- My info: Tyler Mastrangelo, Computer Science (A.B.) with minors in Cybersecurity and Psychology
- Sponsor: Brendan Haggerty, Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences
I've always been drawn to projects that combine craftsmanship with functionality. Chess has been a part of my life for years, but I never owned a board that felt truly personal. When the Kickbox funding opportunity came up, I saw a chance to build something that merged woodworking, electronics, and design, which are three areas I wanted to explore outside of my usual coding work.
Before cutting any hardwood, I mapped out the board dimensions and did the math on square sizes. A regulation tournament board uses 2-inch squares, so I went with that, giving me an 16x16-inch playing surface. The design was straightforward: alternating maple and walnut squares in a classic checkerboard pattern, surrounded by a maple border, elevated on an MDF base for a floating effect.
I sourced maple and walnut for the contrast - light and dark, clean separation between squares. The wood needed to be consistent thickness before I could start cutting. Any variation would show up as an uneven surface after assembly.
I ran practice cuts on scrap plywood to dial in the table saw fence, check blade alignment, and get a feel for how the saw behaved with repeated crosscuts at the same dimension.
The plywood test confirmed my measurements were right and gave me confidence that I could hold tolerance across 64 individual pieces. It also revealed that the table saw blade was duller than I'd hoped, but the cuts were still usable.
What I learned: The plywood test was insurance. It cost me 20 minutes and a scrap piece, but it meant I wasn't learning on $100 worth of hardwood.
After weeks of planning, cutting, gluing, and sanding, the chess board came together exactly as I'd envisioned. The maple and walnut contrast creates clear definition between squares, and the floating MDF base gives it visual depth. Built in the Elon Maker Hub, this board represents my first serious woodworking project, and proof that careful planning can make up for limited experience.
Once I applied the danish oil finish to it, the colors really popped and it finally felt like the board was coming together.
Then I pivoted to the clock, which was very fun to make. It included an Arduino Nano, a few buttons, an LCD display, and a case I laser engraved.
I used an Instructables post for guidance on the wiring, linked here.
I plan to play a lot of games on this board, and have it as a centerpiece in my room. I'm really happy with how this project turned out, and I'm excited to take on more woodworking and arduino projects.