Turning Chess pieces

[Christopher Ruckert]

I'm in the final stages of designing a chess set. Ebony and boxwood are out of my price range. I'm planning on using walnut and maple as my wood. My question is hard or soft maple, which turns better. Also, I am not set on the wood choices so I am open for suggestions. I plan on making a board as well using walnut, maple and cherry, or whatever I finally decide to turn the pieces from.
Thanks for any input
Chris

 

[hockenbery]

question is hard or soft maple, which turns better.

They both turn well for me. Some people have trouble with soft maple. It cuts really well if you ride the bevel with sharp tools
I find walnut and soft maple similar in workability.

Cherry and hard maple are similar in workability

Another option is all cherry or all maple and dye one set black with feibings leather dye.

 

[Kevin Weir]

Some of the soft maple I have turned almost rivals Holly for whiteness. Hard maple tends to be more of a beige with orangey tones. So if you can find a source of very white soft maple, I’d say go for it.

 

[Dean Center]

If you're going to use maple, it will all come down to the individual pieces of wood. Some will be lighter and more uniform than others. My whitest maple ever was a neighbor's hard maple tree. Consider Holly for the white pieces. It's more expensive than maple, but nothing like boxwood, and it's generally the whitest domestic hardwood. Birch would be another boringly blandly light wood, which is just what you're looking for. I'm not sure of the hardness--it might depend on which species you can get, but the white bark birch in our town would work great for you.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Just so long as you have a darker and lighter colored wood for the Chess pieces you should have no problem.
You might want to practice on some pine wood before you start on your good wood for the chess pieces.
After you turn several different types of pieces you should have a good procedure to start on the keepers.