I just bought a slotted Katsura goban. It is very difficult to slide the two halves together or to take them apart. I haven't been able to slide them together completely. There is a gap of a few millimeters and even then, it seemed like one of the tongues could easily break when I tried to wrestle it apart.

I'm inclined to sand the tongues down a bit to make it easier to put together and take about but I thought I would ask here first to see if anyone has suggestions or warnings. I like that it is a snug fit so it won't come apart during a game but right now it seems a little too snug.

As far as I know, slotted boards are not usually meant to be taken apart.
They are meant to be glued and clamped together to end up as a one piece board.
I don't know about your board, how it was advertised etc, but this is what I think is the problem

/Mats

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Thanks for the quick response. I had always heard that slotted gobans were designed for travel. For example, Sensei's says:

Slotted boards are indeed intended to be put together and taken apart. The idea is that if the fit is slightly tight the board will be more stable and flatter than a hinged folding board. If the tabs are too difficult to insert into the slots or too difficult to take out then there are two remedies I know of. First put some talcum powder on the parts that insert into the slots. Second rub some soap on them. If neither of these methods works then sand a little wood off the tabs. Be very careful about removing wood. Probably only very little would need to be removed and if you remove too much then the fit might become too lose.

Thank you gowan. I feel honored getting help from a 5d. I will try soap and then talcum powder. I might try wax first. I used to have some stuff called "drawer wax" for lubricating wooden drawers. Haven't been able to find any recently.

BTW: this board looks a lot like mine.

Feel honored getting help from someone who's reasonably handy, the 5d part doesn't matter that much (I mean, don't get me wrong it's proof of accomplishment, but a 5 dan's time is no more or less valuable than the next person's. Now the time of a carpenter, that's priceless)

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Tactics yes, Tact no...

No, knowing a few carpenters I can tell you for sure that their time is definitely priced. And well priced at that.

I see.
My predecessor had a board like this, called BJ106, 30 mm Katsura, probably from Japan, that he claimed was not supposed to be taken apart.

But when I think about it, these kinds of boards where used during London Open.

Funny that I didn't think of this much more recent event...

/Mats

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