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How to Make a Chess Board

Three Methods:Wood BoardTile Board3D BoardCommunity Q&A

Chess is a great game for all ages and really wakes up your brain! What could be better than a custom chess board? This is a great weekend project and there are countless options for customization, allowing you to tailor your chess board to your personality! They also make great gifts! This wikiHow covers instructions for 3 different highly customizable boards, so get started with Step 1 below or see the sections listed above to find what's right for you.

Wood Board

  1. 1
    Get your materials. You'll need 1 3/4" square dowel rods, 1x2 lumber, 1/4" plywood, shoe molding (optional), wood glue, sandpaper, and paint or wood stain/varnish (depending on how you want your board to look). You will also need a miter saw or a miter box.
    • Try to buy the shoe molding and the lumber in the same type of wood, if you decide to use shoe molding.
  2. 2
    Cut your dowels. Cut 3/4" slices of dowel using the miter saw. You should be left with .75x.1.75x1.75" tiles. You will need 64 tiles total.
  3. 3
    Stain the tiles. Stain or paint the tiles into two separate colors, 32 of one, 32 of the other. One one side should need to be stained. Allow the stain to set before continuing.
  4. 4
    Create the frame. Using miter saw, cut four pieces of the 1x2 lumber picture frame style. One side should be 17" long, the other side should be 14" long. Stain or paint these outside pieces however you like.
  5. 5
    Cut the base. Cut a 17x17" piece of the 1/4 plywood.
  6. 6
    Glue all of the pieces in place. Measure out where the squares will go and then cover that part of the board in glue, gluing and then placing one row at a time. Remember to alternate the square colors. Glue only on the plywood, do not get glue on the sides of the pieces. Once that is done, glue the mitered frame around the squares.
  7. 7
    Add your edging. Finally, you can paint the side to get a more finished look or you can cut (be sure to miter) and nail on shoe molding or flat crown molding which is 1" high.
  8. 8
    Done! Enjoy your new chess board.

Tile Board

  1. 1
    Get your materials. You'll need tiles in two different colors. These should be 2x2" (or multiples of 2, such as 2x4" or 2x6"). You can buy these in sheets that you split up or you can buy them individually. Look for sample sheets or sale tiles to save money. You'll also need 1x2 lumber, 1/4" plywood, and glue. If you can only get 2x4" or 2x6" tiles, you'll also need a saw that can handle masonry. Talk to your local hardware store for advice.
  2. 2
    Cut your base. You'll need to cut a roughly 19x19" base from the 1/4" plywood. The size will depend on whether you are grouting your tiles or not.
  3. 3
    Cut the tiles. If your tiles are not already 2x2" square, then you'll want to cut them using an appropriate saw. If they are square but are apart of a sheet, you'll need to use a utility knife to cut them free.
  4. 4
    Place the tiles. Measure and mark for the location of the squares on your base. Then, use grout or glue to secure the tiles to the wood. Let this set completely before continuing.
  5. 5
    Cut your frame. Using a miter saw or miter box, cut and miter your frame (picture frame style) to fit around your tiles. You'll need to adjust the size, depending on whether or not you're using grout, but assuming that you are not then the inside measurement for the frame will need to be 16" and the outside will need to be 19".
  6. 6
    Paint your frame. Paint or stain your frame, or finish it however you want to. Sanding first might help get a better look, depending on the wood you bought.
  7. 7
    Place your frame. Glue and then place your frame around the tiles.
  8. 8
    Add finishing touches. You can add any finishing touches that you want, like attaching shoe molding around the outer rim, in order to get a more finished look. Otherwise, enjoy your new chess board!

3D Board

  1. 1
    Get your materials. You'll need 1" square dowels, high quality wood-suited glue (like Gorilla Glue or Titebond 3), spray paint, and paper or vinyl sheets for the tops of the squares. A frame clamp is useful but not required.
  2. 2
    Note that this makes a very small chessboard (half the size of a normal chessboard). However, the dimensions are easy to change to your needs.
  3. 3
    Cut your dowels. You'll need to cut the dowels (a table or circular saw would help with accuracy) to the following lengths:
    • Four at 1"
    • Eight at 2"
    • Twelve at 3"
    • Sixteen at 4"
    • Twelve at 5"
    • Eight at 6"
    • Four at 7"
  4. 4
    Glue the dowels together. You'll need to glue the dowels together in a symmetrical pattern that compliments the pieces. You can of course glue them together however you want, but this pattern is recommended (makes one side, mirror to get the whole board):
4 5 6 7 7 6 5 4
3 4 5 6 6 5 4 3
2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2
1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1
  1. 1
    Allow the glue to set. Clamp the dowels together with a frame clamp if you can get one. If not, do the best you can to secure them together tightly with rope. Let the glue set thoroughly before continuing.
  2. 2
    Sand the outside. Once the form is dry, sand the outside until the sides of the dowels are completely flush with each other.
  3. 3
    Paint the board. Use spray paint to paint the entire board to to a single color.
  4. 4
    Add the square tops. You will want to make the tops of the squares different colors so that you can more easily see what's happening on the board. Don't feel limited to black and white! You can carefully paint the squares, or you can cut out carefully measured squares of self-adhesive vinyl.
  5. 5
    Done! Enjoy your new, unique chess board.

Community Q&A

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  • Use exotic woods. Although they're much more expensive, they greatly give you more options for natural colors than due domestic woods. For example, Purple Heart has a deep Purple color, Padauk had a rich red-orange color, Pink Ivory (yes, it's a kind of wood) has a nice pink color (hence the name), and Snakewood and Lignum Vitae both have unique grain patterns.
  • Note that all chess boards are eight squares by eight squares.


  • Use push sticks when cutting narrow stock on the table saw.
  • Do not stand directly behind the table saw blade. If a kickback occurs, and you're behind the blade, it will result in severe pain around the midsection, and usually just below the belt.
  • Always use a miter gauge or a fence on the table saw. This will prevent kickback.
  • Make sure your table saw blade is sharp. A dull blade can lead to kickback.
  • Don't cut anything on the table saw that's less than 12 inches (30.5 cm) long.
  • Make sure your table saw blade is installed correctly. If it's on backwards, it can result in kickback, and most likely will ruin the expensive table saw blade.

Things You'll Need

  • Wood of two different species
  • wood glue
  • clamps
  • A table saw
  • A tape measure

Article Info

Categories: Chess

In other languages:

Español: hacer un tablero de ajedrez, Português: Fazer um Tabuleiro de Xadrez, Italiano: Costruire una Scacchiera, Русский: сделать шахматную доску, Français: fabriquer un plateau d'échecs, Deutsch: Ein Schachbrett basteln, Bahasa Indonesia: Membuat Papan Catur

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