27-steps vs. 36-steps mechanisms
Today was a cold day, though not as cold as yesterday. The weather is sunny, so the air is very dry. I stayed in my workshop all day and worked on several tasks.
I finished attaching the outside panels of the hexagonal box that I had been working on little by little. I completed this in the morning. If possible, I plan to do the finishing work tomorrow.
In the afternoon, I made the frame parts for a 5-sun 36-steps puzzle box, like in the photo. The photo shows the left and right side panels, and two kinds of axle panels. These parts are exactly the same as the ones for the 27-steps boxes. The grooves on the side panels are also cut in the same place as the 27-steps boxes, about 8.5 mm from the edge of the panel. This means the thickness of the Aruki moving panels is 8.5 mm.
So the assembly process is the same as the 27-steps boxes. At this stage, I can even change it into a 27-steps box if I want π After the frame is put together, the work changes to the special method used only for the 36-steps mechanism. The next step is to attach the internal parts. These parts are placed on the left and right sides inside the sliding keys, so the number of parts I need is doubled. This part of the work can be a little confusing.
For puzzle boxes where only one sliding key is attached to each panel (about up to the 27-steps mechanism), the mechanism moves from left to right. But boxes with four or eight sliding keys also have a mechanism that moves from right to left. Because of this, I have to attach the internal parts in the opposite direction as well. Until now, I mostly attached the parts only on one side (for the left-to-right direction), so adding them in the opposite direction too makes me a little confused π . Well, this time I plan to make it as a 36-steps mechanism as originally planned.
The mornings and evenings have become very cold, so I try not to use machines during those times. Instead, I do assembly work and other quiet tasks. It is now 5 p.m., and I have been working on assembling the frames of 36-steps box since a little while ago. In our area, we are now in the season when the days are very short. The sun goes down behind the mountains at around 4:30 p.m. So it is already dark outside now. As we move into December and January, the sunrise will be later, but the sunset will also become later. This means the evenings will stay bright a little longer. But it is only about 30 minutes more...
I am starting to think it may be time to use the kerosene heater in my workshop.
I finished attaching the outside panels of the hexagonal box that I had been working on little by little. I completed this in the morning. If possible, I plan to do the finishing work tomorrow.
In the afternoon, I made the frame parts for a 5-sun 36-steps puzzle box, like in the photo. The photo shows the left and right side panels, and two kinds of axle panels. These parts are exactly the same as the ones for the 27-steps boxes. The grooves on the side panels are also cut in the same place as the 27-steps boxes, about 8.5 mm from the edge of the panel. This means the thickness of the Aruki moving panels is 8.5 mm.
So the assembly process is the same as the 27-steps boxes. At this stage, I can even change it into a 27-steps box if I want π After the frame is put together, the work changes to the special method used only for the 36-steps mechanism. The next step is to attach the internal parts. These parts are placed on the left and right sides inside the sliding keys, so the number of parts I need is doubled. This part of the work can be a little confusing.
For puzzle boxes where only one sliding key is attached to each panel (about up to the 27-steps mechanism), the mechanism moves from left to right. But boxes with four or eight sliding keys also have a mechanism that moves from right to left. Because of this, I have to attach the internal parts in the opposite direction as well. Until now, I mostly attached the parts only on one side (for the left-to-right direction), so adding them in the opposite direction too makes me a little confused π . Well, this time I plan to make it as a 36-steps mechanism as originally planned.
The mornings and evenings have become very cold, so I try not to use machines during those times. Instead, I do assembly work and other quiet tasks. It is now 5 p.m., and I have been working on assembling the frames of 36-steps box since a little while ago. In our area, we are now in the season when the days are very short. The sun goes down behind the mountains at around 4:30 p.m. So it is already dark outside now. As we move into December and January, the sunrise will be later, but the sunset will also become later. This means the evenings will stay bright a little longer. But it is only about 30 minutes more...
I am starting to think it may be time to use the kerosene heater in my workshop.