Might be worth trying one of the self adhesive felt baize materials that are available just google , loads of suppliers. Some are thicker / better than others. Or failing that one of the spray can contact adhesives.

John

Journeyman John beat me to it!  Another approach might be the aerosol spray adhesives used by upholsterers. I imagine that would adhere without soaking the base material, but maybe will require a certain amount of experimentation.

John

Spray adhesive would not soak the baize, but it is intended to fix large areas so the spray pattern is large and cobweb like. Great for reattaching the 70/80s Range Rover head lining that falls on you. Not so for small items.

I had presumed that Tony would be using a better quality of Baize than the ready-mades.

MichaelG.

Hobbycraft is a good suggestion.  At least you can see what you’re buying.

Spray pattern need not be a problem. Cut a hole in a bit of thing card as a mask, hold over end of chess piece and spray then simply stand stick bottom on you circle of baize and push down.

I actually ptefer the shorter “pile” of the adhesive backed to the fabric which can be a bit thick at times but does have a bigger choice of colours. Black stickbacked on the bottom of this draw, stick to bottom before assembling in the draw then it’s easy to trim.

Epoxy will work well, if you roughen the bases, use slow set epoxy and warm the chess pieces, you can paint on a thin layer.

Neil

On 31 January 2024 at 18:55 Tony Martyr Said:

… I tried double sided tape but that increased the thickness too much …

I hope you weren’t using the foam-cored product, Tony

… What I had in mind is only a very thin film: tricky to measure, but I would guess it’s typically less than 50 microns

Good luck … whatever works best for you

Sounds like a good project !

MichaelG.

Carpet double sided tape is thin and made for sticking things like felt to smooth surfaces, the only downside is that a roll would last for a thousand chess sets.