I am researching this topic for a buddy's company. They are doing a
limited manufacturing run of specialized boards for the game of Go.
The game boards are about 21 inches square and range from 1/2 to 6
inches thick, depending on available stocks and the mood of the
craftsman. Stocks include various maples, butternut, oak, and
purpleheart. We are trying to justify to their potential customers the
benefits -- and additional costs -- of gluing up several sticks to
create the sometimes massive blanks as opposed to applying a beautiful
veneer to a precision-made substrate, which this company also
produces.
You can see my purpleheart Go board:
http://homepage.mac.com/bogiesan/PhotoAlbum12.html
http://homepage.mac.com/bogiesan/PhotoAlbum11.html
Their customers are a fussy lot; they demand high quality but refuse
to consider paying for it. Imagine that. Extremely cheap veneered MDF
boards flood the market from offshore and these appear to be the price
point. Yet, if Go players are in the upper tier market, they will buy
traditional Go boards from Japan that command $10,000 to $100,000
without a second thought to rationalizing the price. You can see some
of these remarkable boards:
(Huge floor-style boards)
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/online_shop/go/goban/index.html
(Japanese language)
(Thinner, table-style boards)
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/online_shop/go/takujyo/index.html
(Japanese language)
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/seihin/goban/index.html
See some of the better imported boards and less-expensive
alterantives:
http://www.samarkand.net/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=boards&cart_id=9062814_23390
As a former woodworker, I am familiar with most of the technical
differences between these techniques and I have access to several
friends' extensive libraries of woodworking books for additional
research to back up my prejudice for laminations. But I'm particularly
interested in a woodworker's perspective on the topic and your
opinions on the perceived value of glued-up blocks.
david boise ID