Side panel bonding points
It was sunny from the morning today ☀️, and the weather felt perfect for the New Year. People could see the first sunrise of the year in many places. In the afternoon, I went to my workshop and took care of a few errands and some work. The roads, which were crowded at the end of the year, were very quiet today. This may be because not many shops are open today. However, in recent years, I feel that more shops are open on January 1, especially supermarkets. Instead, many shops seem to close early at the end of the year. Yesterday, on my way home from the workshop, it was not very late, but many restaurants and other places were already closed.
At the beginning of this month, I will make 4-sun 14-steps puzzle boxes. I have already finished only the preparation of the side panels. The photo shows the process of gluing these parts together. This preparation means bonding the double-layer side panels of the puzzle boxes in advance, before the final assembly. Each side panel has an outer yosegi panel and an inner structural panel, and these two parts are glued together first. After that, pressure is applied using clamps. By doing this, I can keep the side panels flat, which is a very important point. Side panels are one of the parts that bend easily in the structure of puzzle boxes, so they must be as flat as possible. Of course, I carefully choose straight-grain agathis wood, but even so, the panels can still bend because of many different factors.
One of the reasons for bending is that the wood bends when glue is applied. Glue is water-based, so when it touches the wood, it is the same as adding moisture. The glued area absorbs moisture and swells. This cannot be avoided, so it is necessary to understand this and control it. One way to deal with this is not to use too much glue. This is something that applies to many situations in making puzzle boxes. It is best to keep the amount to the minimum. Whether a lot of glue is used or only the necessary points are glued, the strength does not change very much. However, choosing the correct points to glue is very important and also very difficult. Through many failures, I have learned where the best bonding points are. When gluing the side panels this time, I am bonding two boards together. If glue is applied over the entire surface, the boards will bend a lot, so I keep the glue to the minimum needed. Then, I apply pressure with clamps as quickly as possible.
At the beginning of this month, I will make 4-sun 14-steps puzzle boxes. I have already finished only the preparation of the side panels. The photo shows the process of gluing these parts together. This preparation means bonding the double-layer side panels of the puzzle boxes in advance, before the final assembly. Each side panel has an outer yosegi panel and an inner structural panel, and these two parts are glued together first. After that, pressure is applied using clamps. By doing this, I can keep the side panels flat, which is a very important point. Side panels are one of the parts that bend easily in the structure of puzzle boxes, so they must be as flat as possible. Of course, I carefully choose straight-grain agathis wood, but even so, the panels can still bend because of many different factors.
One of the reasons for bending is that the wood bends when glue is applied. Glue is water-based, so when it touches the wood, it is the same as adding moisture. The glued area absorbs moisture and swells. This cannot be avoided, so it is necessary to understand this and control it. One way to deal with this is not to use too much glue. This is something that applies to many situations in making puzzle boxes. It is best to keep the amount to the minimum. Whether a lot of glue is used or only the necessary points are glued, the strength does not change very much. However, choosing the correct points to glue is very important and also very difficult. Through many failures, I have learned where the best bonding points are. When gluing the side panels this time, I am bonding two boards together. If glue is applied over the entire surface, the boards will bend a lot, so I keep the glue to the minimum needed. Then, I apply pressure with clamps as quickly as possible.