1 of 32. Or rather, 64.

I have started on turning the chess men for the gift for a friend..64 because I am going to make 2 sets...one for my friend and one for me, which I will hand down to my son some day. The first piece is a white bishop, which started out as firewood from a poplar tree in my back yard. I rounded it, cut it with a little extra length and chucked it into the lathe to shape it. The piece is just over 3 inches tall and a little under 1.5 inches at the base. The little ball at the top is about 1/4 inch in diameter. The king and queen WILL be 1.5 inches at the base and should fit nicely on a board of 2 inch squares.

So far it has only been "burnished" with wood shavings, which gave it a little shine. I want to experiment with finishes, on scraps, before applying a finish to this. That is why it has not been "parted" yet from the bottom block. One applies finish to a "turning" while the piece is spinning on the lathe, so I need to keep it attached for now.

It took me about an hour to do this, because I am still a lathe rookie. I imagine that when I get to the repetition of the pawns I will knock them out quicker. What do you think?