draughts pieces

[seventhdevil]

has anyone ever made draughts sets before?

i'm trying to find a way to break the monotony of turning 120 bits exactly the same.

one side in ash the other in makore. only 5 sets for now but if they are a seller there could be lots more.

[Les Symonds]

has anyone ever made draughts sets before?

i'm trying to find a way to break the monotony of turning 120 bits exactly the same.

one side in ash the other in makore. only 5 sets for now but if they are a seller there could be lots more.

I set up a jig for turning Backgammon counters, which is pretty much the same thing. We started with 6" lengths of 2"x2" stock and turned them between centres with a chuck tenon on one end and the rest of each length reduced to a specified diameter. Next they were mounted in the chuck and the end of the length was worked and then parted off to about 7mm thick. The process then repeated, giving 10 counters out of every 6" length.
The reverse side of each counter was then cleaned up in a simple compression chuck, which I made by turning a disk of wood to 100mm diameter x 25 thick, with a small groove running around the outside. Two saw-cuts across the disk, through the centre, to reduce it to 4 quadrants. A rubber band was then slipped into the groove, which held the 4 quadrants together and the reassembled disk was then put into a chuck, tightened up and a recess machined for the counters to fit into, such that its surface stuck out by a couple of mm. The slot needed to be just a bit too small for the diameter of the disk, so that when the chuck jaws were opened the 4 quadrants could be eased apart (the rubber band stops them falling apart/falling out) and a counter slipped in. Tighten the chuck and finish the reverse side of the counter.
If I recall correctly, once the jig was made, each counter took little over a minute to make.
Les
Les

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

I would have thought that cross grain would be better for draughts pieces. If you turn them from the round there is a danger of them splitting open as they dry out and shrink. On the odd ocassion when I have made similar shapes I have planed up the timber to thickness and rouch cutthem to size on the band saw. I then turn them to round between plywood faced with rubber. It theface needs embellishment I make a ring chuck. A piece of timber turned to round with the chuck dove tail worked on, bore a hole all the way through and form a shoulder for the piece to sit in and then just cut a split in the side through to the hole. No need for rubber bands or the danger of bits falling out or getting lost.

[seventhdevil]

these are 4" puck sized ones.

i have made a wooden jawed chuck and am turning them all round and doing one face first but there are just so many it's boring...

from a 1" thick 4 1/4" square cut from a planed plank it takes me about 5 minutes for each disc  including sanding and oiling...

i've still the other side to do though so i'm guessing 10 nearly minutes for each one.

i'm not a very fast worker.

[fuzzyturns]

I suppose here's your chance to figure out how to become faster. Seriously, you want to watch some of Steve Jones' videos on youtube.
Example: he uses a chop saw to cut the corners off the squares, as this will allow him to get the piece round in one cut, with a second cut to finish the surface.

[seventhdevil]

turning them round only takes 30 seconds (3 passes max) but i've got to make them look "nice" as they are for retail so sanding has to be done well.

i'm getting faster the more i make.

i'm finding that ash likes to blunt your tools when going across the endgrain...

[Bryan Milham]

Real Draughts pieces are cut with a shaped scraper, not sure that would work on a 4" diameter piece, but maybe a couple of different ones would work, the centre then the outer rings separately.

[seventhdevil]

well i've done one side of the lot but i started to do the skittles again as i was sooooooo bored...


they do look nice though, i'll be pleased when they are all done.

[Lazurus]

Are you making the board to go with them to?

[seventhdevil]

damn that'd be a big board.

no they are going on some sort of roll up mat i think.

the whole lot are done now and working it out i think it took about 13 minutes for each one so 120 is around 26 hours in all...
that didn't include cutting the blanks.

i believe they are going in some sort of basket which will include ten skittles, one 4 1/2" ball, two croquet mallets and a pair of croquet posts.

i think it is aimed at the richer side of the public somewhere in america.

i'll have to see if i can get a picture from the customer of them all in the custom made basket.

[Lazurus]

Sounds like quite a present. Well done for sticking at the lathe on that one.

[seventhdevil]

here's the finished result.

[Lazurus]

Nice production job.