I was trolling ebay and bought this goban without really thinking things through (tax refund)...





The seller bought this at auction in Japan, it's supposedly ~20 years old, Kaya of some sort.

After having bought it (it's on the way)- I suddenly realized that it's going from Japan -> Portland, OR -> Albuquerque, NM. Is there anything in particular I need to do to take care of it in the desert? Should I get some sort of cover or box? Humidified case? (It's hard enough to keep a guitar humidified in the desert, and my violin bridge keeps warping).

As a second question, is there any way to tell what sort of wood it is by looking at it? (Kind of irrelevant at this point, but I was curious- it looks beautiful in any case).

Thanks in advance for the advice.

It looks very nice; I'm curious to know how to take care of it in a very dry environment, too.

No way to tell what kind of wood it is just from a photo. However, it looks like it might be stained some sort of yellow color which would suggest "shin-kaya" (spruce).

As for climate protection, I think the biggest danger is from climate change so a controlled change from humid (Japan, Portland OR) to dry (NM) would be advisable. Try using a humidifier to produce a humidity level around 50% or so and gradually, over several weeks, allow the air where the board is kept to dry out to normal humidity. Going from humid conditions to dry is always a risk for cracking and warping. Good luck!

I would think that dry air is probably better than humid air.

And a slow change of humidity is probably not useful. If it was sent by plain, it already got hit with a huge drop in humidity for a long time.

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That's a beautiful goban, and looks like kaya to me. Very nice crisp carving on the legs, too. There is no real reason to cut spruce like that (kiura), as spruce grows plentifully in large enough logs to cut them all with masame grain. If you're really worried about cracking, wrap it up in saran wrap or trash bags for a while until it acclimates. If it was bought new 20 years ago, it may have seasoned for 35 years already, and will probably be fine. It isn't the dryness that will make it crack, but it is extremely rapid drying you would want to avoid. Use common sense, don't immediately put it in direct sunlight, etc. You may find that after you have had it for a long time, the top becomes very slightly convex.

Very nice looking; from the photos I'd bet (some small amount of) money that it is shin-kaya (spruce). The bands in the grain look much more like those of spruce than the pictures of kaya boards I've seen.

Anyway, a huge block of wood like that should have a lot less problems in dry climates than musical instruments do.

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Hope you will check in with us after you receive your board. INteresting that no one can tell form the photo what the species really is. There are a couple of woodworking clubs in Albuquerque and the Woodcraft store probably has a few good ol' boys who can positively discern spruce or Torreya californiaca from kaya (Torreya nucifera).

They can also help you with advice on acclimating the wood.

However, I've only got my own anecdotal experience and it's not good. Moisture migrates out of wood and when it does, the internal pressures between adjacent cellular masses are longer in balance. This happens at the molecular level as an osmotic equilibrium is sought between the wood and the air. The process cannot be stopped although you might be able to mitigate it.

Your board is coming from Japan, an island with maritime weather, high humidity. The balance with the external environment was established many years ago, probably. Your board is arriving in Albuquerque, a mile above sea level, arid as Dick Cheney's sense of humor. I have seen two fine kaya boards destroyed by Boise's lack of humidity, they distort and then they crack; one nearly exploded. And yet two massively thick Korean agathis boards remain completely unaffected.

david boise ID

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David Bogie, Boise ID
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I imagine storing it in a humidified box is a good idea.