Life In 19x19 :: Goban Wood Questions

my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour
http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm

this is the only photo I can find online:
http://chiyodad.blogspot.com/2006/02/ma ... keley.html

I'm very much in the camp that prefers lighter or yellower woods. I find dark boards with hard to see lines relatively unpleasant to play on.

Can someone explain to me in detail how much of the underneath is hollowed out on a traditional Goban?

my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour
http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm

xed_over wrote:

my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour
http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm

That's me. That's my board. I did not know that Chiyo had gotten one.
Cool.

Personally I'm having some vision issues right now, and I would have a lot of difficulty seeing the lines without a big contrast, so I wouldn't make dark boards.

Sea Witch wrote:

Personally I'm having some vision issues right now, and I would have a lot of difficulty seeing the lines without a big contrast, so I wouldn't make dark boards.

If the wood is really dark, why not paint white grid lines?
And then you'd probably might want different colored stones also, instead of the traditional black and white.

such as: http://www.algorithmicartisan.com/gostones/index.html
or: http://www.6brothers.com/detail.php?c_c ... 0_10000022

Author:	Sea Witch [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:46 am ]
Post subject:	Goban Wood Questions
Good Morning. I introduced myself in the "introduction" spot as a woodworker who is a terrible Go player but who wants to make Go boards. I have a lot of questions, and I'm trying to educate myself. I'd like first to ask about Goban woods. I understand that the best traditional boards are made of Kaya and to a lesser extent Katsura. Those woods aside, for serious Go players who aren't playing on a Kaya Goban, is the yellowish Kaya color important? When players sit down to play, is the color aesthetic important or will any light color do? (assuming a similar hardness and texture to Kaya). Thank you for any and all information.

Author:	uglyboxer [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:08 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
I think you will find the answer to this question is a matter of taste. As long as there is enough contrast between the black stones/lines and the white stones and the tone of the wood you are in safe territory. I personally prefer something that tends more toward the reds or browns in the wood, but like I said, it is solely a matter of taste. I have refinished an old board, though never made one from scratch. The lines usually end up being the big challenge.

Author:	Solomon [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
To me, the color aesthetic isn't so important. It doesn't even have to be light for me; e.g., I love playing on a bamboo Go board, which is darker in tone. Like uglyboxer said, it's all a matter of taste.

Author:	xed_over [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm this is the only photo I can find online: http://chiyodad.blogspot.com/2006/02/ma ... keley.html

Author:	Sea Witch [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 7:13 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm surprised! I was expecting everyone to say that they only like boards that look just like the most expensive yellowish Kaya ones (I'm not a big fan of yellow-ish woods or yellow-ish finishes). I'm also surprised that people don't mind dark boards--it's definitely harder to see the lines. Interesting that xed_over likes the Purpleheart one. I used some Purpleheart in a project just last week. It's very expensive and very difficult to work with . That purple color will darken with age, but it is beautiful.

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Author:	tchan001 [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 7:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
xed_over wrote: my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm this is the only photo I can find online: http://chiyodad.blogspot.com/2006/02/ma ... keley.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/scatcat/se ... 110252492/ Sea Witch, it might also be interesting for you to take a look at these links: http://senseis.xmp.net/?path=MakingYour ... erialGoban http://tchan001.wordpress.com/2010/06/1 ... equipment/ http://tchan001.wordpress.com/2010/05/3 ... ble-goban/

Author:	jts [ Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:59 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
I think to most go players, the sound that the stone makes on the wood is probably the most important aesthetic dimension of the goban. I, of course, am a complete philistine who is just happy to hear the click of wood rather than plastic or paper, but people talk as though the sounds that some woods make are more pleasing.

Author:	quantumf [ Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
I'm very much in the camp that prefers lighter or yellower woods. I find dark boards with hard to see lines relatively unpleasant to play on.

Author:	Sea Witch [ Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:05 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
quantumf wrote: I'm very much in the camp that prefers lighter or yellower woods. I find dark boards with hard to see lines relatively unpleasant to play on. Thank you quantumf. Personally I'm having some vision issues right now, and I would have a lot of difficulty seeing the lines without a big contrast, so I wouldn't make dark boards. Any wood is going to get darker with age anyway especially if it gets a lot of sunlight. Thank you tchan001 for the links. I am familiar with the sensei's library but I did not know the other links. Thank you jts. This brings to mind my next question. I'm wondering if I should continue in this thread or start a new one for each question? Re: the "click" sound Can someone explain to me in detail how much of the underneath is hollowed out on a traditional Goban?

Author:	tchan001 [ Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:15 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
Sea Witch wrote: Can someone explain to me in detail how much of the underneath is hollowed out on a traditional Goban? Read http://senseis.xmp.net/?GobanSelfMade

Author:	bogiesan [ Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
> Re: the "click" sound Can someone explain to me in detail how much of the underneath is hollowed out on a traditional Goban?< Regardless of the theories or "facts" presented anywhere in any discussion on the topic, I can tell you, as an experienced woodworker, removing less than 1-4% of the mass of a huge block of wood will have no discernible effect on the sound transmission properties of the remaining 96-99% of the mass. None that you can hear. The hollow space does not exist to contain the bodily fluids of an obsequious kibitzer, either. The purpose or symbolism of the pyramid carved into the bottom of some traditional Japanese go boards remains a charming mystery.

Author:	bogiesan [ Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
xed_over wrote: my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm That's me. That's my board. I did not know that Chiyo had gotten one. Cool.

Author:	xed_over [ Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
bogiesan wrote: xed_over wrote: my favorite board (I don't own one) so far is the Purpleheart board made by Carol Dufour http://www.usgo.org/CD2003/reviews/purp ... 031020.htm That's me. That's my board. I did not know that Chiyo had gotten one. Cool. yeah, I knew it was yours and knew you're from Idaho, but had forgotten your [user]name And I like the purple clamstones even better than the board

Author:	xed_over [ Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:35 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
Sea Witch wrote: Personally I'm having some vision issues right now, and I would have a lot of difficulty seeing the lines without a big contrast, so I wouldn't make dark boards. If the wood is really dark, why not paint white grid lines? And then you'd probably might want different colored stones also, instead of the traditional black and white. such as: http://www.algorithmicartisan.com/gostones/index.html or: http://www.6brothers.com/detail.php?c_c ... 0_10000022

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Author:	Sea Witch [ Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:49 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
xed_over wrote: Sea Witch wrote: Personally I'm having some vision issues right now, and I would have a lot of difficulty seeing the lines without a big contrast, so I wouldn't make dark boards. If the wood is really dark, why not paint white grid lines? And then you'd probably might want different colored stones also, instead of the traditional black and white. such as: http://www.algorithmicartisan.com/gostones/index.html or: http://www.6brothers.com/detail.php?c_c ... 0_10000022 Wow, those are spectacular! I didn't know that existed. I figured who would want to play on a high contrast board--I thought there was some mystique about the Kaya color, the black lines, the white and black stones. Those semi-precious stones are beautiful. I bet some of them might chip easily though. The good news is my vision should be fine soon. I'm waiting for cataract surgery.....In Canada you can wait a while for something like that.

Author:	gobo fongo [ Tue Nov 29, 2011 2:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Goban Wood Questions
I am also more carpenter than go enthusiast, and I recently made this one: http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=61051#p61051 and I just realized that those are terrible pictures. Let me know if you have any questions.