So this doesn’t quit fit into the usual “nerdiness” of my creations, but if being a nerd is about being obsessed by one very specific field of culture, I think my niece’s obsession with Versailles and Louis XIV qualifies it all the same.
This all started out with the usual “hey, let’s make some homemade gifts for the family this year”. Yeah. Makers know how this goes. It spiraled.
Many, many hours of work later, my initial thought of something quick to do with Versailles had turned into a fold-out chess board and matching pieces, all specially designed to fit the royal theme.
The outer sides of the maple plywood box feature views of the Château de Versailles and its illustrious gardens, while the board is chequered with the “Sun King”‘s emblem – his face in a sun, y’know, just a cute little understated symbol, NBD… I found some suitably ornate clasps and hinges online, and they worked out really well.
The pieces are cut and engraved in acrylic; clear for the white pieces, and, well, black for the black ones. Obvs. The whites feature Louis’ fleur de lys, while the blacks are themed for William of Orange (difficult to pick just one of Louis’ opponents, but hey, there’s nothing like a bit of Franco-British tension to liven the party!).
As I cut out circles from the plywood to place the chess pieces, I realised that it was a bit daft throwing away these perfect checkers pieces, so I engraved them with the 2 royal symbols and added a felt pouch in the lid to hold them in place. It kind of worked.