good health. I used to dabble, (but never got a ranking). My daughter got slightly more serious. Worked /went to school with some serious players, including a guy (May he RIP) who was a grandmaster
That is a very nice board.
Bro wonderful job Eric ! 🎉🎉 😅
During the resin crazy days of the early 1970's we made a pair of chessboards that look surprisingly alike that one. We used black walnut for the dark squares and just stuck them down to a flat board in the shape we wanted for the boards and then poured the pearlescent resin all over it. When we were done and flipped it over, it did take a lot of polishing on the surface, but it worked out pretty well. We didn't have any kind of lights that would work under it at the time, but LEDs would have been great. It wasn't a sealed surface, so the walnut and resin were contrasting textures, too.
@13:02 It might just be because I don't have my table saw as perfectly tuned as it could be, but I've found that rotating the strips instead of flipping them aligns the corners better (14:42). Though, a big part of that is also being extremely careful when doing the final glue-up (13:06).
Is it sarcasm that you said "you don't need expensive tools" just at the moment when you grab the Festool at 2:28
Value = willing buyer and willing seller. "Worth it" is not part of the equation.
well, why do some ppl spend millions for a painting? .. its just some paint on a canvas right .. maby not just ... one of a kind art or scarce pieces
@@Patrik6920 You're making my point. The "value" of something depends on what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept in exchange. It has nothing to do with objective "worth" or even the value ascribed by others.
@@edwardr1250 so very true ..
@@Patrik6920 That's called Money Laundering.
That is the true definition of what the commies have labeled capitalism.
@4:10 A completely unique chessboard that (almost) no-one else has is my Battlefield Chessboard concept. I've made 4 in total now (one just for me), so there's currently literally only 4 chessboards like it. Also, each board can be made to be completely unique (you'll understand why if you go to my channel to see what I'm talking about). I realize that it's too late for the customers you're referring to in this video, but if you get a request like this again, I urge you to suggest a Battlefield Chessboard. Obviously, I'd like to be the one to make it, but I'd be just as happy with someone who's already got a great youtube following to be the one to make it and get the concept out there a bit more.
"you don't need fancy tools"
Pulls out $3000 worth of Festol equipment
😍😍😍😍 looks awesome!!!
thanks brother!
I like the way you do ads while showing work being done in background…much better than a pause in video, where I normally, would scroll past….
I dislike it, for the same reason!
As someone who sells quality building envelope products hearing tuck tape or tyvek tape referred to as expensive was a total culture shock lol. That out of the way amazing project thanks for sharing!
25 hrs? I'm struggling with this one. I've build many chess boards with complicated borders, and I think I average 4 hours per board. This one is a little different, but the cutting of the squares to make the 64 checker board pattern is two glue ups, one rip cut setup, and one cross cut setup at the table saw. Ripping the boards, 10 mins. x 2. Insuring great joints (jointer/planer), 10 mins. x 2. Glue up, 10 mins x 2. That should take you max 1-1.5hr to do this. My complicated borders take 1-2 hrs to mill the wood to thin .03/.06/.125 strips and glue them up to make striped borders cut at 45 at the edges and glue to the checker board pattern. I spend the rest of that 4 hrs. sanding and finishing. Are you including over night cure times for your glue ups? I leave all my glue ups over night but I don't include this in my labor cost because I'm not working physically working on the board.
He must have which is definitely questionable as far as ethics and basic business acumen go. The buyer was another Woodworking TH-camr though so it isn't representative of a build like this being likely to actually sell on the open market for that price.
@@matthewhall9692 I'm an avid chess player and the boards that they use for the World Championship are $1600 boards (last I checked) that have magnetic sensors under each square and blue tooth so that they can display the moves to the crowd and online viewers. Spencley's board is an art piece more than a chess board. You are paying for the name of the maker at this point, same as a Jackson Pollock painting is something you and I could paint but the value isn't in the quality of the painting but name of the painter.
That is a beautiful board... well done, sir...
I wanted a combination keyboard and trackball that I could put on my lap to help with my shoulder pain. I couldn't find anything that had a normal size trackball. It was all either tiny useless trackballs or industrial grade trackballs that cost hundreds of dollars.
So I decided to build it myself. I designed the circuit board and designed and 3d printed the case. I would only be willing to pay about $75 for something like this pre-made.
I spent well over $200 on the parts to build it, and probably a good 120 hours or so in time designing the circuit board, designing the case and then 3d printing it as well. If I were to value my time at just $15 an hour, which is crazy low for a custom build, that would be $2,000.
So yea, a $2,000 or $2,500 chess board is completely reasonable. It might have only cost you a tenth of that in parts, but the time you put into build it far outweighs the cost of the materials.
No fancy clamp storage rack in the previous chessboard build. Limited space in my workshop means wall and floor space are premium. Beneath the long flat lumber and jig storage hanging from the ceiling I put some 2x boards to slip long pipe/bar clamps above with shorter clamps clamped beneath. It gives me lots of 2 sided clamp storage in an otherwise thin unusable area. Haven’t had a clamp fall on my head yet. It works for me.
This chess board turned out absolutely stunning 😍
Nice looking board. Not sure I'd pay $2,500 for it but obviously there are those that would. Keep the good stuff coming.
Enjoyed this video. Great explanation and editing. Thanks
I have no problem with the price. My problem is with the wood used. I find it a little too plain/ordinary in overall appearance for the price. Given the choice I would have gone more exotic, maybe a macassar ebony, or a more highly figured lighter colored wood, e.g. thuya burl. But if it uses wood that is already featured at the client's house, then it might be perfect as is.
Melamine is relatively expensive at big box stores. I was surprised how much such a utilitarian sheet good costs. I'm not one to cry "safety first" but I have cut thin sheets of plastic on the table saw and it wreaked something awful. I couldn't imagine that epoxy smelling any better. Definitely wear a facemask.
$43.00 for a 3/4 4 x 8 sheet is cheep.
@@CrazyManwich Cheep like a chicken, or cheap as in price? About 3 years ago 3/4" maple plywood was $50, now it's $100. What was melamine then, about 25 bucks?
Have you considered wet sanding + polishing final top coat of table top epoxy?
Excellent work as always!!
Wow! So beautiful!!
Damn man... I had that happen where my cast stuck to the melamine - the mold release spray did not work. And what I was casting was an 8-foot maple slab. And I don't have a planer, so I had to smash it all off with hand tools. I don't know that I've ever sworn so much in any other project in my life. I was NOT impressed!
The most expensive piece of art sold at auction was da Vinci’s Salvatore Mundi at $450MM. Woodworking is a form of artistic expression. Whatever price the buyer is willing to spend for an artist’s work is their business.
I watch your channel in spurts.
I feel like I have to watch the $5000 table thing because I don’t understand why you didn’t look for a wide belt sander rental when seeing the little sample video here haha
Whatever price the buyer is willing to pay is the right price. The everage Joe comparing a mass produced chessboard to a custom made customer spec board doesn't account for the labour involved. My wife makes one off pieces of clothing from scratch using her loom and her late mothers old built like a tank Singer sewing machine. She charges too low of prices in my opinion considering the huge amount of time she puts in to string the loom with individual strands of wool or cotton to create the fabric which then has to be cut, shaped and sewn into the final product. It can take over a week just to create a scarf but she loves doing it so that's all that matters.
ugh, that epoxy bonding at the end is exactly why i dont even bother with melamine, been there, done that.
Great video the chessboard turned out great. Thanks for sharing
Awesome board. 👍👍
I've been waiting months for this, let's do it!
That chess board has a classic look to it. What is so great about modern? Classic is amazing!
2500 is a fair price point if buyer and seller agree to it. I could not fathom that amount for me but I did not buy or sell it
Sprinkle some salt on the epoxy, the cube shape of the salt will keep the parts from sliding about as much…
Edge geometry is like wine. Whatever you like best is the right one.
Looks good.
(And yes, it is a shame you forgot the plastic on one of the epoxy pours.)
Just "spit balling" some things though:
Ok, the epoxy is a nice idea to also protect the wood/board and keep it looking nice.
The TOP surface: Why not use glass? (Float glass - of course)
Basically do what you did, but one side don't fret too much.
The board is the FINAL SIZE you want.
Get some thin-ish float glass the same size.
Put the glass on the top side of the board - be it you have it upside down when attaching them together - and you would only need a thin layer of epoxy to attach it
Then you are guaranteed a FLAT surface on the top.
Ok, it can crash/split/(what ever) but if the person to whom it is given knows this and treats it with respect.... That shouldn't be a problem.
That marbling effect was awesome.
I was talking to a guy after golf the other day. We spoke about the upcoming election. RvW being overturned, the trans issue, and the war in Gaza. But then the topic of OGEE profiles came up and it almost came to blows. We we ejected from the bar!
Would you recommend the miter gauge that you use?
Beautiful board, worth every penny.
Very cool chess board Spencly!
That looks awesome.
Worth it you have the money. His tools alone and shop cost alone are thousands. Then labor and materials.
The lack of respiratory safety measures when working with epoxy is crazy. VOC out the wazoo and any dusting is a nice plastic coating for your lungs
Well done!
I'm not at all a fan of chess, but definitely a fan of hand crafted, unique items. This board turned out amazing! IMHO, words to describe the work put in & the end result 》 SPEECHLESS. 💯
I've been woodworking for 35 years. I've built and sold $30,000 pieces. Theres no way id charge 2500 for a chess board simply because thats not a 2500 dollar job. Time is valuable. But the biggest time factor of this is waiting for the epoxy. That means you work on other projects in the meantime. Not charge the one client for all of that
mutual backscratching with another youtuber. not the first time. I unsubbed.
If a sucker wants to give you 2500 for a chess board, so be it! No one said rich people are smart
@@gorak9000 and the reason I have survived this business without TH-cam and have multiple repeat clients who still spend thousands of dollars per project with me is because I don't treat them like they're suckers. That same $30,000 dining room table I also built the chairs for, the China cabinet beside it for $12,000, the coffee table in the living room along with the entertainment stand, book shelves and every piece in every bedroom for almost a million just on that one family. Trust me, I make it just fine lol
@@woodworkingandepoxy643so you "make it without TH-cam," good for you. But then you probably massively underestimate the amount of work that is necessary to produce and edit videos. In some cases it can be like another whole job, and filming while working can slow down your pace significantly. I'm not going to argue what this chess board should cost -- the price is whatever a willing buyer and seller say it is -- but it's not like TH-cam is some easy way to turn a business profitable.
Well, to each his own. I like wood . Dont really care for epoxies. Might have something to do with grinding fiber glass boats when i was 14. Maybe not , but to this day, watching people mix that stuff makes me itch.
I’ve never seen a gold top table saw?! Looks so good. What brand is that?
Harvey with their optional coating which if I remember right is nickel.
I got some mirth from the comment about not needing big expensive equipment a few moments before you pulled out a track saw that costs 3x what a decent prosumer benchtop jointer runs.
Wow! Just . . . wow!
We've all heard that "The customer is always right," but that is not the complete saying, and it can easily be misused to imply that the merchant, artisan, etc. must comply with all customer demands.
The complete aphorism is "The customer is always right in matters of taste" that means the customer can have their own preferences, but cannot dictate the maker's process or business practices.
As for the Roman ogee, an artisan may think the customer's design choices are ridiculous, ugly, and distasteful, but if (IF!) the artisan accepts the customer's order, then the design choices of the customer must be honored.
I, an ole phart, like the Roman ogee, but I completely understand that others might not share that opinion.
You do fine work, Eric, and you have every right to express your sentiments on your site; those who post impolite comments should be thoroughly ignored.
The most amazing aspect about this build is, that there are actually people out there who'd get a wood worker build them a custom made chess board for a small fortune, while a decent board could have bought from the likes of Amazon for far less. These people need to get some serious meaning back to their lives!
What's next for these people? Getting a custom made tooth brush for 500.- just because they can?
What's wrong with our world?
While melamine might be cheaper than solid wood, it by no means, is inexpensive.
The " no expensive tools " and then a shot of all kinds of festool boxes. Hard to take him serioysly after that
You have tools? All I can afford is my own two hands and a hammer I made from a stick and a rock. It must be nice to such luxuries like "power tools" and "indoor plumbing"!!!!! Some of us aren't rich!!!!!!
Were you not worried about running end grain like that through planer?
Was there nothing at all to do after the final clear epoxy coat cured? No weird drips off the bottom edge that needed dealt with?
Thought you would use led lights? I guess I mis-heard. How would putting cavities in the walnut blocks and placing the led facing the epoxy squares. Score the squares, fill with black resin and run the wires along the black resin? No? Ok just a thought.
sorry not impressed with the chess board the marbling affect so so at best and the two "white " corners get lost out into the outter edge i would have thought an additional black around outside to define the edge of the chess squares might have been a nice additional touch Then the clear/white marble 1/2 border i think the accent of the fine black or darker line wouuld have added an extra snap to it even now router in a thin groove and insert a piece of blacked brass or antique treated or a strip of ebony
Some people have never hand-built things and have no idea how long it takes. They are used to that mass built crap!
Artisans don't deserve to be cut short just cause I can't afford them!
yeah they do. call them what you want ... they're still subject to market forces.
sounds like they need a 5 gallon powered lid mixer that just keeps mixing while you work elsewhere
You are making 1 chess board, hence the high sticker price. There are ways to scale up your production and thus cutting costs. Imagine if you took orders for 500 chess boards and could make them together. I'd think you could plan out working on 4 to 5 boards at a time.
But figuring out a process for one chess board does take work.
that epoxy setup was like step by step what John Malecki does. and also exact same pigment brand and epoxy brand :D
That’s because the Total Boat marketing team is on top of things.
AMAZING!!!!!!!!
17:11 Spencley's name changed to "Wade Ago!" 😅
'Worth it' is up to the buyer.
Hey i noticed your Stock Guides on your table saw. I have recently.purchased these. I am wondering if you used the 150lb or 95 lb magnets. As i feel 95 lbs each should be more than enough no? The 150s are 50% higher cost. Would appreciate your input. Thanks! Also that board turned out amazing! I've not yet had the Cahones to try working with epoxy
Hey Mr. Spencley! I have a question about your DeWalt planer. Do you use the stock knives? Or did you replace the knives with an aftermarket tool bit rotor? I ask, because I’m contemplating replacing my rotor, but the aftermarket tool bit rotor is kind of pricey.
Amazing craftsmanship bro. As all of us woodworkers know, we don't want to work with clients who don't value the handmade and unique products craftsman make. Love your videos
"You don't need big expensive tools"... as he pulls out his $800 festool tracksaw. 😂😅
17:10 automotive clear grease.
Good on you for making a living from doing something you love, and being able to charge top dollar for it. Personally I'm a bit tired of all the plastic covered wood products around these days. In my opinion it defeats the purpose of wood in the first place. Being natural, and biodegradable.
Dumb question. Square size? Looking at it going through the dewalt, not 2.25” tournament size.
The plans say 13inch square. I always make them tournament size. Seems some people don't care or maybe don't know the correct size. No silicon mould is tournament size but half size.
@@MsHeebiejeebies "Correct" size is dependent on the size of the base of the chess pieces. Most chess boards are significantly larger than 13"
@@mudlick8186the correct size is 22inch square. It is not dependant on the chess pieces.
@@MsHeebiejeebies I'm not interested in an argument but your information is incorrect.
I just measured my USCF official tournement board. The individual squares are 2.25" x 2.25". The playing field is 18" x 18". The non-playing edge part can vary but in my board's case each edge is 1" wide, allowing room for square coordinates.
FIDE's recommendations are that the board squares be 5-6 cm (just under 2" to just over 2 - 5/16") each side and that the size of each square be at least twice the width of the base of the pawn (enough room so four pawns can fit on a square). This makes the playing field of a FIDE regulation chess board roughly 16" - 19". Piece size and board size (within these guidelines) to be agreed upon by the players.
In both FIDE and USCF, pieces for official events are to be based proportionately on an approximately 3.75" tall King. Officially permitted chessmen have bases proportional to their height. The base dictates the square, and the square dictates the board size.
Now, this is only for tournament play. Outside of that world, chessmen and their boards can be any size, shape, and proportion you desire. There are municipal chess boards with human-size pieces, and tiny folding travel sets. Both boards and pieces have been made of all sorts material (eg: Spencer's), and all sorts of styles (including themed pieces, eg: so-called Renaissance pieces, but as widely divergent as Smurf pieces, Civil War pieces, or sculptural art pieces). Collectors often have dozens of different types. Basically, there is no "one size fits all" for either pieces or board. For the average player the only general rule is aesthetic. Most players find pieces placed on squares sized proportionally to the base of the pieces to be the most pleasing (and least distracting from play).
All that aside, most club level amatuer players are most familiar with and most likely to play on boards that are 2.25" square (18" x 18" playing field), with pieces scaled to a King that is 3.75" - 4" tall.
Hope this helps.
Have you ever tried Addis Restaurant on Cleaveland Ave? My favorite restaurant in Columbus.
I would suggest a drinking game where you drink whenever he says "absolutely", and a shot when you see a goofy thumbs-up hamming for the camera, but I'm not sure anyone could live through that.
Nice board though.
If you want epoxy, and tips on using it with wood, do blacktail studios epoxy table course. The ins and out of epoxy is way more than molds and air bubbles. That crap gets thermally outrageous and burn yo ass up
New guy here, please excuse my ignorance. What is the name of the pyramid stands in the 20:06 time stamp?
They're just called Painters' Pyramids
@@coolbugfacts1234 thank you so much!
2500 is not excessive.
I wouldn't pay it, I'd spend the valuable time on it. 😅
People who don't do quality work for others know the price of everything and the VALUE of nothing.
Suggestion :
Proper dust contril.
Look up COPD, mate.
Like your presentations!
This dude just said "you dont need big fancy tools" while he shows and pulls out big fancy tools (fastool)
You can buy other track saws that do as well. Festool does have super good dust collection and it's hard to get good video with dust going everywhere.
if you really found someone that would pay over $2000 for that, then definitely keep their contact info. they're a goldmine
Hey Eric, I don't get all that discussion on the pricing. If I get it correctly, you charge a 25% margin on times and material before tax. So where is the point? Or do I miss something U.S. specific, since I am from Europe? From my experience, a 75$ chessboard from Indonesia will include at least a 100% margin if not more (that does not go to the poor guy who made it).
Designwise, this board would not be my favourite. In general, I am not a fan of masses of epoxy, but the customer must be happy.
Don't know, perhaps an inlay of 2mm stainless steel strip around the field itself (like the dark wood strip on the older board) plus a stainless steel frame around the whole board would change my mind.
OTOH - thinking of semi translucent lamp screens made from veneer, I start asking myself, if not a walnut/maple pattern glued on a piece of acrylic could be planed down thin enough to become translucent... guess I have to run to my workshop for some testing.
As always, thanks for the inspiration!
Greetings from over the pond
Andreas
Handmade, custom, made to order = $$$$$. Thank you for your time taken to explain this concept.
awesome
There is a reason that classic designs have survived. modern (meaning 1930s) is out of style, and more recent stuff is not likely to last either. Best not to insult the people paying the bills. Or watching.
If you can find someone with more money than sense, who am I to object. Anyway nice chessboard.
I literally subscribed to the channel for this video because i knew you will drop part two , respect 👏
17:04 and i'm like wait didn't you say earlier in build there's no need for tyvek or tuk tepe maybe its worth the price long term.
A valuable lesson of this video is to pay attention to the saw and not the camera. 🤔
Anything is worth as much as what someone will pay for it.
Only thing better than Roman Ogee is Roman Ogee on Red Oak.
the roman ogee has survived for millennia. Trendy "modern" designs become ugly as sin next decade. Epoxy is ugly. I would take that first beautiful, classic, wood board over this abomination any day of the week.
Roman ogee is a classic profile that looks great. We can disagree, but it has stood the test of time. New isn't better, just newer. While there are new profiles that are cool and look good, how will they look in 50 years? Like the wood paneling, shag carpet, harvest gold and avacado plumbing fixtures in your parents unremodeled 1973 home? Haha!
Don't sweat the small stuff.
There is no such thing as "perfectly flat", "perfectly straight", "perfectly milled", or "perfectly anything" in woodworking. Even machinist reference surface plates have tolerances, and wood working doesn't come close to machinist tolerances.
Seriously! Epoxy? What a novel and completely not over done fad. Not!
For the record, I only made it to the 4:40 mark before I punched out.
Best of luck to you and check your ego. Haha! Don't take me too seriously. I'm just one dude who's opinions are no more valid than anyone else's.
Not IN THE LEAST to high of a dollar charge!
Maybe even a bit too CHEAP!
You should also be wearing a respirator when cutting epoxy. The micro particles are horrible for your lungs