This is my board that Mike made for me - and I couldn't ask for anything better. Absolutely gorgeous craftsmanship, and amazing to be able to see how it was done. Thanks again Mike!
So many people hating on the inlay. 1. ist customer request. 2. this guy does woodwork and you can see it is his passion. And he’s putting himself out there for everyone to see. It’s easy to judge when its not you doing it. Its a great work of art and the customer commented saying he loves it. Come on guys, get a grip
@@efrancis19, you'll notice that I'm not posting videos claiming to be an expert of any sort. In fact, I call myself a, "wood butcher," in recognition of my lack of woodworking skill. But I still know what's going to happen to that chess board. Nor am I selling things for $400 - $500 that are of inferior quality because I couldn't be bothered to search the internet to find out what is going to happen when I do something. Maybe you'd like to trash-talk the set of shelves I built for my garage? They're massively overbuilt. You could point out how I wasted 2x4s when they really weren't needed for the project, perhaps? And that it was stupid to make the shelves out of 3/4 OSB (even though I have a huge stack of it that I bought for $30). Or how I didn't really need to put a 2x2 support across the middle of the shelf? I dunno... But they work. And they'll be around for the next 75 years, I expect. Long after I'm dead. I call that a win, really. You could trash-talk me for how long it took to build them without a $20,000 workshop, maybe. Whatever, fool. I don't really care. Better to underpromise and overdeliver.
I've had a lot of success with taking my inlay pieces to a local laser engraver and having her burn the letters into the wood. Then I use copper dust and CA glue to fill the letters in. I've found it gives a VERY nice result... Just a thought.
Thank you for the suggestion. I'll definitely consider trying that approach for an upcoming project when I need to do an inlay like that. I'm always up for trying something new!
@@Woodumakeit Another good option would be to use copper wire instead of the wide flat that you used. The wire will be more workable and each letter can be made from a single piece. It will look rough until sanded down, but once sanded it should look completely integrated
how do you heat it in cold water? "quench it after you heat it in cold water" you mean, you should quench it in cold water after you heat it. word order makes a big difference.
Annealing copper happens when it is heated. The cooling rate has no effect on its hardness, it will be soft if you don't quench it or if you quench it. Quenching copper is just to remove the waiting time for the cooling to happen, as copper will stay hot for long due to its thermal properties.
I'm an avid chess player and wood worker and have thought of making a board and you have given me some great idea's. Love your music along with your voice made this a very enjoyable video.
Amazing job, and I`m really glad that Sam loved it. Despite the hard time making the inlay, for me it`s more personal than a ready made letters cut typically the same. I think the inlay added to the originality of the piece. God bless you all.
as so many have said already the inlay didn't match the great work of the rest of the board....but as someone who messes up sharpening a pencil i admire your skills and appreciate you sharing them with us.
To anneal copper, heat to bright red and immediately quench in cold water. Copper 'work hardens' and so it may be necessary to anneal more than once. This chess board you have made is a beautiful work of craftsmanship...thanks for this.
A little tip for the anealing process, cover the copper in boric acid, the dunk it into hydrochloric acid, the boric acid keeps it clean, and hydrochloric acid cleans off what the boric acid couldnt keep clean, it also makes the aneal process faster than air cooling, and it does a betger job in my opinion:)
Also would like to add, silver, or brass would look better as the inlay instead of copper, they also polish alot better than copper and they keep their polish better, coming from a jewelry maker:)
One more thing, is when ur hammering it in, hammer it in with a hard mallet, could be wood, or plastic, or rubber doesnt matter, but not metal, it denst copper expecially annealed copper, now im not gonna eb all high mighty saying i know all, just giving some tips, u can choose to try them if you so desire:) from one fellow craftsman to another, just sharing some tips:)
I appreciate you posting all the supplies you used. I saw a few items for the first time. I plan on purchasing those items for future projects. Thanks!
I like the kind of your character, your way to explain things and of course the work you make. Thanks for having you on "you tube". You are one of my favorites.
I’m really glad to see u included the flaw of the chip for the costumer ( who you know would see ) very stand up, much respect , in life it isn’t about what mistakes u make it’s how u deal with them. I’m positive if it didn’t come out awesome you would ha e restarted .
i agree, it was a stand up move. having worked in manufacturing for 30 years, so many parts, even cosmetic stuff, are repaired it's ridiculous. the difference is the quality of the repair.
Great work, really nice work. A great tip a teacher once told me about detail work is to save the sawdust for a given wood and mix it in with the glue to fill gaps. You 'wood' be a amazed how it blends flawlessly when filling any small gaps. I am sure you didn't need this trick but I thought I would throw it out there.
@@OneJokeAtATime Sh*t happens- that's the nature of life. A skilled craftsman plans for and adapts to the unexpected. A true artist turns it into something greater than was originally planned
@@OneJokeAtATime Why do you have to be so obnoxious? This guy never claimed to be a master craftsman, and its clear that he isn't, based on some of the ways he did things. That doesn't make him a hack, just someone learning and hopefully improving. I grew up in a family of professional home builders, masons, and cabinet makers; I am a professional furniture and cabinet maker. You speak of your brother being a master craftsman, but that doesn't mean he is infallible. I'm sure he has made and still makes mistakes in his work. To say that a true craftsman would trash a project because of a mistake, rather than working around and fixing the mistake just shows how arrogant you truly are. Humans are not perfect, so handcrafted items will never be.
The craftsmanship, skill and creativity demonstrated here are superb. Questions here about the item's cost remind me of the time when I was a teenager visiting a craft show, and asked the artist how long it took her to produce a lovely but pricey acrylic painting she seemed to produce rather quickly. She glared at me and replied "Twenty-six years and 35 minutes." I walked away quietly, but never forgot the answer.
Kind of an everyman video, which actually was good for me. Shows even journeyman wood craftsmen can make mistakes. I've been told the difference between a good wood worker and a great one is the ability to hide their mistakes. Thank you for the video tutorial. I went into my shop and knocked out a chess board less the inlay. Great stuff.
@@custa73burner How did you measure this "greatly"? What I've annealed copper, there is no difference in hardness if the same temperature has been used, as the cooling does nothing to coppers crystal structure. It is always soft/malleable when a certain temperature is exceeded throughout the workpiece. The only thing the water can do is prevent oxidation on the surface or remove some of the formed oxide layer.
@@TheWireEDM Measure the difference yourself by using two test pieces, heat and allow one to cool, then heat and quench the other. Planish both pieces and observe the individual indents, or measure them. Or, if you have the equiptment available, perform a brinnel test on both pieces.
Mike you did great job on that board I am trying to start a woodworking shop here in Maine for myself and other Veterans, If I can get it going I will come back to this video and see if I can make a Chess board as good
I love watching How-To videos where people sometimes make mistakes and are honest about it; it gives me hope for my own abilities. (Beautiful work btw!)
Agreed, not sure if it was a material choice or inlay technique. If he used the smaller gauge maybe he would have had better results. I think either experience or technique may make for a better finished result.
Its a look concept but maybe trying a font change or useing it like the tiger wood would make more sense...a simple router job instead of the inlay might have also worked but wouldnt pop the same
@@evangoodwin4363 There's a lot going on in the inlay, but let's start from the top. The font used was a bad choice. Then the transfer using carbon paper was sloppy. Next, he cut too deep of a track (hence why it broke off) and proceeded to use tempered copper. He diddn't properly measure or anneal the pieces. Next, he taps them in using a hammer after bending the copper (both hammering and bending work-hardened the copper), instead of annealing it again and using a press.Lastly he never filled it! Just epoxy! That just left the wonky lines in both the wood and the copper super visible. Lastly that copper is definitely going to stain the board green over time, as it oxidizes. Might be a cool look but not my cup of tea.
From an old knifemaker, who has pounded a million rivets and pins, the way to anneal (soften) brass and copper and make it more malleable, heat it "red hot" (cherry red in normal indoor light,about 1400 degrees F) and quench it in water (room temp okay). WoodU, thank The Big Guy we still have people like you who can DO things, not just sit and play with EYE PHONES and computers.
Well, as pointed out by @TheWireEDM for copper, the quenching does not affect the annealing of copper. You can quench in water if you wish. Quenching in water will cause some of the oxide layer formed by heating to flake off and will reduce the time waiting for the copper to cool. This is different than for steels where the quench very much affects the properties that are present after heating.
Wasn't a fan of how the copper turned out but valiant effort and follow through. I just picked up 4 sets of pipe clamps so maybe I'll try something like this in the future.
very nice chess board. I made one last year for my nephew. one lesson I took away from this video was not to make perfect squares right off the bat. thinking ahead to cutting and sanding and the tiny bit of waste is important. next board I make will be better. Thanks!
It's a beautiful thing...although I spotted a tiny break out splinter near hand hold, and watching you working with metal is like watching me working with wood. maybe you should give me a job doing the copper?
Yeah. I saw that chip, too. Not acceptable for $400 - $500. No way. If you can't do the quality of work required for the materials you're working with you should stick to plywood.
Thanks for the info. Several viewers have made the same comment, so I'm now convinced it's a fact. I'll definitely be trying that next time I do a copper inlay.
All of you who were rudely judging this guy's work with copper inlay or are thinking about it, think about what Bob Ross said, "as long as you're learning, you're not failing".
You're failing when you're charging someone $400 - $500 for a board that has a crap inlay and is going to have little green flecks all over it in a year or two. Yes, you're failing massively. I feel very bad for the purchaser. That lettering was utterly unacceptable at that price.
@@TheBradinator214, we'll see how happy the customer is in a couple of years. And, regardless, it's preying upon the ignorance of the customer. This is what us old folks call, "immoral." You probably don't know anything about that.
My Name you really do need to chill out. I’ve worked for plenty of guys who live by the mantra “that’s good enough”, and it’s disgusting to me. This guy clearly did his very best. Maybe he could have spent some more time learning about copper inlay but it sounds like he also didn’t charge 5k for this piece either. If he was a scam artist and a thief he wouldn’t have busted out the 2000 grit sandpaper on a dremel just to polish the top of the copper. All of the steps he went through during finishing shows that he cares about the work he does and truly wants his customer to get the best possible product that he can make. For Christs sake man, you know he could have just slapped some oil on it and called it a day. I don’t know if you’re a woodworker or not but you KNOW that. So how dare you call him a fucking thief. Whatever is going on in your life to make you such a grumpy fuck, I hope it gets better. I genuinely mean that.
I'm sure your client was very pleased with your work. It's a beautiful chess board I know my husband would love to have one that was as nice as this one. Personalizing it made it that much more special.
would i make it? yes, but i would probably use some different lumber, maybe purple heart, i do like walnut though. and i think i would copper inlay, or maybe brass, around each space rather than just the initials. but i got to say, your finish is breath taking.
Very nice work. This video demonstrates multiple skills all in one, woodworking, wood finish, wood inlay, and jewelry making. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Buy a small CNC router machine for the copper work inlays. You may mix powdered copper (even gold or silver powder) with clear epoxy and do amazing inlays that always turn out perfect. As for personalized inlays; they really detract from the value... a better option is a paper label attached to the underside... custom manufactured for, material types etc. etc..
"As for personalized inlays; they really detract from the value" Not to the person BUYING it. "You may mix powdered copper (even gold or silver powder) with clear epoxy and do amazing inlays" Doesn't look nearly as good as solid metal.
The value proposition for personalization of a commissioned piece lies with the person placing the commission, not the maker. So your comment on a better option is simply incorrect. This piece was not commissioned as an art investment opportunity with future resale as even a consideration.
So much knowledge you shared in the making of this chessboard masterpiece i truly respect of the craft much more, especially the proper use of tools, even when you didnt have the best tool for the job you kept it simple. Hats off to your tackling of this project and time managment of it.
Gorgeous board, but I gotta know... what about the seasonal wood movement? I'm kinda new to this, so there might be something I'm not seeing, but it seems to me that as the panel that is the checker board expands and contracts (probably expands since you made this in the wintertime), those miter joints on the absolutely gorgeous frame are going to blow open... I see you only glued in the center of the panel in the tongue/groove, but I don't see any allowance for expansion/contraction between the panel and frame. Am I missing a technique/trick? Cause if so, I'd love to hear about it, as I have a couple project ideas i'm trying to figure out. Thanks!
Beautiful job! A tip for everyone when filling gaps, cracks and joins - use a drying oil (like floor tung oil) or clear drying epoxy over the gaps then sand it when the oil or epoxy is still wet. This will force the sanding dust into the gap. When the oil or epoxy has dried you will barely see the gaps any more. Using oil and wet & Dry paper on timber when finishing it will give an incredibly smooth finish.
Excellent job my friend, I have known a few wood workers throughtout my life but I have to say you are the most thorough as far as the finishing goes. The chess board design is all good and everything but the finish is magnificent, WAY TO GO
@@cincuriki That wouldn't account for the pattern mismatch. It doesn't have anything to do with the orientation. Look again, and you'll see there are 2 walnut pieces next to each other, then they are back to the right orientation.
Awesome job on the board. It shows that you have a true passion for woodwork. As for the inlay, you are stepping out of your comfort zone and that takes balls. I think it came out ok for your early stages of learning. Trial and error are the best teachers. I am sure there are better methods but I am sure you will learn and get better as you perfect this skill and learn others. Congrats on a beautiful chess board.
11:30 made me really anxious! I was afraid you would break that fragile tip! This is the first video I watch from this channel an I like what I see so far. Very good quality work and editing.
Honestly that copper looks good at the end. Maybe could be a touch more flowing but the pain you went through to make it as good as possible was evident. A+
Beautiful board! If I was commissioning this, I’d want the copper inlay to be between the squares to give a sharp contrast between the positions and add some more “bling”
cant see it along the comments but i thought id masnishon it as a metal worker. if yah want an easier time with the copper you should make it soft the proper way. wich is to dunk it in water once it is heaten up. unlike steel it dosent harden in quenching it actualy soften it. if yah leave it out to cool it usualy gets way hared to work with. but your work is very nice and realy impressive. thought id just give ya a tip since it seems you strugled a bit there
You found it! I actually made several boards at the same time and messed up on that one. I decided to keep it in the video to see if anyone would notice. Good catch!!
That's a really good idea. I have another glue brush that I got from the Walmart BBQ section (so, way cheaper than buying it in a woodworking store) and it's even less stiff. Maybe I'll try that trick to make it easier to use when brushing on glue.
At 5:14... how is the frontmost row mis-aligned to the next row?... ie: dark square butts against dark square and light to light. Then it's correct again after that???
I had actually glued up several chess boards at the same time, so it wasn't always the same board that was running through the sander. On that particular board, I had made a mistake, so it's now going to become a cutting board. I left the mistake in the video without mentioning it to see how many people would notice. Good catch!
My thoughts exactly and I did exactly that 34 yrs. ago in building a beautiful sign for my father-in-law! Came out great and everyone loved it ... maybe I can dig up an old photo of it.
Great video! Really appreciate including the tips and errors. As someone who's also experimented with copper inlay it can be quite tricky but worth the result!
5 лет назад+5
At 5:11 you can see that the pattern is wrong! At 5:29 it's true again! LOL
liked Chess Board with Copper Inlay very much; copper and brass must be softened by heating quenching then repeat until the desired softness is reached. the ends can be hammered lightly to scarf the tips of the mitire joint. I learned this at about age 25, after much sweat & frustation . sitting down with grandad & told him what I had learned.he laughed saying he knew I would figure it out . asking why he said nothing ? Grandad figured i would better remember that lesson and I have. thanks 4 reminding me,
Great job, such a wonderful, high quality board that will last 10 lifetimes. 2 things: The copper inlay didn't need to be so deep, too much risk of breakage or a bad fit. The hardest, toughest, most scratch proof finish I know is "Birchwood Casey Tru Oil". Try it, it's amazing. Polyurethane comes out too thick and plastic-y for my taste. Thank you for a great film!
Great job and thanks for the video. I'm a tradesman from way back. To anneal copper try heating it to "Cherry Red" colour then quench it into cold water. You will find that the copper will be extremely soft. To "Normalise" copper you follow the process that you did in the video. If you think I mis-spelt a couple of words, I'm an Aussie, we spell the British way :-) Try the copper thing I mentioned, I promise you it works!
Thanks for the tip. That's something I didn't know prior to making the video. Your spelling was perfect, in my opinion. I grew up in Canada, so I'm used to an extra "u" thrown in once in a while, and "s" used in place of the American "z". 🙂
I'm an old fart. I work as a Consultant / Contractor for ISO management systems and use other companies computers. Needless to say, I add the British spelling to the US Microsoft spelling dictionary so it doesn't show that a word is incorrect. ;-) Yeah, the tip is It's actually the opposite from hardening tool steel, like high speed steel etc. Although with tool steel you need to quench in oil. Water quench will crack the steel. Let me know what you think when you try the water quench to soften copper.
This is my board that Mike made for me - and I couldn't ask for anything better. Absolutely gorgeous craftsmanship, and amazing to be able to see how it was done. Thanks again Mike!
My pleasure, Sam. And great meeting you in person today after several months of discussion via email !
How much does it coast?
Lucky yoy :) ♥
@@stormleo4900 I'll let Mike respond to that and provide an estimate quote
@@SamM6945 ok :)
So many people hating on the inlay. 1. ist customer request. 2. this guy does woodwork and you can see it is his passion. And he’s putting himself out there for everyone to see. It’s easy to judge when its not you doing it.
Its a great work of art and the customer commented saying he loves it. Come on guys, get a grip
I have done copper inlay. And did a better job of a more complicated inlay. And I call myself a wood butcher.
@@MyName-tb9oz Well then post your own video so we can all trash talk your work.
@@efrancis19, you'll notice that I'm not posting videos claiming to be an expert of any sort. In fact, I call myself a, "wood butcher," in recognition of my lack of woodworking skill. But I still know what's going to happen to that chess board.
Nor am I selling things for $400 - $500 that are of inferior quality because I couldn't be bothered to search the internet to find out what is going to happen when I do something.
Maybe you'd like to trash-talk the set of shelves I built for my garage? They're massively overbuilt. You could point out how I wasted 2x4s when they really weren't needed for the project, perhaps? And that it was stupid to make the shelves out of 3/4 OSB (even though I have a huge stack of it that I bought for $30). Or how I didn't really need to put a 2x2 support across the middle of the shelf? I dunno... But they work. And they'll be around for the next 75 years, I expect. Long after I'm dead. I call that a win, really.
You could trash-talk me for how long it took to build them without a $20,000 workshop, maybe.
Whatever, fool. I don't really care. Better to underpromise and overdeliver.
@@MyName-tb9oz LOL, I guess I must have struck a nerve.
You have a nice day.
Yes, @@efrancis19, ignorance, theft, and fraud annoy me.
Bless your heart.
I've had a lot of success with taking my inlay pieces to a local laser engraver and having her burn the letters into the wood. Then I use copper dust and CA glue to fill the letters in. I've found it gives a VERY nice result... Just a thought.
Thank you for the suggestion. I'll definitely consider trying that approach for an upcoming project when I need to do an inlay like that. I'm always up for trying something new!
I wondered at inlaying with hot solder onto a copper foil base and then coppering the solder, as per stained glass work
Do you have any pics of an inlay like that? I'd really like to see one, and where do you get copper dust? Amazon?
@@Woodumakeit Another good option would be to use copper wire instead of the wide flat that you used. The wire will be more workable and each letter can be made from a single piece. It will look rough until sanded down, but once sanded it should look completely integrated
What about melted copper
To anneal copper fully you should quench it after you heat it in cold water, it does the opposite to steel and makes the copper as soft as lead.
how do you heat it in cold water? "quench it after you heat it in cold water"
you mean, you should quench it in cold water after you heat it.
word order makes a big difference.
@@darkshadowsx5949 reading is not your friend
@@happydog6500 to be fair, you should have used some commas, but your reply was funny....😀
But if it was soft as lead he would not have been able to hammer it into the grooves as he did.
Annealing copper happens when it is heated. The cooling rate has no effect on its hardness, it will be soft if you don't quench it or if you quench it. Quenching copper is just to remove the waiting time for the cooling to happen, as copper will stay hot for long due to its thermal properties.
I'm an avid chess player and wood worker and have thought of making a board and you have given me some great idea's. Love your music along with your voice made this a very enjoyable video.
Amazing job, and I`m really glad that Sam loved it.
Despite the hard time making the inlay, for me it`s more personal than a ready made letters cut typically the same.
I think the inlay added to the originality of the piece.
God bless you all.
as so many have said already the inlay didn't match the great work of the rest of the board....but as someone who messes up sharpening a pencil i admire your skills and appreciate you sharing them with us.
To anneal copper, heat to bright red and immediately quench in cold water. Copper 'work hardens' and so it may be necessary to anneal more than once. This chess board you have made is a beautiful work of craftsmanship...thanks for this.
A little tip for the anealing process, cover the copper in boric acid, the dunk it into hydrochloric acid, the boric acid keeps it clean, and hydrochloric acid cleans off what the boric acid couldnt keep clean, it also makes the aneal process faster than air cooling, and it does a betger job in my opinion:)
Also would like to add, silver, or brass would look better as the inlay instead of copper, they also polish alot better than copper and they keep their polish better, coming from a jewelry maker:)
One more thing, is when ur hammering it in, hammer it in with a hard mallet, could be wood, or plastic, or rubber doesnt matter, but not metal, it denst copper expecially annealed copper, now im not gonna eb all high mighty saying i know all, just giving some tips, u can choose to try them if you so desire:) from one fellow craftsman to another, just sharing some tips:)
Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate it and will give your suggestions a try the next time around..
I appreciate you posting all the supplies you used. I saw a few items for the first time. I plan on purchasing those items for future projects. Thanks!
I like the kind of your character, your way to explain things and of course the work you make. Thanks for having you on "you tube". You are one of my favorites.
Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for showing your inlay style. Really like your camera work and your personal demeanor.
I’m really glad to see u included the flaw of the chip for the costumer ( who you know would see ) very stand up, much respect , in life it isn’t about what mistakes u make it’s how u deal with them. I’m positive if it didn’t come out awesome you would ha e restarted .
i agree, it was a stand up move. having worked in manufacturing for 30 years, so many parts, even cosmetic stuff, are repaired it's ridiculous. the difference is the quality of the repair.
Gotta trust a woodworker whose hands look like he actually works with wood. :) Great craftsmanship, and pleasant informative delivery.
Beautiful. Moral of story take on clients with simple initials such as “O”. 😂😂😂
Totally!!
Even simple, I!
How about just “I”. 😅
Even better
Any Xavier's or Zander's need inlay work done? 😂
Great work, really nice work.
A great tip a teacher once told me about detail work is to save the sawdust for a given wood and mix it in with the glue to fill gaps. You 'wood' be a amazed how it blends flawlessly when filling any small gaps.
I am sure you didn't need this trick but I thought I would throw it out there.
The sign of a true craftsman is how well they hide their mistakes. ;)
You are right, no hand made project is perfect. This is an old phrase from back in the day furniture making class, and it still holds true.
@@OneJokeAtATime would be interested in seeing this fine work you speak of.
Usually the worst critics are the ones who have never attempted to make a thing I their life
@@OneJokeAtATime Sh*t happens- that's the nature of life. A skilled craftsman plans for and adapts to the unexpected. A true artist turns it into something greater than was originally planned
@@OneJokeAtATime Why do you have to be so obnoxious? This guy never claimed to be a master craftsman, and its clear that he isn't, based on some of the ways he did things. That doesn't make him a hack, just someone learning and hopefully improving. I grew up in a family of professional home builders, masons, and cabinet makers; I am a professional furniture and cabinet maker. You speak of your brother being a master craftsman, but that doesn't mean he is infallible. I'm sure he has made and still makes mistakes in his work. To say that a true craftsman would trash a project because of a mistake, rather than working around and fixing the mistake just shows how arrogant you truly are. Humans are not perfect, so handcrafted items will never be.
You are genius....I respect guys with handskills in this machining world.
I can't believe how nice this turned out. You're incredibly talented.
The craftsmanship, skill and creativity demonstrated here are superb. Questions here about the item's cost remind me of the time when I was a teenager visiting a craft show, and asked the artist how long it took her to produce a lovely but pricey acrylic painting she seemed to produce rather quickly. She glared at me and replied "Twenty-six years and 35 minutes." I walked away quietly, but never forgot the answer.
Thank you so much! It definitely takes a long time to make something like this. Luckily I have other ways to make a living!
5:14 the chess board is different than the final one. Here the last row/column is pasted wrongly. Two black and white side by side.
I "saw" that
But previously at 5:00 it's correct. must be using a "B" roll for editing
Yah I saw that too , I had to rewind it , thanks cus I thought I was tripping , hopefully he yells us something about that
Wood I make it? Firstly, beyond my skill set and a significant shortage of tools. Great wood crafting. Outstanding.
Nice chess board. The serious intense music cracks me up.
Some of that music sounded mournful to me. I figured it was because of that piece that broke out.
okay good, i thought i was losing my mind! had to check the comments to make sure someone else saw it too!
yeah, lol
Put me in the column that hates background music.
Kind of an everyman video, which actually was good for me. Shows even journeyman wood craftsmen can make mistakes. I've been told the difference between a good wood worker and a great one is the ability to hide their mistakes. Thank you for the video tutorial. I went into my shop and knocked out a chess board less the inlay. Great stuff.
Anneal copper by heating it up and quenching it. (Ancient technique) Try it on a small test piece , it works
collin Purvis that’s the interesting thing about copper, it anneals almost backwards compared to other metals
Copper doesn't need quenching to soften, just heat. Quenching just removes the cooling waiting time.
@@TheWireEDM when working copper, quenching greatly improves malleability
@@custa73burner How did you measure this "greatly"? What I've annealed copper, there is no difference in hardness if the same temperature has been used, as the cooling does nothing to coppers crystal structure. It is always soft/malleable when a certain temperature is exceeded throughout the workpiece.
The only thing the water can do is prevent oxidation on the surface or remove some of the formed oxide layer.
@@TheWireEDM Measure the difference yourself by using two test pieces, heat and allow one to cool, then heat and quench the other. Planish both pieces and observe the individual indents, or measure them. Or, if you have the equiptment available, perform a brinnel test on both pieces.
Mike you did great job on that board I am trying to start a woodworking shop here in Maine for myself and other Veterans, If I can get it going I will come back to this video and see if I can make a Chess board as good
Best of luck with your shop!
Super job! I've been trying to work up the courage to try one, and I learned some useful things here. Thanks.
I love watching How-To videos where people sometimes make mistakes and are honest about it; it gives me hope for my own abilities. (Beautiful work btw!)
That board is absolutely stunning! The copper inlay was meh for me.
I agree. I think it looks like my handwriting and I wouldn't want to have to look at that on such a nice piece...
Agreed, it looks like my daughter handwriting practice
Agreed, not sure if it was a material choice or inlay technique. If he used the smaller gauge maybe he would have had better results. I think either experience or technique may make for a better finished result.
Its a look concept but maybe trying a font change or useing it like the tiger wood would make more sense...a simple router job instead of the inlay might have also worked but wouldnt pop the same
@@evangoodwin4363 There's a lot going on in the inlay, but let's start from the top. The font used was a bad choice. Then the transfer using carbon paper was sloppy. Next, he cut too deep of a track (hence why it broke off) and proceeded to use tempered copper. He diddn't properly measure or anneal the pieces. Next, he taps them in using a hammer after bending the copper (both hammering and bending work-hardened the copper), instead of annealing it again and using a press.Lastly he never filled it! Just epoxy! That just left the wonky lines in both the wood and the copper super visible. Lastly that copper is definitely going to stain the board green over time, as it oxidizes. Might be a cool look but not my cup of tea.
From an old knifemaker, who has pounded a million rivets and pins, the way to anneal (soften) brass and copper and make it more malleable, heat it "red hot" (cherry red in normal indoor light,about 1400 degrees F) and quench it in water (room temp okay). WoodU, thank The Big Guy we still have people like you who can DO things, not just sit and play with EYE PHONES and computers.
Well, as pointed out by @TheWireEDM for copper, the quenching does not affect the annealing of copper. You can quench in water if you wish. Quenching in water will cause some of the oxide layer formed by heating to flake off and will reduce the time waiting for the copper to cool. This is different than for steels where the quench very much affects the properties that are present after heating.
I also really liked your choice of music for the video.
I would have found another way to do the inlay but it turned out pretty good.
Wasn't a fan of how the copper turned out but valiant effort and follow through. I just picked up 4 sets of pipe clamps so maybe I'll try something like this in the future.
Agreed.
very nice chess board. I made one last year for my nephew. one lesson I took away from this video was not to make perfect squares right off the bat. thinking ahead to cutting and sanding and the tiny bit of waste is important. next board I make will be better. Thanks!
Totally Beautiful! Excellent craftsmanship !
I made a couple of cuting board with that kind of patern… It ´s not simple to have perfect line! I ´m really impress by the inlay. Good job!
It's a beautiful thing...although I spotted a tiny break out splinter near hand hold, and watching you working with metal is like watching me working with wood. maybe you should give me a job doing the copper?
Yeah. I saw that chip, too. Not acceptable for $400 - $500. No way. If you can't do the quality of work required for the materials you're working with you should stick to plywood.
Great work! Not sure if it's been said already but when annealing copper you should quench it in water while red hot to make it soft and plyable.
Thanks for the info. Several viewers have made the same comment, so I'm now convinced it's a fact. I'll definitely be trying that next time I do a copper inlay.
All of you who were rudely judging this guy's work with copper inlay or are thinking about it, think about what Bob Ross said, "as long as you're learning, you're not failing".
Nothing wrong with pointing it out tho.
You're failing when you're charging someone $400 - $500 for a board that has a crap inlay and is going to have little green flecks all over it in a year or two. Yes, you're failing massively. I feel very bad for the purchaser. That lettering was utterly unacceptable at that price.
My Name - If the customer loved it, which they did, then your opinion doesn't matter.
@@TheBradinator214, we'll see how happy the customer is in a couple of years.
And, regardless, it's preying upon the ignorance of the customer. This is what us old folks call, "immoral." You probably don't know anything about that.
My Name you really do need to chill out. I’ve worked for plenty of guys who live by the mantra “that’s good enough”, and it’s disgusting to me. This guy clearly did his very best. Maybe he could have spent some more time learning about copper inlay but it sounds like he also didn’t charge 5k for this piece either. If he was a scam artist and a thief he wouldn’t have busted out the 2000 grit sandpaper on a dremel just to polish the top of the copper. All of the steps he went through during finishing shows that he cares about the work he does and truly wants his customer to get the best possible product that he can make. For Christs sake man, you know he could have just slapped some oil on it and called it a day. I don’t know if you’re a woodworker or not but you KNOW that. So how dare you call him a fucking thief.
Whatever is going on in your life to make you such a grumpy fuck, I hope it gets better. I genuinely mean that.
I'm sure your client was very pleased with your work. It's a beautiful chess board I know my husband would love to have one that was as nice as this one. Personalizing it made it that much more special.
would i make it? yes, but i would probably use some different lumber, maybe purple heart, i do like walnut though. and i think i would copper inlay, or maybe brass, around each space rather than just the initials. but i got to say, your finish is breath taking.
Very nice work. This video demonstrates multiple skills all in one, woodworking, wood finish, wood inlay, and jewelry making. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Buy a small CNC router machine for the copper work inlays. You may mix powdered copper (even gold or silver powder) with clear epoxy and do amazing inlays that always turn out perfect.
As for personalized inlays; they really detract from the value... a better option is a paper label attached to the underside... custom manufactured for, material types etc. etc..
"As for personalized inlays; they really detract from the value"
Not to the person BUYING it.
"You may mix powdered copper (even gold or silver powder) with clear epoxy and do amazing inlays"
Doesn't look nearly as good as solid metal.
The value proposition for personalization of a commissioned piece lies with the person placing the commission, not the maker. So your comment on a better option is simply incorrect. This piece was not commissioned as an art investment opportunity with future resale as even a consideration.
Mike, always nice to see a talented craftsmen with the right tools making a work of art. Thanks.
Watching that copper work was painful
only real issue i could find.
Complete cringe when I saw that
Difference between a woodsmith (expert level) and a metalsmith (somewhat less) :)
@@RonaSpreader 5:12 is a small issue too, look at the board.
@@medtown-v4h lol I see it now. Then it's magically fixed at 5:28
So much knowledge you shared in the making of this chessboard masterpiece i truly respect of the craft much more, especially the proper use of tools, even when you didnt have the best tool for the job you kept it simple. Hats off to your tackling of this project and time managment of it.
🏁
Gorgeous board, but I gotta know... what about the seasonal wood movement? I'm kinda new to this, so there might be something I'm not seeing, but it seems to me that as the panel that is the checker board expands and contracts (probably expands since you made this in the wintertime), those miter joints on the absolutely gorgeous frame are going to blow open... I see you only glued in the center of the panel in the tongue/groove, but I don't see any allowance for expansion/contraction between the panel and frame. Am I missing a technique/trick? Cause if so, I'd love to hear about it, as I have a couple project ideas i'm trying to figure out. Thanks!
No hard questions. Lol
@@roxannrousealvarado4645 I was either very wrong, or very right I guess haha
Make it maybe when I was younger, now it would be very hard for me. What a fantastic build thank you for sharing your build online.
I don't know why I was watching this until I saw the Tim Horton's coffee can being used.
Nice work.
Beautiful job!
A tip for everyone when filling gaps, cracks and joins - use a drying oil (like floor tung oil) or clear drying epoxy over the gaps then sand it when the oil or epoxy is still wet. This will force the sanding dust into the gap. When the oil or epoxy has dried you will barely see the gaps any more. Using oil and wet & Dry paper on timber when finishing it will give an incredibly smooth finish.
Wow, such a beautiful chess board. Gr8 application of wood finishes. Thx 4 sharing on the internet.
More importantly, thank you Al Gore for inventing the internet
Beautiful build as always!! Music made me laugh too 😁 Thanks for sharing!
5:27 that board was wrong. Two times same field colors next to each other. Magically that is correctred in the next scene ;)
Good catch
😂😂👌
Seen that as well I was like "well he's fuck it hahaha"
I was looking for this comment ^^
Well don’t you just feel better now for pointing that out to everyone. Goodness gracious.
Excellent job my friend, I have known a few wood workers throughtout my life but I have to say you are the most thorough as far as the finishing goes. The chess board design is all good and everything but the finish is magnificent, WAY TO GO
just when i thought i was getting good at wood working... I'll go back in my garage now.
Lol it makes all want to do more.
With enough time, you can master anything ;)
A lot of the look of this is high quality wood, you are likely getting close xD Just takes a little bit of conscientiousness.
this is super awesome. especially the inlay and also the whole thing
The copper inlay is perfect for the board. I'm sure your client was very happy with the result. Enjoyed the soothing music, also.
your the man bro!! amazing work and i love the rugby tshirt too!
5:05 the pattern is ok. 5:11 the pattern is wrong, then ok again at 5:30 - what happened???
the board has two sides you know :D it was back side of the board when 5:11, i believe.
@@cincuriki That wouldn't account for the pattern mismatch. It doesn't have anything to do with the orientation. Look again, and you'll see there are 2 walnut pieces next to each other, then they are back to the right orientation.
gamercs21 I just figured he fixed it and didn’t mention it
another, new kind of chess? Where the bishop does'nt get so bored ...
Good call!
Awesome job on the board. It shows that you have a true passion for woodwork. As for the inlay, you are stepping out of your comfort zone and that takes balls. I think it came out ok for your early stages of learning. Trial and error are the best teachers. I am sure there are better methods but I am sure you will learn and get better as you perfect this skill and learn others. Congrats on a beautiful chess board.
The chess board looked gorgeous, but the inlay was quite disappointing
Agreed, better without it.
Agreed! Should have used a font conducive to metal I lay
True. I don't know why he didn't fill the inlay after the metal was added. It makes all the difference.
Yeah
Agreed, But you have to experiment and learn new things, just maybe not on client projects. A CNC would be a great addition.
11:30 made me really anxious! I was afraid you would break that fragile tip!
This is the first video I watch from this channel an I like what I see so far. Very good quality work and editing.
"Then I'll apply a thin coat of Tim Horton's Coffee" - LOL
Beautiful work!
Beautiful. The level of patience required is insane. I was getting impatient just watching him do it.
At 5:12 one end of the board is glued wrong
lol
Your videos are great. Very informative and really relaxing to watch. Thank you. Subscribed.
that's much fancier than the one i made in high school
Great video! It is nice to see how you deal with small issues or mistakes. Real world!!
seeing the end piece at 5:10 makes me anxious
Honestly that copper looks good at the end. Maybe could be a touch more flowing but the pain you went through to make it as good as possible was evident. A+
This soundtrack makes me feel like I need to put on a cape and fight some villains or something
Beautiful board! If I was commissioning this, I’d want the copper inlay to be between the squares to give a sharp contrast between the positions and add some more “bling”
Beautiful board, I love the tiger maple border,too, a classy look!
I thought you were going to place copper between the squares of the board.
Me too, that would be better
Simply beautiful board. I like the how you talk about all the steps throughout the process without the extra "blah blah blah". Well done.
I would have outsourced the monogram to a calligrapher and had it done in gold leaf. On the bottom.
This was to be home made not out sourced. That's what commercial manufacturing does.
What about your mom? What would she have done?
Probably the calligraphy@@steveh8724
Your finishing techniques are great! Very beautiful and well thought out.
cant see it along the comments but i thought id masnishon it as a metal worker. if yah want an easier time with the copper you should make it soft the proper way. wich is to dunk it in water once it is heaten up. unlike steel it dosent harden in quenching it actualy soften it. if yah leave it out to cool it usualy gets way hared to work with. but your work is very nice and realy impressive. thought id just give ya a tip since it seems you strugled a bit there
True that
Very nice work. Worth the time watching. Congratulation Mike.
This music is perfect , a quest with some dramatic twists, LOVE IT
U got that rite !
You'll get a better Anneal on the copper if you quench it when it's red hot. Steel hardens during a quench but coper and copper alloys soften.
My fellow Canadian, you do fine work. You sir, are as stringent as I am with my tile work! Beautiful workmanship, thanks for sharing :)
Beautiful work love the inlay
5:10 to 5:25. Do I get a prize for spotting it? I know you put that in the video on purpose. Happens to the best of us.
You found it! I actually made several boards at the same time and messed up on that one. I decided to keep it in the video to see if anyone would notice. Good catch!!
It’s all good. That happens. Especially when you are videoing Love the video.
@@PawPawsWorkShop Thanks! Yes, taking the time to set up the video shots can be really distracting sometimes.
21:16-21:40 different board without inlay? I can’t find the copper!
@@TheloniousBosch That's the bottom of the board. You can see the finger slots exposed on the bottom.
Now thats a beauty ! You have nice tools and good skills !
Without inlay: 10/10
With inlay: 7/10
Just looks untidy and doesn't go with the accuracy of the rest of the board.
I use the exact same silicone basting brush to spread glue also. I trimmed the bristle down to be a little more stiff.
That's a really good idea. I have another glue brush that I got from the Walmart BBQ section (so, way cheaper than buying it in a woodworking store) and it's even less stiff. Maybe I'll try that trick to make it easier to use when brushing on glue.
the music made me spit out my coffee in laughter
At 5:14... how is the frontmost row mis-aligned to the next row?... ie: dark square butts against dark square and light to light. Then it's correct again after that???
I had actually glued up several chess boards at the same time, so it wasn't always the same board that was running through the sander. On that particular board, I had made a mistake, so it's now going to become a cutting board. I left the mistake in the video without mentioning it to see how many people would notice. Good catch!
It's beautiful. 😊 I'll take your bird's eye stir sticks!
A lot of time and effort put into it. Awesome job!
Shallow router and copper wire with epoxy would have been easier and looked nicer
My thoughts exactly and I did exactly that 34 yrs. ago in building a beautiful sign for my father-in-law! Came out great and everyone loved it ... maybe I can dig up an old photo of it.
@@JonPyzer Nicely done :)
Great video! Really appreciate including the tips and errors. As someone who's also experimented with copper inlay it can be quite tricky but worth the result!
At 5:11 you can see that the pattern is wrong! At 5:29 it's true again! LOL
No that's a spacer
@@ruffriffing247 Count the fields (8 x 8). this is not a spacer but a checkerboard for the garbage
Love the size of that board.
The music is a bit overboard for this project.
liked Chess Board with Copper Inlay very much; copper and brass must be softened by heating quenching then repeat until the desired softness is reached. the ends
can be hammered lightly to scarf the tips of the mitire joint. I learned this at about age 25, after much sweat & frustation . sitting down with grandad & told him what I had
learned.he laughed saying he knew I would figure it out . asking why he said nothing ? Grandad figured i would better remember that lesson and I have. thanks 4 reminding
me,
such a beautiful chess board screwed up with the initials sorry don't like those at all even if they were my initials doesn't look good lost the flow
I'd agree, but then again, the client paying the bill is whose opinion really matters.
Great job, such a wonderful, high quality board that will last 10 lifetimes. 2 things: The copper inlay didn't need to be so deep, too much risk of breakage or a bad fit. The hardest, toughest, most scratch proof finish I know is "Birchwood Casey Tru Oil". Try it, it's amazing. Polyurethane comes out too thick and plastic-y for my taste. Thank you for a great film!
Thanks for the info, Bob. I'll take a look at Tru Oil and see how well it works.
You should have practiced the copper inlaying on a sacrificial piece first.
Great job and thanks for the video. I'm a tradesman from way back. To anneal copper try heating it to "Cherry Red" colour then quench it into cold water. You will find that the copper will be extremely soft. To "Normalise" copper you follow the process that you did in the video. If you think I mis-spelt a couple of words, I'm an Aussie, we spell the British way :-) Try the copper thing I mentioned, I promise you it works!
Thanks for the tip. That's something I didn't know prior to making the video. Your spelling was perfect, in my opinion. I grew up in Canada, so I'm used to an extra "u" thrown in once in a while, and "s" used in place of the American "z". 🙂
I'm an old fart. I work as a Consultant / Contractor for ISO management systems and use other companies computers. Needless to say, I add the British spelling to the US Microsoft spelling dictionary so it doesn't show that a word is incorrect. ;-)
Yeah, the tip is It's actually the opposite from hardening tool steel, like high speed steel etc. Although with tool steel you need to quench in oil. Water quench will crack the steel. Let me know what you think when you try the water quench to soften copper.