Posted on May 12, 2023
This Kansas City woodworker is carving a chess set inspired by his hometown skyline
1.1K
17
4
7
7
0
All the iconic buildings — from Liberty Memorial to Sky Stations and 909 Walnut — are taking shape in miniature under a scroll saw in his Northland garage.
Woodworking has been a hobby for David Pentimone since his parents bought him a used scroll saw off of Craigslist for his 12th birthday.
His first projects were simple.
“It just started with like some simple jigsaw puzzle, just like a silhouette of a penguin or a deer or something like that,” Pentimone says. “And then I started getting a little bit more adventurous."
Armed with designs he found in a book about making wooden chess sets, Pentimone began making pieces. Eventually he made a complete set. Next came a chess set inspired by Roman architecture.
These days, Pentimone has been carving custom architectural chess sets with his scroll saw — a new DeWalt, though he's had several different ones over the years — modeling them after skylines in San Francisco and New York. The hobbyist's latest set features hometown architectural icons like the Power and Light Building, Bartle Hall and Liberty Memorial.
Woodworking has been a hobby for David Pentimone since his parents bought him a used scroll saw off of Craigslist for his 12th birthday.
His first projects were simple.
“It just started with like some simple jigsaw puzzle, just like a silhouette of a penguin or a deer or something like that,” Pentimone says. “And then I started getting a little bit more adventurous."
Armed with designs he found in a book about making wooden chess sets, Pentimone began making pieces. Eventually he made a complete set. Next came a chess set inspired by Roman architecture.
These days, Pentimone has been carving custom architectural chess sets with his scroll saw — a new DeWalt, though he's had several different ones over the years — modeling them after skylines in San Francisco and New York. The hobbyist's latest set features hometown architectural icons like the Power and Light Building, Bartle Hall and Liberty Memorial.
This Kansas City woodworker is carving a chess set inspired by his hometown skyline
Posted from kcur.org
Art
Kansas City
Chess
Architecture
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 4
5
5
0
4
4
0
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."It’s been about an hour and Pentimone has finished with the queen, which looks like a miniature Power and Light Building. Beneath his shop lights, the piece's fresh edges look a bit raw. Now it’s time for a little light sanding before he finishes it off with a coat of Danish oil.
Despite his obvious skill in crafting these chess sets, Pentimone says his chess game could use a little work.
“I do play chess,” Pentimone says. "I’m not fantastic at it."
"I've been playing with some friends, playing online. And then it's also like very enjoyable to take a set that I've made, and get to play on it with a friend, with my brother or something like that," he says. "So I do play and (am) trying to get better at it.”
With another six months of work left to finish the Kansas City set, Pentimone has plenty of time to practice."
..."It’s been about an hour and Pentimone has finished with the queen, which looks like a miniature Power and Light Building. Beneath his shop lights, the piece's fresh edges look a bit raw. Now it’s time for a little light sanding before he finishes it off with a coat of Danish oil.
Despite his obvious skill in crafting these chess sets, Pentimone says his chess game could use a little work.
“I do play chess,” Pentimone says. "I’m not fantastic at it."
"I've been playing with some friends, playing online. And then it's also like very enjoyable to take a set that I've made, and get to play on it with a friend, with my brother or something like that," he says. "So I do play and (am) trying to get better at it.”
With another six months of work left to finish the Kansas City set, Pentimone has plenty of time to practice."
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google