Finish coating
A new week has started today. First, I finished the final coating on two types of Mame puzzle boxes that I’ve been working on recently. Among these, the only ones that will remain in my stock are a few of the 18-step versions. It’s been a while since I’ve had this type of mame puzzle box in stock. They can also be used as nested boxes together with the 2.5-sun box I made the other day.
For this batch of mame puzzle boxes, I used my usual paint (finish coating). I wanted to use the new water-based type that I tried the other day, but since I was making many boxes, I chose the paint I’m more familiar with. I recently tested the new water-based paint on a limited edition box for The Knock Box, and a customer who bought it gave me a happy comment: “The finish is just as good as before.” That made me want to try using this paint on other types of boxes too. The only thing I’m a little concerned about is that, compared to the solvent-based paint I’ve used until now, the water-based paint seems to make the moving parts stick together a little more easily. I think this might be because of the "thickness" of the paint. To make it easier to apply, the paint is usually thinned a bit before use. But if it’s too thin, it becomes softer and can easily get into the small gaps of the moving parts, which causes them to stick. When making many boxes at once, like this time, it's not good if the mechanisms stick, because it takes more time and effort to open each one. It’s best to move the mechanism once before the paint is completely dry, but sometimes the timing is difficult. So, it’s better to use paint that doesn’t stick easily even after drying (though no paint is 100% non-sticky). The drying time of the paint also matters. Faster-drying types can dry before the paint gets into the moving parts, which helps prevent sticking. This water-based paint takes a bit longer to dry. I plan to try the water-based type again when I’m working on a smaller number of boxes. *In the photo, the paint looks white, but it becomes clear when applied.
After that, I started working on a big project—a special order for 100 pieces of the 3-sun 12-step puzzle box. Recently, I usually make around 50 to 60 boxes at most, so making 100 this time does feel like a lot. However, I used to make about 100 of these 3-sun boxes quite often in the past, so it’s not a problem. I had already prepared the materials the other day, so today I focused on making the frame parts. Like the recent boxes I’ve made, I made the panels for the frame slightly thicker than the ones I used last year. I believe this makes the box stronger and more reliable. Not many people may use the 3-sun box as a container, but I still think it's good to have a larger storage space inside. It's a little too short to hold business cards, but it should be perfect for storing accessories and other small items.
Since I’m making a large number of boxes this time, each step of the process will take longer, so I don’t think the work will progress in the same number of days as usual. But I plan to move forward steadily, one step at a time.
For this batch of mame puzzle boxes, I used my usual paint (finish coating). I wanted to use the new water-based type that I tried the other day, but since I was making many boxes, I chose the paint I’m more familiar with. I recently tested the new water-based paint on a limited edition box for The Knock Box, and a customer who bought it gave me a happy comment: “The finish is just as good as before.” That made me want to try using this paint on other types of boxes too. The only thing I’m a little concerned about is that, compared to the solvent-based paint I’ve used until now, the water-based paint seems to make the moving parts stick together a little more easily. I think this might be because of the "thickness" of the paint. To make it easier to apply, the paint is usually thinned a bit before use. But if it’s too thin, it becomes softer and can easily get into the small gaps of the moving parts, which causes them to stick. When making many boxes at once, like this time, it's not good if the mechanisms stick, because it takes more time and effort to open each one. It’s best to move the mechanism once before the paint is completely dry, but sometimes the timing is difficult. So, it’s better to use paint that doesn’t stick easily even after drying (though no paint is 100% non-sticky). The drying time of the paint also matters. Faster-drying types can dry before the paint gets into the moving parts, which helps prevent sticking. This water-based paint takes a bit longer to dry. I plan to try the water-based type again when I’m working on a smaller number of boxes. *In the photo, the paint looks white, but it becomes clear when applied.
After that, I started working on a big project—a special order for 100 pieces of the 3-sun 12-step puzzle box. Recently, I usually make around 50 to 60 boxes at most, so making 100 this time does feel like a lot. However, I used to make about 100 of these 3-sun boxes quite often in the past, so it’s not a problem. I had already prepared the materials the other day, so today I focused on making the frame parts. Like the recent boxes I’ve made, I made the panels for the frame slightly thicker than the ones I used last year. I believe this makes the box stronger and more reliable. Not many people may use the 3-sun box as a container, but I still think it's good to have a larger storage space inside. It's a little too short to hold business cards, but it should be perfect for storing accessories and other small items.
Since I’m making a large number of boxes this time, each step of the process will take longer, so I don’t think the work will progress in the same number of days as usual. But I plan to move forward steadily, one step at a time.
