The blank
A square of boxwood.
Boxwood grows slowly and turns beautifully, so each billet spends six years seasoning in a York loft before it goes near a lathe. It is sawn oversize, left to move, and checked again by hand.
Chess makers and club York
Every piece starts as a square of wood.
We turn Staunton chess sets by hand on a small lathe in a York workshop, then play on them every Tuesday and Thursday at the club upstairs.
Scroll to start the lathe
01 The lathe
The lathe
Roughing
Square to round.
A roughing gouge takes the corners off at 1,800 rpm. Pale curls of shaving fly over the bench and, in about a minute, a square of wood becomes a cylinder.
The profile
Beads, coves, a neck.
The pawn is cut freehand, head first and down to the foot, with a spindle gouge and a pair of callipers. There are no templates, which is why no two of ours are quite twins.
Parting off
Free of the chuck.
A narrow parting tool leaves a pip no wider than a pencil lead. It is sanded away by hand, and the pawn is done. Thirty-two of these, and the king, make an eleven-day set.
The blank0rpm
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02 The knight
The knight
Marked out
A horse, in a block.
The knight is the one piece a lathe cannot make. The base is turned, then the head is drawn in chalk on a block of ebony and everything that is not horse is taken away.
Roughing out
Chisel and mallet.
Short taps, working from the ears down. The grain is kept running up the neck, because a neck cut across the grain snaps the first time someone drops it in a hurry.
Refining
Ears, eyes, mane.
A rasp, a scraper and a gouge the size of a matchstick. Two small inlays go in for the eyes, and the knight looks back at you for the first time.
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03 Polishing
Polishing
Sanding
Six grits, no shortcuts.
From coarse to fine, each piece is sanded while it is still on the lathe, then by hand along the grain. Raw wood looks dry and a little dull. That is correct, for now.
Shellac
Thin coats, a day apart.
Three coats of French polish go on with a pad, each left a day to cure. The wood darkens, the figure comes up, and the surface starts to catch the lamp.
Wax and buff
The last pass.
Beeswax and carnauba on a soft cloth, one piece at a time, down the back rank and along the pawns. It takes a long afternoon and it is the part customers notice first.
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04 The match
The match
Opening
Pawn to e4.
A set is only finished when it has been played. This is the old Italian opening, the one every club member has seen a hundred times, set up on the board it was made to match.
Tension
The knight leaps.
Knight to g5 eyes the weak square next to the black king. It is a famous trap, and the point is that it looks like a mistake.
The sacrifice
Take, and take back.
The knight takes a pawn on f7 and the king takes the knight. White gets the attack, and Black has a king stuck in the open for the rest of the game.
Ready1. e4
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05 Your move
Choose a set.
Then play it.
Pick the woods and the pattern and the board follows. Then take the light pieces and play a few moves against the house. Click a piece, then a gold ring. Drag the board to turn it.
Woods
Pattern
- Set
- Classic Staunton, boxwood and ebony
- Price
- £480
The 1849 pattern: balanced, broad-footed, a king that stands tall.
06 The shop
Made to order, in about six weeks.
Sets
Handturned sets
Thirty-two pieces in matched, seasoned woods. King 95 mm, felted bases, in a lined box.
- Club set, boxwood and ebony £480
- Tournament, weighted £540
- Heirloom, bone and rosewood £1,150
Boards
Inlaid boards
Solid wood with a marquetry border and brass line. Squares sized to the set, 55 mm.
- Plain board £260
- Marquetry border £340
- Folding case board £410
Club
Membership
York Chess Club meets above the workshop. Every level welcome, kettle always on.
- Drop-in night £6
- Member, monthly £18
- Junior, monthly £8
Lessons
Lessons
One to one with a club coach, at the workshop bench or online. First lesson is half price.
- One hour £28
- Block of six £150
- Small group, per head £14
07 York Chess Club
A club that plays on the good boards.
The club has met above the workshop since 2012. We play on handturned sets, run a friendly league, and keep a shelf of tired old boards for people who want to practise before they play someone with a rating.
| Tuesday | Open play and a tea break | 7.00 pm |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | League night and lessons | 7.30 pm |
| Saturday | Juniors, ages 7 to 14 | 10.00 am |
| First Sunday | Rapidplay, six rounds | 11.00 am |
08 The small print
One lathe, no shortcuts.
- Pieces in every set
- 0
- one of them a hand-carved knight, four times over
- Lathe speed
- 0rpm
- slower for the king's crown
- Started turning
- 0
- in a garage off Bishopthorpe Road
- Club members
- 0
- from age seven to eighty-eight
09 Visit and enquire
Come and say hello.
Ask about a set, book a lesson or turn up on a Tuesday. We will reply within two working days.
Workshop and club
Rook Yard, Fossgate
York YO1
Call or write
01904 555 014
hello@stauntonandrook.example
Workshop hours
Wed to Sat, 10 am to 5 pm
Club nights as above
Thank you. We will write back within two working days. Wear flat shoes on club nights, the stairs are old.