Exotic Wood Goban

Build a nice goban with a resonating chamber.

Before jumping in to this project, I suggest reading up a little on board dimensions.

Step 1 Select your wood

I chose Purple Heart for the frame and Birdseye Maple for the playing surface. Its all personal preference, but a lighter color playing surface is more traditional.

Comments

[ancaf33]

Ah =) real nice job!!!! :) I will do one of these boards for sure :D

[vermicious_knid]

Can we get a woodworking-to-English dictionary here? what the hell is a dado (and shouldn't it be extinct) or a pinned rabbit joint? *sigh* so much to learn...

[jamiec53]

Dead as a dado!

[petre]

wh at is PURPLE HEART ? i have a book on how to play go but never played. pete

[led_scorched]

That is a beautiful Goban. I've been trying to work up the courage to take on a project like this - but for now, my homemade MDF board is holding up ok :)

[PackRat4448]

what is this?????????

[ravelgrane]

Read the book "The Master of Go" by Yasunari Kawabata if you want to get the flavor of how the game is played by the old masters. People used to be as fanatical about it as football fans are about their sport today. It doesn't explain the rules or strategy, just the human experience, the style, the atmosphere. For example, it will tell you why the "plunk" sound is so important. After reading this book, I fell in love with the game and decided to learn how to play.

[mito]

I too read this book -- what a strange coincidence, Ravelgrane. My favorite part: at the start of the Big Game, the players sit and stare at the board for a few hours. The one who is to play first is only considering a handlful of opening moves, but still, you gotta take your time. He then decides on a first move. Instead of plunking his stone down, he writes it on a slip of paper which is put into an envelope and sealed, to be opened at the start of the next match. They take a few months off to think, and then the next match is scheduled. And so on. I'm telling you, this book is a roller-coaster ride.

[ravelgrane]

The best books I've read about how to learn the rules and strategies of the game are the Ishi Press series of books on Go. They are small paperbacks, easy to carry around, and have excellent illustrations. Also very easy to read.

[thorwor]

Nice work indeed. Go is a timeless game worth learning. For those users interested, visit this link for a fun and easy way to learn the game:

http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/lesson/index2-e.htm

[joshuajahr]

does anyone know where i can learn how to play go?

[zachninme]

Read the comment 4 up ;-)

[boocat]

This makes me wish I had a woodshop. I am learning Go by using the five volume book set from Janice Kim, which I got on Amazon.

[grungehead]

where does the simple man, (i.e. the people without fancy table-saws, woodworking-garages and such) go to do all this?

[classicrocker12]

wow. excellent tutorial (everyone: he knows shop safety!) i think ill make this just as an interesting and fun addition to my coffee table, maybe americanize it by stenciling in a checkers pattern on the top. pretty sweet piece!

[classicrocker12]

btw thats called 'resawing'

[0062Iratareggorf]

Looks Awesome! but whats goban?

[AcceptableRisk]

It's the fancy way of saying a Go board. A board you play the game of go on.

[Roninofthewest]

wow! this really is a beutiful piece. im not really up to date on the price of wood lately but the cost of materials must have been a killer, but i can look that up latter. what i really want to know is how do you play and where you got the plans/idea for this? really nice work man. keep up the good work.

[numberandom]

Thanks! If you are looking to dive into Go, I suggest checking out http://senseis.xmp.net/ (The Sensei's Library) and also installing a computer go client from here http://senseis.xmp.net/?GoPlayingPrograms . I got the idea when I first learned to play and realized any decent board was going to cost a lot more than I thought it was worth. I was reading about how blocks of wood were chosen for the really high end boards, where they check not only the grain but the harmonics. Thats when i decided to cheat and make the resonating chamber.

[parasymboligist]

i love it! it makes me want to learn how to play Go again hehehe

[Neotronix]

Nice work. How does resonating chamber effect the sound of stone placements? Is it louder or sharper? Sorry I'm not from audio engineering. :-)

[numberandom]

radiorental and fungus are right on, I was attempting to accentuate playing the pieces on the board with this design. And, like I mention unfortunately my top piece is a little too thick for it to really "pop" though it works alright. Another crucual aspect I forgot about is adding rubber feet to the bottom, which I'm updating now...

[dbrew]

I don't think I understand. Why would you want a board game to resonate. Nice shop and beautiful work, btw.

[fungus amungus]

The very very nice goban are chosen for their sound. Many players like to hold the stones between the tips of their middle and index fingers and then slam it onto the board to emphasize a good move. Or just sound cool.This sounds like an extra loud version of that.

[radiorental]

I havent played this game in years but I recall seeing a style of playing that was quite 'expressive' in the placement of the stones. Made a nice noise on a traditional goban

[radiorental]

very well documented woodworking tutorial. You make it look easy