These eight strips placed alternately light and dark are now glued upon a backing of soft wood, 1⁄4 inch or less in thickness. Gluing must be done thoroughly, each strip being rubbed back and forth until a good joint is made with its neighbour.
A piece of newspaper is spread over the top, heavy pieces of flat stock placed top and bottom, and the pressure from several hand screws applied while the glue is drying.
The best liquid glue obtainable should be used, and the paper on top prevents the hand screws being glued to the wood.
This combination must stand until the glue is thoroughly hard, if it takes forty-eight hours, which it does sometimes in damp weather.
When dry, remove hand screws and tear off paper. Square outside edges if backing projects or glue adheres. With a large try square or steel square lay out parallel lines across the combination 13⁄4 inches apart. Saw on the lines with cross cut saw, unless a mill is handy, when it can be done more accurately with a circular or band saw.
The new strips will be 13⁄4 inches wide, less the amount removed by the saw. Dress them down to a width of 11⁄2 inches on the shooting board. This should bring the eight pieces on each strip to squares 11⁄2 inches on a side.
Eight of these strips make the checker-board. The original pieces, being sixteen inches long, allow for two or three extra strips in case any are spoiled in sawing or planing.
These finished strips are now to be glued together on the permanent backing, which should be 1⁄4 or 3⁄8 inch in thickness, of the same material as the frame is to be and about eight inches each way longer and wider than the checker-board proper.
This should be placed carefully in the centre of the backing, joints rubbed and fastened by cleats 1 × 1⁄2 inch tacked to the backing on all four sides.
While this is drying under pressure of the hand screws as in the first gluing, square up the moulding which is to act as a frame: d shows two styles. In both mouldings, a rabbet 1⁄2 inch or so wide and 1⁄8 inch deep should be made with rabbet plane. The outer edges may be square, rounded, or bevelled.