Crisloid’s Barrel-Finished Checkers Turn Resin into an Art Form
If you listen closely, you’ll hear a low rumble in the workshop. The noise is a big part of our manufacturing DNA and the only time the crew notices is when it stops. That’s because Crisloid’s polishing barrels have been rumbling and tumbling for almost eighty years making the finest checkers you can find for your classic games.
There’s plenty of work to be done before our checkers go into the polishing barrels. Starting with high-quality resin, our crew weighs, blends in the color pigment, creates an optimal mixture, and then casts it into molds of various sizes and shapes. While it might seem like a simple task, casting resin is an art form. The work is very detailed and requires patience, perfect timing, and lots of experience.
Color Mixing
Keep in mind that Crisloid products are handmade – we don’t have a resin mixing machine with a “marble color” setting. Our crew has the experienced hands and eyes needed to make sure checkers match boards and fields. Whether creating colors for solid, finger dish, or marbled checkers the mix needs to be right.
Cutting
Once the color is right and the resin is in the molds the key to perfect checkers is in the cook time and curing. Once they’ve fully cured, checkers are in a cylinder form and are then sent to the wet saw cutting department to be transformed into individual checkers, cubes, or mahjong tiles. At this stage, they are still far from the quality you’ll see in our backgammon sets. Let’s rumble! It’s time for the polishing barrel.
Polishing
Crisloid’s polishing barrels have turned out thousands of beautiful checkers, but they don’t do all the work. We fill the barrels with walnut shells that are infused with a proprietary blend of polish and then run them for 24 to 36 hours. The friction generated by the barrel churning the checkers and walnuts slowly together creates a gorgeous, finished product.
Whether you call them draughts, stones, counters, chips, pawns, or checkers, Crisloid creates the best ones in the classic gaming industry. Follow these links to learn more about our outstanding selection of checkers, backgammon sets, and accessories.