How to make a veneered chessboard
Words and photos: David Lim
Parquetry is an elegant woodworking technique that involves assembling geometric patterns using thin slices of wood veneer. While marquetry often depicts pictorial designs, parquetry is primarily about repeating geometric forms, and one of the most recognisable patterns is the classic chessboard.
This article introduces parquetry through a chessboard project using commercial veneers, a great way for beginners to learn veneer work while refining their precision and accuracy.
Commercial veneers are typically 0.5–0.8mm thick, making them easy to cut with a box cutter or a Stanley knife. This is one of the main reasons I prefer using commercial veneer over shop-sawn veneer, which is thicker and would require a tablesaw or scrollsaw for cutting instead of a knife. Thin veneers allow for quiet, portable work, making it possible to do parquetry at home, in a small workshop, or even while traveling – my marquetry kit weighs less than 5kg and fits in a small bag.
Choosing the veneers
A standard chessboard consists of an 8 × 8 grid of alternating dark and light squares. There is no need to make a traditional black-and-white contrast, natural woods do come in almost black tones, but pure white is not a naturally occurring timber tone.
Some common veneer choices for dark squares are ebony or wenge for a deep black color, walnut for a rich brown, and jarrah or red cedar for a dark reddish hue. For light squares, holly is the lightest natural veneer (difficult to source in Australia), but maple or ash are great alternatives if you are unable to obtain holly.
For a championship-size board, squares should measure 50–56mm, making the full board quite large. I prefer 38mm squares; I find this size better suited for household use. The same techniques apply regardless of size board that you are making.
Your choice of veneer species may be influenced by the chess pieces you have, or you can make matching ones like the ones shown in the main image. Fig.1 shows the dimensions for these pieces.
Cutting the veneer strips
To begin, you need to cut veneer strips that will later be assembled into a sheet. Precision is key here, because small errors will compound.
Rather than measuring each strip individually, I use the 38mm brass cutting guide shown in photo 1. This method is much faster and ensures uniformity.
Place the veneer flush against a ruler or straight edge, lay the 38mm brass strip on top as a guide and then use a sharp box cutter to make the cut. Repeat this process until you have four dark and four light veneer strips, each longer than 354mm to allow for trimming later (photo 2).
Refining the strips
Once the strips are cut, they must be identical in width and perfectly parallel to ensure the checkerboard pattern aligns.
Stack all eight strips together between clamping blocks held with three or four G-clamps (photo 3).
You can then run the edges over 80 grit sandpaper on sanding block (photo 4).
Flip the clamps and sand on the other side. Use digital calipers to measure five points along each strip (ends, centre and midway points) and refine until all strips match within 0.1mm (photo 5). Getting the width right at this stage is critical, as even a 1mm error can become an 8mm misalignment when assembling the final board.
Making a veneer layon
With the strips precisely cut, the next step is gluing them edge to edge. Apply a thin bead of PVA glue along each edge and use masking tape as a clamp to pull the pieces together (photo 6). Once all eight strips are joined, place them under a cutting mat for about 30 minutes to let the glue set. The glue joint isn’t particularly strong, but it holds well enough for handling the veneer as a single layon or sheet.
Cutting the strips for the chessboard
The veneer layon is now rotated 90° and again cut into strips to create rows of alternating squares. Use the 38mm brass guide as before. Be mindful of tear-out, which can happen when cutting across the grain.
To minimise tear-out, use a sharp knife (snap off a fresh section of blade) and apply masking tape to the underside to hold the grain. It’s better to make multiple light cuts instead of a single deep one. You should now have eight strips, each containing eight alternating squares (photo 7).
Refining the strips again
Just like in Step 2, the strips must be precisely parallel. Use clamping blocks to again sand the strips together until square, straight and flush. Flip the clamps and sand the other edge, using digital calipers to check for accuracy and fine-tune as needed.
The goal is to ensure that the strips are exactly the same width, so they align perfectly when assembled into a chessboard.
Assembling the chessboard
With the strips prepared, it’s time to reassemble them into the final pattern. Every second strip is now rotated 180° to create the alternating checkerboard effect (photo 8). If everything has been done accurately, all the corners should line up perfectly.
At this point, you can dry-fit the strips before gluing to check for alignment. If minor adjustments are needed, they can be made with careful sanding.
Dressing the edges
Once the veneer layon has dried, the edges may not be perfectly straight. Sanding them carefully is crucial before adding a border.
Hold the sheet firmly and use a sanding block to straighten the edges. Alternatively, place it back in the clamping blocks and sand carefully. Be slow and deliberate, ensuring you don’t put too much stress on the veneer, as it may fall apart.
Adding a solid black border
Once the checkerboard pattern is complete, the next step is to add a border or decorative banding. This frames the design, giving the chessboard a more polished, professional look.
A solid black border is my preferred choice because it is visually striking and also forgiving – it effectively hides small imperfections or misalignments in the parquetry. Ebony, dyed veneer or black-stained timber veneer work well for this purpose (photo 9).
Veneer inlay banding
Another option for the border is to use pre-made veneer inlay banding, which is available from veneer suppliers in various widths and patterns. These bandings are relatively inexpensive, especially considering the work that goes into making them. Bandings such as these are an easy way to add intricate detail and can elevate the overall look of the board (photo 10).
Apply glue to the edge of the checkerboard and press the first border piece into place, ensuring it extends slightly beyond both ends (overhang). Secure it with masking tape or veneer tape to hold it in position. Continue gluing and taping each of the remaining three sides, making sure all pieces have a slight overhang at the corners.
Where two border or banding pieces meet at a corner, they will overlap. Use a steel ruler and a sharp knife to cut through both layers at once to ensure a perfectly matched mitre joint. Alternatively, you can trim and refine the mitre with a sharp chisel for a precise fit. Before final gluing, check the mitred edges to ensure they align seamlessly. Apply a small amount of glue to the mitred edges and press them together. Secure with masking tape or veneer tape to keep the joint tight while drying.
Adding cross-banding
Cross-banding is a visually striking technique that enhances the overall appearance of the chessboard by introducing a contrasting wood grain pattern around the piece. It is relatively simple to apply yet adds a touch of refinement and sophistication.
I like to use zebrano (zebrawood) and Macassar ebony for their bold grain patterns (photo 11), but these veneers are becoming harder to source. If those aren’t available, a great alternative is to use a veneer that complements the rest of the piece, helping to tie the chessboard into a larger furniture project.
Begin by selecting veneer that is as wide as possible to minimise the number of joints. Cut 50mm wide strips to run along the outside of the checkerboard layon (photo 12). As for the border, apply glue to the edge of the chessboard and carefully place the first piece of cross-banding in position. Secure with masking tape or veneer tape to hold it in place while drying.
Where two cross-banding pieces overlap at the corners, use a sharp knife to cut through both layers at once. This ensures a perfect seam with no gaps. Once cut, remove the excess material and fit the pieces back together for a seamless joint.
Before pressing the layon
Once the cross-banding is complete, the next step is to prepare the veneer layon for gluing onto the substrate. This step ensures that the chessboard adheres evenly and without air pockets, which is crucial for a strong and smooth final surface. After finishing the cross-banding, allow the veneer sheet to rest and dry for at least one to two hours. This helps the glue set and stabilises the piece before further handling.
Choose the side with the least amount of tape and remove all the tape carefully. Apply a fresh layer of masking tape across the entire surface, leaving as little gap as possible between strips. Be mindful not to overlap the tape, as this can create uneven pressure when pressing the veneer onto the substrate. Overlapping tape may result in air pockets, leading to an uneven bond and potential lifting later.
Once one side is fully re-taped, remove all the tape from the other side—this will be the gluing surface. Ensure the veneer is clean and free of debris, as any leftover tape residue or dust can interfere with adhesion.
Gluing the layon
Now that the parquetry is fully prepared, it’s time to glue and press it onto the substrate to create a stable and durable playing surface.
If the chessboard is part of a framed piece, I typically use 9mm MDF as the substrate because it provides a flat, stable surface with minimal movement. To create reversible boards, you can make a double-sided piece by veneering both sides—one side with the chessboard and the other with either a backgammon board or a board for another game.
It is important that you apply veneer to both sides of the substrate. The backing veneer prevents warping by ensuring equal tension on both sides of the substrate.
I use standard PVA glue, rather than cross-linking PVA (for example Titebond III), because standard PVA allows for easy post-pressing repairs – if air pockets form, they can be corrected with a bit of heat. Cross-linking PVA sets harder and makes it much more difficult to fix imperfections after pressing. You can also use other types of glues like hide glue or epoxy, but I would recommend not using expanding polyurethane as the glue might expand into little pockets of space if there were any gaps in your parquetry work.
Once the veneer is glued onto the substrate you can incorporate it into your furniture piece or simply surround the board with a lipping to create a freestanding chessboard.
Variations on a theme
Combing timber species with different borders will open up a range of ideas to explore. Experiment with timber tones and practice these simple processes to achieve the accuracy you need for a flawless chessboard result.
Architecturally trained and a builder by trade, David Lim @turnandplane is a designer maker and teacher of woodworking. Since 2000, David has made more than 26,000 pens and over a thousand boxes from Australian timbers, predominantly sourced directly from Tasmania. His work can be found for sale in galleries around Australia and East Asia. In AWR#120 David wrote about creating marquetry patterns with a laser cutter.