San Francisco Chess Set by Jim Kape earned the People’s Choice award in the Compound category.
The People’s Choice winner, the Editor’s Choice winner, and other entries in the compound category.
People’s Choice: San Francisco Chess Set
by Jim Kape
Jim Kape’s quest for a themed compound-cut chess set representing the United States took him to San Francisco.
“There are so many places in the U.S. that are iconic,” the Chandler, Ariz., resident said. “Mount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty are both American icons, but there is no way to represent them with a compound cut on a scroll saw. It took some research, but I was able to find iconic San Francisco items to represent the various pieces.”
Jim used the center of the Golden Gate Bridge for the king and the Transamerica Tower for the queen.
“The pawn, based on the San Francisco cable cars, was the most difficult to design and cut,” Jim explained.
Jim cut the pieces from sapelle and finished them with a high-gloss polyurethane. The project took him about 30 hours to complete.
Editor’s Choice: Venice Chess Set
Venice Chess Set by Jim Kape earned Editor’s Choice.
by Jim Kape
A phrase in a movie inspired Jim Kape of Chandler, Ariz., to create the intricate Venice Chess Set.
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade inspired this chess set,” Jim explained. “When Indiana Jones said ‘Ah, Venice,’ it had such a nice ring to it I started looking into Venice’s architecture. I found the architecture to be absolutely fascinating.”
Jim decided to make the tower at St. Mark’s Square the king and he made the Lion of Venice the queen.
“It took some time to work out the patterns,” Jim said. “The most challenging piece was the pawn, based on the Rialto Bridge. It took four tries to get it right.”
Jim cut the pieces from goncalvo alves and finished them with high-gloss polyurethane. The project took Jim about 24 hours to complete.
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