Lumber:

Our lumber is properly harvested, air cured, and kiln dried to provide the finest quality wood products obtainable. Each piece is carefully qualified before entering our manufacturing process. We do not use veneers, our boards are fabricated only from solid premium hardwoods.

Platforms:

The platform or "frame" is fabricated of premium solid American Walnut. We offer two options with respect to the "peripheral inlay" (the inlay that surrounds the playing surface), the light-wood option is solid northern ash, the dark-wood option is solid ebony. The solid strips (approximately an eighth of an inch in thickness are hand laid and bonded into carefully machined seats; they are then brought perfectly flush with the surface and finished accordingly. A second option on the larger sized boards is a solid ebony frame inlay. Inserting frame inlays is a difficult and time consuming process, but results in a truly exquisite finished product. Our platforms include corner splines which we provide in a contrasting solid Walnut. These pieces serve to strengthen the critical frame corners, and provide exquisite beauty and detail.

Playing Surfaces:

Playing surfaces are the result of extensive research and development. Both Mid-Range Chess Boards and Premium Chessboards offer ‘Quarter-Sawn’ playing surfaces, meaning that the grain on the top surface is radially exposed as opposed to tangentially exposed. This technique is more expensive and time consuming than other methods, but offers the highest levels of dimensional and flatness stability, two important points for heirloom quality chessboards. Quarter-sawing also offer the most beautiful presentation of the hardwood’s grain.

On our premium boards, the playing surface is bonded to a solid northern ash substrate. A process which is designed to maintain surface flatness to a high degree of correctness as well as minimize reflected stress to the support platform. These are important design aspects that further reinforce our heirloom quality posture.

Our mid-range boards offer heavy, precision cut squares that extend all the way from the top to the bottom surface. The boards offer a smooth, continuous playing surface that is easy to clean and maintain. Beautifully framed in American Walnut, these boards represent the finest mid-range solid hardwood chessboards available.

Mounting:

Once completed, the playing surface is carefully placed into seats within the supporting platform, and mechanically attached to the platform using our TruFreedom™ surface mount technology. This technology allows the playing surface to expand and contract slightly with normal changes in relative humidity, without being bound or constrained by the support platform. Summerville-New England surface mount technology is unique and designed specifically for our line of Premium Quality Chessboards.

Finishing:

All Summerville-New England chessboards are finished by using only natural hand-rubbed oils. We do not use stains, lacquers, urethanes or the like. Our objective is to provide a beautiful natural finish that is not highly reflective, and therefore not bothersome to the players. We use multiple applications of premium BriWax™, a natural blend of Beeswax and Carnauba wax as a final surface treatment. Note that BriWax™ can be reapplied by the end user periodically to keep the board looking like new!

BriWax™ is available online at www.briwax.com Be sure to follow manufacturer's directions and precautions carefully!

Heavy Triangulated Felt Pads:

Our Premium boards offer Heavy Felt Pads carefully placed in triangulated fashion so that even if placed on an uneven surface, the board will not move during play. We understand that such a minor thing as chessboard instability during a game can be aggravating and can impact your performance.