Vintage Box Board Restoration

[Cyberchess]

The following photos are of this 1960 hand-carved American wood board box set featuring a 6” king. When I bought this set from an antique dealer on eBay, the pieces – which were stored in the board box – were in new condition, but as is usually the case, the board box was severely shelf worn, contained several surface cracks due to age, and was faded to the point where most squares were practically indiscernible. On top of all this, the previous owner had applied wood putty to a couple of the naturally occurring surface cracks, which had dried to the hardness of cement after all these years – yuck!

Since I really liked this late 1950’s style oversized set, I decided to restore the board box by hand. After countless applications of wood cleaners and restoration products, 2 coatings of Minwax wood stain for the dark squares, and loads of elbow grease, I gave the board box an antique dappled finish that I think compliments the dappled white pieces.

The chemicals involved in wood restoration produce fumes that pose a health hazard, so I would strongly caution anyone using them to only do so in a cordoned off, well ventilated area until fully dried.

Vintage Schach Regards,
John

[Fernando]

beautiful work

[Monsieur Plastique]

Very nice indeed John. Obviously in keeping with the originality of the piece. That said, I would hesitate to caution others about potentially lethal fumes at it will only encourage the petrol sniffers. And the petrol station queues are long enough as it is

I have a strong interest in acoustic bowed instruments (violin family) as I played the violin in the 80s **. With restorations of those pieces the question is always how far do you go in order to maintain as much of the original as possible but maintain serviceability and reasonable aesthetics. For the most part, the best restorers tend to think that whatever will be will be and not go overboard, especially when it comes to varnish preservation. But you still have to maintain them of course.

I like looking at the antique chess dealer websites - there are a few good places in the UK and US. I always loved those original Jacques travel sets - the ones that really were hand-made by craftsman and the pieces were red and cream ivory - tiny but intricately carved and much easier to distinguish than any modern set no matter how well detailed.

One of my biggest regrets was seeing a mint set - one of the very last dating from the 1950s that honestly looked like it had been bought, used once or twice then put away for 60 years.

It sold for "only" 300 or so pounds which back then was a favourable exchange rate and a ridiculous price to boot, even though it wasn't of the more prized, earlier era.

It is a real pity that these days you simply cannot buy sets like that anymore. Actually you can't buy sets like yours anymore either. As much as manufacturers like to pretend their sets are marvellous, for the most part they are just commodities like refrigerators and modern cars. Yes, there are some that are very good value - I saw that Judit Polgar set last year and was hugely surprised by the quality / price ratio - amazingly good.

But if you want the Rolls Royces of sets these days you are paying well into 4 figures for the truly artisan-made sets from Jacques (the real Jacques).

I would happily sell a few of my kidneys for one of these, so long as I leave myself with at least two functioning ones:

http://www.jaqueslondon.co.uk/online-ch ... asket.html


** Some trivia. In my second year of high school I took lessons from the resident, visiting violin teacher for a year before moving on the following year to one of those wonderful Galamian Julliard graduates. I never knew this resident, visiting teacher had anything to do with chess until I arrived early for one lesson. He had a portable chess set in his lap, pondering a chess problem. Apparently he and his portable chess set were inseparable.

Four years after I had moved on to the other teacher, I ran into him again at a strong Sydney chess tournament. Turns out he was a very strong player indeed - well-known in Sydney. Even into his late 60s he was still playing well into high 1900s range Australian ELO which was the equivalent back then of the mid 2200s USCF (our rating system here was crazy - everyone was effectively under-rated to world standards by a massive amount). We had a great time catching up. He then played my brother (member Klute) in a serious game in that very same tournament. It's a small world.

[Cyberchess]

Thanks Fern and Jon!

When I bought this set the box board was as drab as a Makruk board with lots of shelf wear, and while I’ve grown accustom to playing shogi on a colorless 81 square matrix, I don’t enjoy playing chess on said.
Most of the chess sets that I collect fall roughly in the tournament size category, with only a few portable and library size sets. The last time I breathed in the awful wood restoration chemical fumes, I had chemically stripped, conditioned and refinished with satin polyurethane a large oak table used to accommodate my late ‘70s oversized set. This is the only other oversized set in my modest collection, and features a rosewood/boxwood 6” king with a full 2” base. The massive rosewood/white maple 28” chessboard features full 3” squares, though the large restored oak table provides ample space for the inclusion of a dedicated unit, Cyberchess unit, books, etc.

I don’t currently own any 19th century sets or Jacques sets, though I’ve seen a few on eBay and in museums over the years. Most of the wooden 19th century sets that I’ve seen are in various stages of deterioration as they didn’t clear coat the ebony in particular – which is a very dry and brittle wood. Many of the early Staunton designs are replicated today, though very few modern carvers hot pour the lead weights and use leather base pads these days.

While I don’t really play any musical instruments of late, some of my friends collect and/or restore early electric guitars. Since, as with violins, these come with custom lined cases, many of the mid-60’s pieces that they own look as good as when a young Jimmy Page played with the Yardbirds. They also face the dilemma of whether or not to retrofit the vintage guitars with modern acoustic pickups.

Studies have shown a correlation between chess, math, and music – all expressions of higher intelligence.

Restoration Regards,
John

[fourthirty]

Nice work John. What a beautiful set! I love the design of the rooks.

I've own a few older classical guitars that need to be refinished. How are your french polish skills? Ha!

[Cyberchess]

Nice work John. What a beautiful set! I love the design of the rooks.

I've own a few older classical guitars that need to be refinished. How are your french polish skills? Ha!

Greetings Greg:

While I have absolutely no experience in refinishing wooden musical instruments, I would naturally assume that sanding would be undesirable, and likely adversely affect the acoustics. Chemically stripping of the old, worn finish is a must, but you should do this outside in your backyard or on your porch, open-air pavilion, etc. The surface will then need to be chemically primed before applying your chosen finish. A very thin initial coat works best, followed by a second coat when fully dried. Afterwards, a clear coat could be applied for protection.

Here is a detail shot of the unusually shaped rook with the neighboring knight staring out into space. Every piece with the exception of the knight has a hole on top where the piece was affixed to a lathe.

Holy Army Regards,
John

[fourthirty]

Very unique design. Thanks for sharing the close up photos!