Chess Board Fix

Chess Board Fix

Once a week “Soccerboy” hangs out with other kids and they play strategy games, usually he picks chess.  He also plays chess at home with his siblings. The chess board travels around the house depending on where he is playing; on the couch, on a rug, dining room table, his bed, or his bedroom floor etc.  One of the times he left it on the floor it got stepped on and was broken. I was pretty surprised because it is a thick piece of wood.  The two pieces of the board got placed in my mending basket to repair.

I didn’t repair it right away because I didn’t want to just glue it back together. I could picture it getting snapped again if it got dropped on the floor.  I set the puzzle of how to repair it, if it was possible to repair it, in the back of my mind.

While doweling together some pieces of wood it occurred to me that I could try to dowel the chess board back together.  Doweling would be far sturdier than just gluing it together. If it didn’t work what did I have to lose, the board was already broken. 

Step#1

I took some painters tape and put it on one side of the split board.

Step#2

I matched up a drill bit to the dowel rod I had, making sure that the bit I used was just barely bigger than the dowel rod.

Step#3

 

I then drilled holes through the painters tape about ½ inch deep. I measured the depth by using a dowel rod that I had marked a line on that was ½ inch. 

Side note: I use swimmers goggles when I do wood work.  I have tried many different types of protective goggles and I always end up with something in my eyes.  Three different times I have had to have my eye lid flipped and a small bit of wood, metal or plastic pulled out of my eyes. It hurts and I hate not being able to see so I suction my goggles to my face and nothing gets in my eyes anymore.

Step#4

I then gently pulled the painters tape off the board and laid the non sticky side against the other side of the board. I took a pencil and marked the holes on the board. 

Step#5

I drilled the holes on the other side of the board. Again making sure that the holes I drilled were about ½ inch deep.

Step #6

I took my dowel rod and measured and cut with a miter saw 4- 1 inch pieces of dowel.

Step#7

 

I put the dowels I had cut in the holes I had drilled in one side of the board and tried to put the two pieces of the board together to see if they fit. They fit together.

Step#8

I took the dowels out and put wood glue along the split and in the holes and on the dowels on the one side and put the dowels back in the holes. I then put glue along the split and in the holes on the other piece of the board.

Step#9

I put the two pieces of the board together with the dowels.

Step#10

I clamped the board together with c clamps and to the table to keep it as flat as I could manage.

Step#11

I then took a paper towel and wiped up the excess glue.

Step#12

The next day I unclamped the board to see if it felt solid. It does feel solidly connected. It’s not a perfect fix but it’s already been used and dropped on the floor. It didn’t pop apart so yeah.

Materials                      Cost

Chess board pieces -Already had         0.00

Wood glue-Already had              0.00

C clamps-Already had                         0.00

Painters tape-Already had                   0.00

Drill bit-Already had                            0.00

Pencil-Already had                              0.00

Swimmers goggles-Already had           0.00

Drill-Already had                                0.00

Miter saw(for cutting the dowels) - already had 0.00

Dowels- left over from another project         0.00

Total Cost

                                0.00