Hi!

My question is indirectly related to this forum, I hope this is okay.

I recently bought a Kaya (Shogi) Floor Board which has a decent sized check in the bottom. See the attached photo.

I'm transporting the board from Japan to Central Texas and would like to acclimatize the board. I was wondering if using something like a Boveda humidity control pack, placed between the paulownia cover and the cloth cover would work well for this. If you are not familiar with this product, you can read about them here:

http://www.bovedainc.com/

Any other suggestions on this process? I've seen mention of a glass of water under the board, but that seems inefficient.

The board is a Itame Kiomote cut board and am wondering if I should consider repairing the check. What is your opinion?

Also, I was wondering if anyone has a method for removing the legs in order to find manufacturer marks? I have reason to believe the board was originally purchased at my favorite shop in Tokyo - Aoyama Go BanTen in Shinjuku and believe that this might be able to help determine this, as often times boards are signed here. What is your experience with establishing provenance of boards?

Hello,
One of the best things you can do to keep the board from cracking more would be to oil it before moving (and at least every six months if you're in a dry part of Texas...every year otherwise).

Since you're still in Japan, I recommend looking for Kaya seed oil. It comes in a tiny bottle, and it doesn't take much. The cup of water is only effective if your board is in a completely enclosed space, otherwise it can't regulate humidity.

Sadly I don't know anything about the humidity control pack, so I won't comment on that . If you oil the board just before transporting it, then there shouldn't be an issue unless your shipping by surface mail which could take months.

Since your board is Kiomote, regular oiling is especially important. The itame cuts are more prone to warps and cracks if the surface dries more than the inside. Do you know how old your board is? The older and more settled the board, the less chance of cracking.

If you have the crack repaired, make sure to have it done professionally. There are plenty of people in the Tokyo area who should be able to take care of that and if not, you could always ship it to Mr. Kuroki in Miyazaki-ken.

Yes, there is often (but not always) an artisan stamp either on one of the legs or in a slot where the legs are placed. About the only way to remove the legs, that I know of, is to wiggle them back and forth. Be careful doing this because the wood will change shape ever so slightly and eventually the legs may not be able to stay in on their own.

Ofttimes there are marks showing how to insert the legs, but if not, you'll need to have some way of determining how to put the legs back in, the exact way you took them out...they usually won't fit in different slots/angles, even on the same board.

Anyway, I hope that helps

I know that the paulownia cover functions as a humidity control device more so than physical protection. I assume they have similar use as the cedar in a humidor - a humidity capacitor of sort - to help prevent quick changes. I would think adding a two way humidity control device could provide a much higher relativity humidity, provided they didn't immediately lose their effectiveness in very arid climates.

I usually use board wax, which ultimately is oil and wax mixture. When using a vegetable oil like Kaya, how does it interact with the board wax? Do you wax after oil treatment? I have ordered some to try.

The fact it came from a reputable shop means I hope the Kaya was well seasoned before being used. I do not know how old it is. It doesn't have the red hue of Hyuga Kaya or the darkening of a very old board. I also don't know how long Ayoma's shop has been around, but that would help establish a timeframe.

I can't imagine the crack repair to be difficult. There are plenty of great adhesives and it's not like the entire block can really be clamped, it's a 5.5 sun board. I would think a injection tool, Tightbond and some Kaya sawdust could be used effectively. What are the dangers of "improper" repair?

I think I will try and loosen the legs, I am very curious to find more details out.

Well, the board is in the US and if you look carefully you can make out four checks. Still looking for advise on stabilizing these with a thin epoxy or how it might traditionally be done.

[img]http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160325/ba4b7bdf854f84b2cfa0a2f72312e2f7.jpg[/img]

I am skeptical about the kaya oil. The existing wax is pretty effective at preventing the oil from penetrating into the wood. Once I wipe the oil off, even with moderate pressure - all I seem to have left on my cloth is the original board wax. So, it seems oil doesn't naturally penetrate and with some pressure seems to remove the wax.

I've got some experience using Bovedas to humidify my humidor. If you can find some sort of airtight container to keep your goban in while you're acclimating it, it might work. I'd suggest using several of them; a goban is a lot of volume to humidify. Bovedas are great at maintaining humidity at a precise level (until they dry out). Without airtightish container, the Boveda will be fighting a losing battle; they'll dry out fast, and won't humidify the entire board.

A quick update - the cracks have widened a bit despite my best efforts to oil and wax. I have asked the original shop to see what can be done to stabilize them and they are checking with a craftsman to advise.

Here is what the top looks like, post oil and wax (shogi boards undergo a lot more abuse than their Go counterparts I reckon)

[img]http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160612/51d37d8ef34e5dfb045c870ecda46099.jpg[/img]

I don't think I'd be brave enough to do it myself but a good quality carpenter would be able to stabilize the crack. I believe fixes to cracks in general often involve injecting the correct sort of glue and clamping (but find yourself a good woodworking forum and you can find someone with actual experience) - but since it's a big chunk of wood like you say, perhaps a better solution would be to fix it with a butterfly spline, e.g. as described here (for example):

http://makezine.com/2011/02/28/skill-set-making-a-butterfly-spline-or-arikata/

I've also seen examples of Go boards on the internet which appear to have been fixed just by packing the crack with wood filler.

_________________
I am John. John-I-Am.