The starting point here is a simple question: how do you carry a chess set without hauling a separate box? Ronald Nelson's answer is a board that doubles as its own drawstring pouch. The maker calls it a portable travel set, mentions enjoying the chance to work with soft leather on this one, and says pride in how the finished set looks.
The build begins with a sheet of dark brown leather, measured and cut with a rotary fabric cutter and a metal ruler, then held in place with masking tape inside a 40W Zing Epilog laser made in the US. The machine engraved an eight-by-eight grid along with letter and number coordinates, a pass that ran 48 minutes. Afterward the leather was rinsed under a tap and pressed flat between towels, then left 48 hours to dry. For the pieces, a strip of lighter tan leather was conditioned with Gold Quality leather balm, cut down, and laser-cut into engraved circular tokens.
The details that stand out to me: grommets set into perimeter holes with a punch tool, small anvil, and ball-peen hammer, a thin lace threaded through them to close the bag, and a wooden tag riding on the cords. The back of the board was engraved with piece holder outlines and wiped clean.
One trade-off, in my view: since much of the work was engraving and cutting with the laser, anyone hoping for plenty of traditional hand stitching will find little of it here. The maker offers the set in 2 color options and sells them, with custom engraving on the back available to personalize each one.
Project by Ronald Nelson. Watch it on their YouTube channel: