I looked at previous posts regarding this top and the majority of the posts i see fall under "what's wrong with wood". I just wanna say that I am very determined to use glass and make this work. That being said, I just wanna give a little context to what I'm doing.

First off, this idea was inspired by the movie Tron (the remake). I am planning to have a slab of glass, hopefully 1"+, resting on a wooden base. The base itself will be veneered or painted on the outside and hollow on the inside. Within, I would like to have LEDs shine through the glass giving the board an "emanating light" feel, if that makes any sense. However, with clear glass, the LEDs will be clearly visible and therefore unsightly. My proposed solution to this is to sandblast the top face of the glass, however, the specificity of the details end there. As for the lines, I was thinking about layering them in after the sandblast, or covering the lines before the sandblast so that the stars and lines will be the only unsandblasted parts of the face.

I am a stickler for perfection, and as a university engineering student, I would like to get this right the first time around. I was just wondering what dimensions I should follow if I want an easily cut piece of glass to work with (18"x18", 17.5"x17.5"). I assume cuts that are any more precise will be expensive, however after the lines are centered and etched, I would like symmetrical spacing on all four sides.

I am pursuing this project because I feel that it would be a fun idea and it would give a traditional game that I have passion for a more modern feel. Any Suggestions, additional ideas, or comments would be great. Thanks and sorry for the long read.

As an engineering student you should know this is not going to be done correctly the firs time unless you already have experience and skills with the materials and the technologies.

Glass craft and manufacturing technology is easily researched. People and artists who may or may not be people have been treating surfaces and backlighting glass panels for at least a hundred years. The distance from the light source to the treated surface and the diameter of the light source determine the spread of the beam and therefore the apparent size of the light source as seen from the other side of the obscuration. You're going to be much happier with fluorescent tubes under a dispersion surface such as milk glass or white plastic than with naked LEDs under a single sandblasted surface. LEDs will appear as hot spots unless severely diffused and sever diffusion reduces transmission.

I know that glass masses about 160 pounds per cubic foot, about 1700 cubic inches. Lessee, u wanna 1" glass, about 300 cubic inches? Dat mass 30 lbs = a slippery handful! Going to be expensive anyway, look for telescope mirror blanks for an estimate, 12" diameter by 1" thick, about $300 so guessing about $1,400 for 18x18x1 inches.

Glass, if you can find that big a piece, can be cut with a special bandsaw or a tool that looks like a table saw or tile cutter but the edges of a go board should be polished and eased along the top and that adds significantly to the expense of the job. They will chip or cut if not treated. That may add an interesting element to play if you don't mind dealing with blood-borne pathogens.

You could cast that slab in a good glassblowing shop or slump cullet in a suitable kiln.

You can use CNC or resist route or sandblast your grid into the glass. The relief of the lines must be considered in the aesthetic. Not many of us like to use a board with recessed lines, especially if the edges of the lines are as hard as glass. Incised lines have 90 degree edges that will chip even when using plastic stones. Heck, you can chip glass edges with a fingernail if you apply the right amount of stress in the right direction.

The usual methods discussed around here can be used to apply lines to a glass slab's surface if you're not engraving.

Good luck on this and consider posting some photos of your project.

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.

Go boards are not square. Due to the optical illusions created by looking at them from an angle, a square board looks disproportionately wide. So board makers compensate for that by making them slightly shorter in the cross-board direction.

I second the request for pics. And, it would be cool to have wooden stones.


Oh, and welcome to the forum!

If you want to get that emanating light effect without having LED's showing through the glass, an easier way is probably just to run the LED's along the sides, and then have frames of glass inside the board as the lines. Then just use internal reflection to light it up.

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Let my comments be as eggs thrown on stones... explosive and hard to wash.

I can't wait for the pictures.

Some thoughts:

Hoshi give the board shape and prevent the eye getting lost in a uniform grid. They aren't vital. Perhaps you could leave them out and simply position your LEDs underneath the star-points so that the brightest glow appears where the hoshi would have been.

You may want to buy some non-glass stones because glass-on-glass will drive many people wild. Certainly, I find the sound unbearable. Wooden stones would be unique and poetic.

How are you going to power your LEDs? Batteries? I guess that would work because LEDs will run for forever with decent circuitry and batteries. Keep some spares and make sure that you can replace them without turning the table upside down because Murphy says you'll be doing it in byo-yomi in that half-point game that you really don't want to abort.

Have the glass prepared and sand-blasted by professionals but ask for a sample of their sand-blasting before you commit. I have seen some abysmal sand-blasting work - particularly when fine lines are involved.

If you do it properly, you might be able to play Go in the dark (using only the LED light to see the game) for an ethereal experience.

there a scenes in HNG, I can remember one when Akira is playing Sai over the net, that there is a "floating" board, with blue intersections.. if that's what you are talking about, it would look pretty cool..

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"Hell if you understand everything I said, you’d be me." ~ Miles Davis ~

Youtube videos! Good luck.

wah.. I don't think glass boards is good for playing.
It's surely more nice and look more elegant but my stone's not strong enough and got broken when I place it on the ceramics.
I think glass boards is almost same with ceramics.

when I realize that, so I don't plan it anymore to make goban from a ceramics.I'll try to make a goban using Kayu jati. anybody know about kayu jati?