Making my own Luxury Chess Set : PART 1 

Thank you Steve! I have to be careful with the length of the videos. Adding that info would have made it twice as long. I will plan out a tutorial for it and hopefully get it made and posted in the near future But for now, I can give you a crash course... In Microsoft Windows, I use Microsoft 3D Builder. It comes free with Windows. If you are an Apple user, you'll need to find something similar. I am not a MAC user. Open the STL model, and position it so that it is laying down along the X axis, and the face or front of the model is along the -Y axis, or quite simply, pointed towards you. Save that model and cut it using a normal rotary toolpath. Open the same saved STL that you made in 3d Builder again, and this time, cut it in half, right down the center lengthwise. Save each side of the model to their own file. In vectric, create a standard 3D toolpath, using the datum "Zero from Machine Bed" as your Z Zero. This will match the center datum used in the rotary toolpath. The flat side of each model should be facing downward in each carving file that you create. One with the front of the model facing you, and the other facing away from you. Place a circular vector around the area you want to cut, and then create the toolpath to cut just inside that vector. You'll do this for each "Half' model you created earlier. Once the rotary cut is complete, then run 3d finishing toolpath to get the undercut for that particular side. Once one side is finished, manually turn the model in the rotary 180 degrees, and then run the 3d finishing toolpath to get the undercut for the other side. Make sense? If you have any questions, let me know. :)

Holy Cow, Greg! Well done! The chessmen and that table are fantastic! Is that Ebony and Boxwood? I tried getting that for mine, but I where I live I would have had to pay several hundred dollars for just the wood and I didn't want to use that on a first set. What did you finish them with? You need to do a video of the process. I'm telling you now, it would go viral! Again, very well done! Thank you for watching!!

@@MandSWoodworks Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from a fellow craftsman that can hold a few thousandths in tolerance. I watched your V-carve video and I know that requires some very well thought out processes. Not much room for error there. I need to try your settings for the start and cut depths. I made one for my son with two Weimaraner dogs and their names. It turned pretty out nice but had some very small errors. All the best brother!

Thank you for making such an awesome machine! Now, give me a sponsorship! 😁

Thank you, Redd!

Unfortunately no. The only differences between Aspire and Vcarve Pro is the CAD part of the software. The CAM functions are all the same. Meaning that the rotary axis offerings are identical between the 2 versions. From chatting with folks who are in the know about Vectric, they say that in the past there wasn't a great demand for using the rotary function, but the last few months they have seen an uptick in folks like me and you wanting more versatility out of it. So hopefully in the future we will see more functionality out of it since the demand seems to be growing. Thank you for watching!!

As mentioned in the video, I gave up on Deskproto for similar reasons as you say you aren't comfortable with Vectric. Apples for Apples they both behave the same way, but I'm heavily invested with Vectric so I stick it out with that. If a reasonably priced software came along that offered true continuous XYZA, I would buy it in a heart beat. Proper sweet tea is only slightly sweetened. Most tea you get in a restaurant is ruined because they sweeten it to level a milkshake would be. Properly made black tea should be strong, like coffee would be, with just a hint of sugar to ease the bitterness. But you didn't come here to talk about tea. ;) Thank you for watching!!

For these particular models, I used different bits depending on the detail of the model. For the models with small details like the Knight and King, I used the smallest in the set, the .25mm. But for the others, like the bishop and pawns, you can use a larger bit since they are the least detailed. If you make your pieces to match the size of the board that your son made, they'll obviously be much bigger, and the details would be larger and you could probably get away with using a larger bit and decrease the cutting time. Good luck and thank you for watching!!

It's a bit complicated, but I will do my best to explain... For the Bishop and the Knight, I had to edit the STLs. I cut the model in half, and for each half I used a standard 3d finishing toolpath in Vectric where I used a vector boundary around the area/region where I wanted to cut. In the case of the Bishop, I put a vector just around the 'mouth', as you call it. In the carving file setup, I made sure the the datum matched the rotary toolpath exactly. I used a center datum for all. In the models cut in half, I also chose "Zero from Machine Bed" to match the 'Z' zero datum of the rotary toolpath. After the rotary operation was complete, I ran both the standard toolpaths, turning the rotary manually after each toolpath to cut out those specific areas. I hope this all made sense. Thank you for watching!

@@MandSWoodworks thank you for all the details!

I have a lead that runs from the Stepper Driver up through my table that I connect that wire to. The connection of any stepper motor on Masso is the same, regardless of which axis. Your connection for the Rotary Stepper should be as follows: You should have 4 wires running from the A-Axis channel on MASSO then to your Stepper Driver, and then from there continuing on to the Stepper Motor on the Rotary Axis. If you are using a closed looped stepper motor that houses it's own driver, then you would plug the stepper motor directly into the A-Axis channel on the Masso Controller. As far as Masso Settings, check out the very first video that I ever posted on my channel. I cover the Masso Rotary settings in that video. I hope this helps. Good luck and thank you for watching!

Great idea! Thank you for watching!!

Thank you for the compliment! With my current setup, the turn around time in making a complete set is far too great, in my opinion where it would be cost effective to mass produce them. If I had a couple more machines, working non stop then maybe it would be worthwhile, but right now I'm not on that position. If I were able to do such, then for it to be successful, it would take serious marketing to get them advertised to the right folks who had the cash to spend on such things. Comparing this set to what I've seen online, and including the storage box I make for these (my part 2 video shows the storage box build) I would think they'd be around $1k+ per set.

Another southern reference regarding the weight... There is more than one way to skin a cat! 😉 Thank you for watching!

Thank you, Bob! No sand packing necessary. I am glad to help. You're still south of the Mason-Dixon so you are alright with me! Ha! Those pegs aren't actually a part of the model. In Vectric, I drew one straight line (vector) down the base, or what would be the bottom of the model, and I run a separate profile toolpath on the outside of the line (vector) with a cut depth just shy of the radius of the model and that produced what you see as a 'peg'. I originally created the profile toolpath as a parting toolpath and I cut the model completely from the wood blank, but more times than not the model would get nicked or damaged in some way on the very last pass when it cut completely through. So I opted to cut only enough to allow it to stay connected to the blank, and as you see in the video, I used a finishing saw to take it off completely. This was a happy accident because it allowed a way to fit the model into the chuck of my drill motor and use that to sand them. Then I used the hand saw again to take the peg off. I hope that I answered your question. Stay warm up there. We don't have snow down here on the coast, but we have some pretty serious icing. Thank you for watching! EDIT: I forgot to mention something important.. In the profile toolpath that I used for parting, I used a 1/2" endmill to cut it with. This is what gave it the 1/2" length off the bottom of the base. If the largest diameter you have is 1/4", though I have never tried it, you could probably produce the same results by using a pocket toolpath, and make it any size you like, as long as the blank is big enough.

Thanks! Sorry to deluge you with messages. We're locked in from the snow over the past few days so I have WAY too much time on my hands and I am trying to get this done. I retired from UT Knoxville last year. Folks asked what I was going to do? Make sawdust was my answer. That, and whatever my wife tells me she wants me to do. "Am I bored?" they ask. NO! I have hobbies and interests that are still in boxes that I haven't opened yet. I'm fine. Many thanks for your information!@@MandSWoodworks

I had not considered just doing it as just a pocket toolpath (using a 1/4" bit). I was making it WAY too hard! Everything is set up to go. Going to try the file out this afternoon.@@MandSWoodworks

@@hillbillydust Good luck!

Thank you! I wish I possessed the talent to carve these out by hand, but unfortunately I don't. Thank you for watching!

Thank you, Josh! From my research, most mass produced chess pieces are plastic or some sort of composite material. If wood pieces are mass produced by machines, they do not have the detail like what you see in expensive wood sets because of the time and expense of it, I guess. I discovered that the only mass produced real wood luxury chess sets with the intricate details and carvings are all done by hand. You can search for videos on RU-vid on the subject and you will see factories that resemble sweat shops, with guys sitting in a tin shed, literally carving out the Knight pieces by hand, and then throwing them in a bin with other pieces they have cut that day. You and I would pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for a set like that, but the poor guy doing all the work most likely gets paid in peanuts. Thank you for watching!

@@MandSWoodworks fair point. I love your patience and focus on details. That's very apparent from your videos. Cheers J

From what I've read, Masso can indeed accommodate multi-head setups. But I'm sure it would be pricey.

Are you using Vectric? If so, when using the rotary you have to choose the rotary post processor when you save the Gcode. The standard PP is named "MASSO ATC ARC". The rotary PP and the one you need for this is named "MASSO WRAPY2A ATC". I hope this helps. Thank you for watching!

Thank you James!

Wouldn't it have been nice if I had mentioned that very important thing in the video? Totally slipped my mind to mention it! My apologies! I will mention it in the description. Hard Maple and Black Walnut. Thank you watching!

Someone else recommended sand blasting with walnut shells. I have never heard of using baking powder but I'd be curious to know how it works. Thank you for watching!!

@@MandSWoodworks The concept behind air blasting with powder is more control on how much is removed, especially with details in your chest pieces

Hi Ray! The obvious answer is that I made the waste board using the CNC. But I am going to assume you realize that and are asking what steps I took to make it. I simply drew up the waste board how I wanted it, matching the cutting area of my CNC using Vcarve Pro. Once that was finished, I cut a piece of MDF the same size as the cutting area of my CNC and bolted it to the table underneath the CNC machine. Then I ran the toolpaths that I created on Vcarve and cut the dog holes in the MDF. I use PVC piping, cut in shorts lengths as stops that fit in the dog holes. And viola! I have a wasteboard! I hope I answered your question. Thank you for watching!

I determine the size of the blank depending on the size of the 3D model to be cut. For instance, if the model is 2 inches tall and 1 inch wide, then I would cut the blank to be 4 inches long and 1.125 inches square. 4 inches long to accommodate the 2 inch height of the model, and an additional 2 inches to compensate for the rotary chuck. 1.125 inches square to accommodate the 1 inch width of the model, and an additional 1/8inch margin of error for clearing to make sure no undercutting occurs . Make sense? I hope this answers your question. Thank you for watching!

@@MandSWoodworks thanks

I think that you're the only person that picked up on that. 😁 Thank you for watching!

I thought that was quite funny

Non capisco l'italiano quindi spero che questa traduzione sia corretta. Sì, so cos'è un tornio. Ho un tornio. Alcuni dei pezzi degli scacchi che ho realizzato non possono essere torniti. Solo su CNC. Grazie per aver guardato il mio video

Glad you got it working! Just remember to change the post processor again when saving standard Gcode. It'll ruin your day if you don't. Ask me how I know! 😉