Is there a recommended material and/or method of weighting chess
pieces yourself? I'd like a weighted set, but I already have an
unweighted one, and got to thinking that, maybe, someone had come up
with a good do-it-yourself way (maybe someone who didn't want to pay
all that extra shipping cost for a weighted set). Thanks for your
time - and any answers. (You really have to love the Internet for the
fact that looking for such information is so easy!)



"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person
is essential to your own."
--Robert A. Heinlein

On Dec 21, 1:09 am, " wrote:

Is there a recommended material and/or method of weighting chess
pieces yourself? I'd like a weighted set, but I already have an
unweighted one, and got to thinking that, maybe, someone had come up
with a good do-it-yourself way (maybe someone who didn't want to pay
all that extra shipping cost for a weighted set). Thanks for your
time - and any answers. (You really have to love the Internet for the
fact that looking for such information is so easy!)

It's hard to believe so many people want to spend
the time and effort to insert weights into unweighted
chess pieces.

First of all, *good* sets come weighted already.
And secondly, if it's a wooden set with no weights,
you may have to drill 32 holes just to make room
for the weights, and that doesn't even consider
the (presumably) felt coverings.

I once knew a fellow who used /scissors/ to cut
out 32 round pieces of felt, of various sizes, just
to put on the bottoms of a wooden set (which for
reasons unknown to me, had junk paper "felt"
bottoms.

I recently ordered a /plastic/ set which was
triple-weighted at the factory; I can't even begin
to imagine buying an unweighted set like that,
only to turn around and later decide I now want
heavier weights put in. That's like buying a
house with vinyl siding, then changing your mind
and rebuilding the thing with brick; what a waste.

It's like those silly kids who buy junky old Chevy
Cavaliers, then spent countless hours and dollars
spiffying them up to try and look like real sports
cars; in the end, they have just wasted their time
and money, and their cars are still junk.

Now, if I had an expensive wooden set and the
weights were falling out, I might get some epoxy
or something and put 'em back in. Okay, as a
help bot I feel obligated to inform those losers
who want to waste their time rebuilding cheap
sets with no weights, that Wal-mart sells sets of
pre-cut felt, just right for certain chess pieces.
So put away your scissors; carefully. Don't
run.


-- help bot

wrote:
Is there a recommended material and/or method of weighting chess
pieces yourself?

Lead shot and epoxy. But, given the hassle of weighting an unweighted
set, you'd almost certainly be better off just buying a new set.


Dave.

--
David Richerby Mouldy Moistened Windows (TM):
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ it's like a graphical user interface
but it's moist and starting to grow
mushrooms!

On 21 Dec 2007 14:44:44 +0000 (GMT), David Richerby
wrote:

wrote:
Is there a recommended material and/or method of weighting chess
pieces yourself?

Lead shot and epoxy. But, given the hassle of weighting an unweighted
set, you'd almost certainly be better off just buying a new set.


Dave.

Yeah, I'd pretty much decided that. But, once the question occurred
to me, it became an exercise - a puzzle to be solved. I was curious
about how one would go about it, especially materials. (I suspect
that modeling cement might harm the plastic, for instance.) Thanks
for posting an answer, instead of a diatribe.




"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person
is essential to your own."
--Robert A. Heinlein

On Dec 21, 6:55 pm, " wrote:

Is there a recommended material and/or method of weighting chess
pieces yourself?

Lead shot and epoxy. But, given the hassle of weighting an unweighted
set, you'd almost certainly be better off just buying a new set.

Yeah, I'd pretty much decided that. But, once the question occurred
to me, it became an exercise - a puzzle to be solved. I was curious
about how one would go about it, especially materials. (I suspect
that modeling cement might harm the plastic, for instance.) Thanks
for posting an answer, instead of a diatribe.


Just a week or two ago, this whole issue was
covered here in more detail, and at least one
answer recommended lead shot. Personally,
I find the idea of a "heavy metal" washer flying
at my face during a game of blitz to be rather
upsetting. But as we know, lead has its own
dangers; if ingested, lead is *toxic*, unlike so
many of the alternatives.

The idea is that shot can fill in the tiny spaces
way up inside a plastic chess piece, unlike a
metal washer, so you have the option of
over-weighting the chess men. But in reality,
it is always the bottom of the man which must
face down, so why not put the weight /there/,
as on a ship?

Remember, goobers: Wal-mart sells round
pre-cut felt. So when you are done playing with
your cheap, weightless plastic sets, your next
step is *not* to go for the scissors and a
rectangular section of felt. Oh-- and don't let
the kids near your /poisonous/ lead-shot. (If
ingested, induce vomiting by forcing a jalapeno
pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of gunpowder down
the throat, then call the undertaker.) I believe
the real antidote to lead-poisoning is UGTH,
which sucks metals and calcium out of the
blood vessels, or something like that.


-- help bot

help bot wrote:

But as we know, lead has its own
dangers; if ingested, lead is *toxic*, unlike so
many of the alternatives.

Oh-- and don't let
the kids near your /poisonous/ lead-shot. (If
ingested, induce vomiting by forcing a jalapeno
pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of gunpowder down
the throat, then call the undertaker.) I believe
the real antidote to lead-poisoning is UGTH,
which sucks metals and calcium out of the
blood vessels, or something like that.

From the Material Safety Data Sheet for Lead:
"Lead metal foil, shot or sheets: Not an ingestion hazard."
"Ingestion: Do NOT induce vomiting"
http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Lead-9927204

My comments: Solid lead is really quite safe. Inhaled as fine
powder, made into a lead salt or organic compound containing
lead (such as lead tetraethyl -- what they put in gasoline) or
exposed in small quantities for long periods (water from lead
pipes) it is very nasty, but you can eat lead shot without any
problem from toxicity.

--
Guy Macon
http://www.guymacon.com/

On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:30:37 +0000, Guy Macon
http://www.guymacon.com/ wrote:


My comments: Solid lead is really quite safe. Inhaled as fine
powder, made into a lead salt or organic compound containing
lead (such as lead tetraethyl -- what they put in gasoline) or
exposed in small quantities for long periods (water from lead
pipes) it is very nasty, but you can eat lead shot without any
problem from toxicity.

Easy to crack a tooth though, if you missed some in the duck.

Mike Murray wrote:

Guy Macon http://www.guymacon.com/ wrote:

My comments: Solid lead is really quite safe. Inhaled as fine
powder, made into a lead salt or organic compound containing
lead (such as lead tetraethyl -- what they put in gasoline) or
exposed in small quantities for long periods (water from lead
pipes) it is very nasty, but you can eat lead shot without any
problem from toxicity.

Easy to crack a tooth though, if you missed some in the duck.

I went duck hunting with a machine gun once. I only got one
duck, but I got him 487 times...

--
Guy Macon
http://www.guymacon.com/

"Guy Macon" http://www.guymacon.com/ wrote in message
...

My comments: Solid lead is really quite safe. Inhaled as fine
powder, made into a lead salt or organic compound containing
lead (such as lead tetraethyl -- what they put in gasoline) or
exposed in small quantities for long periods (water from lead
pipes) it is very nasty, but you can eat lead shot without any
problem from toxicity.

If you wanted to fit weights to an ordinary wood set - how about a couple or
three washers, glued into the bottom recess, using one of those core-drill
bits for drill or dremel of the right diameter - finish the bottom in
China-Mart felt as bot suggests?

I suppose alternate is to drill hole 1/2 way up piece, and put in metal
plug/slug, finish same way. Probably can't use brass screws into bottom of
piece because of danger of splitting?

Dunno - anyone [laugh] ever tried to do it?

Phil

--
Guy Macon
http://www.guymacon.com/

What is the name of the triple weighted chess sets that are out there ?

I saw a wooden chess set and the King was 5 inches tall and i picked
it up only to be disappointed in the weight ..It was light ..This has
been awhile ago now and i can not remember the wood it was made out of
..

I have a Oak tree and and about every other year i have pros come out
and trim them , would a oak chess set be cool to have ? I would have to
find a wood craftsmen to do it because i could not do it ......