Things You'll Need:
- Spray paint
- Brass bolts
- Steel bolts
- Acorn screws
- Square nuts
- Cap nuts
- Various other nuts
- Washers
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Step 1
Decide on the colors of the two opposing sides. One of the easiest ways to do it is to use steel nuts and bolts for one side and brass ones for the other side, but you can paint the pieces if you prefer.
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Step 2
Use something small and unadorned for the pawns. A single small nut or washer will work, but I like to use small machine screws.
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Step 3
Get bigger bolts for the other pieces. Machine screws, hex bolts, or anything else with a flat bottom will do. You can either use one size for the whole back row, or one size for knights, bishops and rooks, and a bigger size for kings and queens.
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Step 4
Use acorn screws to mark bishops. An acorn screw on top looks enough like a bishop's hat to be recognizable.
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Step 5
Use a square nut for rooks. The square shape evokes the rook, which can only move forward, backward, left and right.
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Step 6
Decide on something for the knights. You can use a bolt you haven't used before, or a combination of bolts and washers. The knight is the only piece that doesn't really have a single nut that evokes it.
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Step 7
Use a cap nut for the queen. It looks like a queen's crown, but different enough from an acorn bolt to not be confusing.
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Step 8
Use a k-lock for the king. The attached external tooth washer looks just like a crown.
