If you want to have a go at building your own backgammon board you need to remember that ornamentation is not the most important thing on the agenda. The board is created to play a game and so must be usable. You must make sure that the board is big enough to store all the pieces, yet not too heavy to carry around. The walls affect this directly; too high and they make playing difficult and the pieces loose when stored, too thick and they make the board too heavy to transport.
The surface is important as it needs to be durable enough to support endless play, and yet not too hard as this would make the dice slide and knock the checkers around during the game. It also needs to allow for the checkers to slide. There needs to be enough space around the board for the checkers to be stored and enough in the bar for the checkers to sit when hit without spilling out and getting in the way. The backgammon board is more difficult to make than you may think; take these things into consideration and create a good plan from which to work to prevent being disappointed upon completion.
The surface is important as it needs to be durable enough to support endless play, and yet not too hard as this would make the dice slide and knock the checkers around during the game. It also needs to allow for the checkers to slide. There needs to be enough space around the board for the checkers to be stored and enough in the bar for the checkers to sit when hit without spilling out and getting in the way. The backgammon board is more difficult to make than you may think; take these things into consideration and create a good plan from which to work to prevent being disappointed upon completion.