Chess Board and Case

[jhatchell]

I made this chess board and case for my son for his birthday.  The inside of the tube and the underside of the chess board is lined with pig suede.  I did not make the pieces.  The piece bags are calf skin.  I am somewhat new (a year or so) to leatherwork and this project took a long time.  I am proud of how it came out, although I know I could improve it.  I have been too intimidated to post things I've done - everyone's work is so professional!

[Scoutmom103]

Very nice.  I hope he likes it.

 

[chuck123wapati]

That is awesome friend 

[fredk]

That is very nicey indeedy

[kiwican]

That's real nice!

[rleather]

No need to be intimidated, your work is great. You can see the love and craftsmanship put into it. That will be with him for many years. Thanks for sharing.

[jhatchell]

Thanks all! I appreciate the kind words!

[battlemunky]

Yeah, you have nothing to be bashful about, that is really nice work!

[toxo]

 

 

Great job! He'll have that forever.

Made me wonder if the white squares could be made lighter without painting. Can veg tan be bleached? Has anyone tried it?

[PastorBob]

Very nice.  I have not tried sewing a round case like that.  Well done.

[jhatchell]

I did several tests before I settled on what you see above.  One of the tests was to leave the light squares the completely unstained natural leather and use the super shene as a resist on those squares.  It produced a very white vs. dark appearance. I settled on the colors above (staining the entire carved board first with tan, then using Super Shene as a resist on the parts I wanted light and then coming back over it with Dark Brown Gel Antique), because I wanted it to have an antique kind of look.  I tried on one of my tests to apply the finish coats of Super Shene with a sponge, but ended up having to purchase a cheap air brush kit to keep it from smearing and becoming ruined.  

The bottom picture is probably closest in color to how it actually looked.  The top 2 pictures make the light squares kind of look yellow.  I didn't try painting each square.  I could maybe try that with some Angellus paint.  

[JayEhl]

I think your work is most excellent.  And as mentioned above, your love and craftsmanship going into the project shows and will remind your son of you.   As far as folks posting things here that are "professional looking", we all started somewhere.  We only get better if we help each other get better.    

Please continue to share!!! 

[toxo]

17 hours ago, jhatchell said:

I did several tests before I settled on what you see above.  One of the tests was to leave the light squares the completely unstained natural leather and use the super shene as a resist on those squares.  It produced a very white vs. dark appearance. I settled on the colors above (staining the entire carved board first with tan, then using Super Shene as a resist on the parts I wanted light and then coming back over it with Dark Brown Gel Antique), because I wanted it to have an antique kind of look.  I tried on one of my tests to apply the finish coats of Super Shene with a sponge, but ended up having to purchase a cheap air brush kit to keep it from smearing and becoming ruined.  

The bottom picture is probably closest in color to how it actually looked.  The top 2 pictures make the light squares kind of look yellow.  I didn't try painting each square.  I could maybe try that with some Angellus paint.  

I hope it didn't come across as a criticism. Many people like that antique look, especially for decorative sets.

Does it lay flat easily?

[jhatchell]

It does lay flat easily.  I didn't take your comment about the colors as criticism at all.  My reply was just an explanation of what I tried.  

[BrightBear]

I think it is awesome just as it is. No need for an Angelious coat. If it was given to me it would be one of my most cherished possessions just because of all the thought and time you invested in it.