Ross’ chess set
Joni Matthiessen
It’s been a little slow at the woodshop these days. With everything having been closed down here at the Ranch, my topics aren’t many. But before this cold spell arrived, Ross Mancuso had been working for weeks and weeks on a special project. This huge chess set, and matching board were requested by his grandsons, so Ross went to work and made each chess piece doubled, and then made the board. This set is not for sale, but is currently in the display window so stop by and take a peek. I was especially impressed at the way Ross cut the pieces on the bandsaw. The pattern was wrapped around a piece of wood at a side corner, so each piece was cut twice per the pattern which gave each piece dimension. The design of each piece is amazing, and then once the piece was cut, oh my, the sanding involved! Needless to say, Ross spent many an hour getting each and every part of this creation just right, and the amount of time he spent produced one of the most awesome creations I have seen yet. Hats off to you, Ross, you are such an encouragement to many of us to try to step out of our comfort zone and make beautiful things like you do!