What tools would be best for hand carving a wood chess set?

I've been interested in hand carving my own wood chess set and board but have no wood carving experience. A chess set has 64 pieces and I think that could be very hard on the hands without the right tools for small wood carving, so I'd like to know what kind of tools would be best for that. Also I would be appreciative of any advice on the type of wood to use and/or tips on staining/glossing.





Thanks in advance for your responses, Yahoo! Answers community.|||the smaller tools. they make them in all sizes. and hand carving is hard on the hands always. a good sturdy wood like oak or something like that is good for something you want to last.|||a chess board has 64 squares and 32 pieces and you could use a dremel power tool with attachments to assemble the entire set|||I'd buy something on Ebay if I were you. :P