Jake Sawyer, Marquetry Chess Table (TABLES, CHAIRS, DESKS 2021 )

The brief for this job was simple—to create an inconspicuous piece or furniture that doubled as a chess table, with built in storage for the pieces. The chess table allowed me to dip my toe into the world of marquetry, work with beautiful materials, and bring an idea to life that had been floating around in my thoughts for a long time. The frame is made from solid American black walnut joined with shop-made floating tenons. The panels are mdf edged in solid walnut before being veneered in walnut. The chess board side features rippled sycamore embedded into a single sheet of walnut veneer. It’s all finished in a few coats of satin wipe-on polyurethane to make it really shine.

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