Chess Sets

Ridgeway Woodcraft Chess Sets have been designed to look stylish yet contemporary. The general rule for the size of the playing pieces seems to be that the base should be around 75% of the size of the playing square. As Ridgeway Woodcraft Chessboards are made with 40mm playing square, the playing pieces shown are made Ø30mm at the base. The height of each piece varies according to its hierarchy on the board. The King is 90mm high, then the pieces gradually reduce in height down to the pawn which is 50mm high.

However, if you would like to have a chess set made to another size and your specific requirement, we will be happy to provide you with a quotation.

There are two finishes available, the most common is two coats of sealer and 2 coats of antique wax. The other finish available is acrylic lacquer.

Shown below are some examples of the woods used for making chess sets, along with a brief description of the wood characteristics.

Laburnum. Beautiful grain pattern and very dense. Not commercially available and hard to obtain in decent sizes or quantities. 

Cherry. A British hardwood which is a rich honey colour. 

Sonokeling Rosewood. A Rosewood from Indonesia which contains dark brown streaks and polishes to a very high gloss.

Maple. A white wood with a golden glow when polished. This wood is grown all over the northern hemisphere so it would be difficult to say exactly where each piece came from, possibly the UK, possibly Canada.

Purpleheart. This unique wood is naturally purple in colour. It originates from Brazil and is a very dense wood.

African Padauk. An interesting wood which starts life when freshly cut as a rich firey orange colour, but with exposure to light eventually darkens to a really dark rich brown.

Beech. A British native wood which is a light golden colour with darker flecks within the grain.

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