Materials for the hexagonal boxes
It was very sunny from the morning today, and it even felt a bit hot during the day. I was a little worried about how well the panels I cut yesterday for the 3-sun cube boxes were drying, but with this weather, they should dry nicely. Since I’m waiting for these natural wood panels to dry, the work on the 3-sun cube 18-steps puzzle boxes is on hold for a while. I should’ve prepared the panels a bit earlier, but it took me some time to decide on the design 😅
However, since I had a bit of extra time, I made and attached the top and bottom panels for the checkered yosegi design type only. There were just 14 boxes, so it didn’t take long. I’ll keep them as they are until I can attach the panels for the remaining 14 natural wood type boxes.
And today, I also went ahead and made the sliding key panels, which are the next step in the process. So for now, I’ve just made the panels themselves. It’s often better to make panels in advance and let them rest for a while, because freshly made panels tend to warp a little, so it’s not ideal to attach them right away—though it really depends on the case. However, since this time I’m also making the natural wood type, I thought it would be better to prepare them early. Solid wood panels are generally less stable than panels with yosegi sheets.
After that, I prepared the other materials for the hexagonal boxes. Yesterday, I finished preparing the top, bottom, and side panels (though I haven’t attached the yosegi sheets yet), so today I worked on the materials for the shaft section and the sliding Aruki panels. I only planed them down to the correct thickness today. The photo shows those two types of materials—enough for about fifty boxes this time. For some other puzzle boxes, I can make just the core parts first, but with the hexagonal type, they have to be made to match the top and bottom panels, so I can’t do that yet. I’ve never tried making them separately, but the core panels don’t have any fixed dimensions—they simply serve as structural supports for the hexagonal shape. The only set measurement is the height; everything else is adjusted to fit the grooves and size of the specific top and bottom hexagonal panels being made. It’s one of the unique challenges of this shape—if the size of the hexagon changes even slightly, the lengths of the inner core parts also change quite a bit. So each time, I make them to fit that particular hexagonal structure.
After finishing the hexagonal puzzle boxes, or possibly I might make them in parallel with those, I’m planning to make a small batch of 6-sun boxes — about twelve in total. These will be natural wood types rather than the traditional yosegi design. Due to a few reasons, this batch will be limited to around twelve pieces. For now, I plan to make them as 14-steps boxes. The largest boxes I currently sell are 5-sun size, so this will help expand the lineup with a larger option. I haven’t yet decided on the final design, but the side panels will probably feature a combination of two or three different kinds of natural wood.
Have a nice weekend! 😄
However, since I had a bit of extra time, I made and attached the top and bottom panels for the checkered yosegi design type only. There were just 14 boxes, so it didn’t take long. I’ll keep them as they are until I can attach the panels for the remaining 14 natural wood type boxes.
And today, I also went ahead and made the sliding key panels, which are the next step in the process. So for now, I’ve just made the panels themselves. It’s often better to make panels in advance and let them rest for a while, because freshly made panels tend to warp a little, so it’s not ideal to attach them right away—though it really depends on the case. However, since this time I’m also making the natural wood type, I thought it would be better to prepare them early. Solid wood panels are generally less stable than panels with yosegi sheets.
After that, I prepared the other materials for the hexagonal boxes. Yesterday, I finished preparing the top, bottom, and side panels (though I haven’t attached the yosegi sheets yet), so today I worked on the materials for the shaft section and the sliding Aruki panels. I only planed them down to the correct thickness today. The photo shows those two types of materials—enough for about fifty boxes this time. For some other puzzle boxes, I can make just the core parts first, but with the hexagonal type, they have to be made to match the top and bottom panels, so I can’t do that yet. I’ve never tried making them separately, but the core panels don’t have any fixed dimensions—they simply serve as structural supports for the hexagonal shape. The only set measurement is the height; everything else is adjusted to fit the grooves and size of the specific top and bottom hexagonal panels being made. It’s one of the unique challenges of this shape—if the size of the hexagon changes even slightly, the lengths of the inner core parts also change quite a bit. So each time, I make them to fit that particular hexagonal structure.
After finishing the hexagonal puzzle boxes, or possibly I might make them in parallel with those, I’m planning to make a small batch of 6-sun boxes — about twelve in total. These will be natural wood types rather than the traditional yosegi design. Due to a few reasons, this batch will be limited to around twelve pieces. For now, I plan to make them as 14-steps boxes. The largest boxes I currently sell are 5-sun size, so this will help expand the lineup with a larger option. I haven’t yet decided on the final design, but the side panels will probably feature a combination of two or three different kinds of natural wood.
Have a nice weekend! 😄