Stone blocks

We decided to use the salmon/pink alabaster for the attacker's pieces, and greenish soapstone for the defender/king's side. We decided against the black BC soapstone because, though it polishes up very nicely, it is surprisingly hard for a soapstone, and contains some quartz veins, which are extremely hard to cut through, let alone carve.
So, here are the cut blocks of stone (cut using a hacksaw: very efficient. Not having the same quality of metals in the Middle Ages, it would presumably be a lot harder and time consuming to cut stone). There should be enough there for all the game pieces, which will end up being approx. 3/4" diameter. We will drill the holes for the pins before cutting up the individual pieces and carving them to the right size and shape.

The brass nails are proving to be a little more challenging. After visiting three hardware stores, the only brass nails I found are very small - maybe too small? We will have to see how fiddly it is to drill holes that small...