August 7, 2002
Revnell provides larger perspective on chess
Interlochen inventor carves oversized game pieces from hollowed out ash logs
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Debuting his oversized wooden chess set at Friday Night Live two weeks ago, Joe Revnell enjoyed the reactions of the crowd.
The Interlochen inventor and carpenter brought the set, whose king stands just under three feet tall, along with his board, which is a piece of outdoor carpeting painted and marked into a chess board. The game drew players and spectators throughout the evening. Between games, Revnell was peppered with questions as people stopped to watch and find out more.
"People want to touch them, it's a real tactile thing," noted Revnell, who founded a company called byjoe a few years ago to market his inventions. "Everybody had to pick one up and they said, 'Oh, they are light! It's wood!'"
"Even people who didn't know anything about chess, there was something about a turned piece in wood they just liked," he noted.
Getting a larger perspective on the game is one of the keys to playing with such a large chess set.
"You need to stand back a little farther to see the whole board when playing," Revnell said. "It is a lot more physical game this way - you never think of chess in that way."
Revnell is an inveterate tinkerer and do-it-himself kind of guy who has invested upward of three years in the chess set. He got started after reading an article in a chess magazine that featured chess sets from all over the world.
"I didn't see any large wooden ones so I decided to make one," he said. "But I did find a place the other day in Indonesia that makes wooden sets, but I don't think they are turned and carved."
Revnell conducted extensive research using the library and the Internet to guide his design, technical approach and finishing process.
"Basically, I stole the wooden shoe technology," said Revnell, whose outdoor workshop and yard are sprinkled with chess piece rejects.
Much of the research was also hands-on as Revnell estimates that he has built two complete sets in his quest to find the best way to make each piece. One problem discovered early on was that simply scaling up the Stanton style chess set did not work because the pieces became distorted.
He carved the first practice piece by hand two years ago, not even sure he could dry the wood sufficiently to keep it from cracking. After this experiment worked, he decided to try automating this painstaking process because it would take years to build a complete set. He built his own lathe from a pile of scavenged parts he had been gathering for a year and began turning blocks of wood.
The trickiest piece has been the knights and each of the four requires extensive hand carving. Revnell is searching for ways to streamline the production of this piece.
The pieces are made from hollowed out ash logs harvested from his property. A felt bottom and a UV-stable automotive clear coat provide the finishing touches.
The search for a finish was another chapter in the saga as Revnell was determined to preserve the beautiful white ash color for the light pieces. He tried many different sealants with no success - one turned the wood green - and even tried using his torch to scorch the wood for the dark pieces.
"Some experiments just went from bad to worse," he said.
A carpenter by trade with experience in welding, Revnell taught himself woodturning during this project, learning as he went the tricks and techniques. He admits his unorthodox style may disconcert some people.
"Sometimes it pays not to have too much knowledge because you're not confined by it," said Revnell, who now plans to make an oversized chess clock. "I'm sure people would shake their head at what I do, but I think it is the end result that counts."
Revnell's love of chess is rooted in the Cold War face off of Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky, whose 1972 dramatic battle in Iceland was billed as the Match of the Century. Revnell received a slide card listing moves from that famous tournament, which included 21 games over nearly two months. Revnell was intrigued and he began studying the card, trying out moves.
"At that point I realized that I knew nothing about the game and decided I had to learn how to play," he recalled.
Revnell has been playing off and on since then. For the past 14 years he has attended regular matches of the Chess Club in Traverse City, which now meets Wednesday evenings at Borders Books and Music.
"It's a real informal group, you just show up and play," Revnell said. "I really think the level of play is high, we've had some expert players come down; a few weeks ago we had a master."
"A lot of those guys read through chess magazines and study the moves," he said. "I've done a little bit of studying, but mostly have learned iteration by iteration."