Patching insect holes
Today is unusually cool. The forecast was for rain, but it’s just been cloudy since the morning, and the temperature is about 6 degrees lower than yesterday. I began the day by finishing the 4.2-sun boxes. Since all 30 boxes use checkered Yosegi boards for the side panels, the finishing method for the corners is the same. However, about one third of them have solid wood top and bottom panels, which require extra sanding by machine. So, for around 10 boxes, I added a separate step to the process.
The next stage will be painting, but at this point, I must repair every scratch and damage. Once the coating is applied, it becomes much more difficult to make corrections. This includes not only fixing any Yosegi defects, but also dealing with the solid wood panels. For this batch, some of the top and bottom panels are made with rengas wood. It’s a very rare material, and its import into Japan is now prohibited, probably due to the Washington Convention (CITES). I only have a small stock left in my workshop, purchased over 20 years ago before imports were stopped.
Rengas wood, though I’m not sure of its exact species, often shows marks of insect damage. The pieces I have also have many tiny insect holes, about 1 mm in size. Heavily marked parts are usually used for making sliced Yosegi, while sections with fewer holes can be used for solid panels like in this case. Still, it’s difficult to find completely clean pieces, so after making the panels I need to fill in the holes. In most cases, I don’t use the same wood to fill them but instead use a special putty, because the holes are too small to be patched with wood. I did that again this time. The holes can be filled, but the original dark marks around them cannot be removed, so they remain as tiny black dots. Please understand that these small black dots in the rengas wood are due to this natural characteristic 😅
Today I also made progress on another project, the regular 4-sun 27-steps puzzle box. The frame is already finished, and I have attached the parts. This morning I did the stepped processing for the Aruki panels (moving panels), so I plan to complete the Aruki panels later this afternoon (it’s about 3 p.m. now).
I often do the stepped processing and the actual making of the Aruki panels on separate days. That’s because making the Aruki panels for a 27-steps box takes more time and has more steps compared to lower-step boxes, mainly due to this stepped processing. If I try to do everything at once, I lose concentration (and get tired), so whenever possible I split the work into different days. Today, since I still have a bit of time, I’ll continue with the remaining processing.
In Japan, tomorrow begins a three-day weekend including the Monday national holiday. I’ll probably come to the workshop at some point to do some work, but since the forecast says it will get hot again, I may take it a little easier 😂
Wishing everyone a good weekend…
The next stage will be painting, but at this point, I must repair every scratch and damage. Once the coating is applied, it becomes much more difficult to make corrections. This includes not only fixing any Yosegi defects, but also dealing with the solid wood panels. For this batch, some of the top and bottom panels are made with rengas wood. It’s a very rare material, and its import into Japan is now prohibited, probably due to the Washington Convention (CITES). I only have a small stock left in my workshop, purchased over 20 years ago before imports were stopped.
Rengas wood, though I’m not sure of its exact species, often shows marks of insect damage. The pieces I have also have many tiny insect holes, about 1 mm in size. Heavily marked parts are usually used for making sliced Yosegi, while sections with fewer holes can be used for solid panels like in this case. Still, it’s difficult to find completely clean pieces, so after making the panels I need to fill in the holes. In most cases, I don’t use the same wood to fill them but instead use a special putty, because the holes are too small to be patched with wood. I did that again this time. The holes can be filled, but the original dark marks around them cannot be removed, so they remain as tiny black dots. Please understand that these small black dots in the rengas wood are due to this natural characteristic 😅
Today I also made progress on another project, the regular 4-sun 27-steps puzzle box. The frame is already finished, and I have attached the parts. This morning I did the stepped processing for the Aruki panels (moving panels), so I plan to complete the Aruki panels later this afternoon (it’s about 3 p.m. now).
I often do the stepped processing and the actual making of the Aruki panels on separate days. That’s because making the Aruki panels for a 27-steps box takes more time and has more steps compared to lower-step boxes, mainly due to this stepped processing. If I try to do everything at once, I lose concentration (and get tired), so whenever possible I split the work into different days. Today, since I still have a bit of time, I’ll continue with the remaining processing.
In Japan, tomorrow begins a three-day weekend including the Monday national holiday. I’ll probably come to the workshop at some point to do some work, but since the forecast says it will get hot again, I may take it a little easier 😂
Wishing everyone a good weekend…
