Making random wood grain panels
A new week has begun again today. A warm south wind was blowing, and the temperature rose quite high. In the area where my workshop is located, it reached 23°C during the day, and it even felt hot. Perhaps it is the effect of climate change, but there do seem to be more warm days throughout the year. Today is a national holiday in Japan, but I worked in the workshop as usual. I finally completed the assembly of the 4-sun 27-steps puzzle boxes that I have been working on, so today I focused on finishing them. I was able to move them safely on to the base coating stage. It rained a little in the morning, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to begin. However, after the rain stopped, it suddenly became quite warm, and I felt a bit rushed. Fortunately, I was able to finish the work before the weather had any negative effect on the boxes.
After that, I had some extra time, so I started making the Aruki panels for the 4-sun 14-steps puzzle boxes. As I wrote before, I am making only 20 of these boxes in order to use the leftover Aruki panels. The Aruki panels for the side sliding key sections were already finished, and I made the frame to match them. This is not an easy process, but when I made the shaft panels, I cut them about 0.1 mm shorter so that the Aruki panels would fit slightly tightly. It seems that this decision was correct. When I installed the Aruki panels today, they were a little tight, and with some light adjustment, I was able to fit them properly. If they had been loose, it would have been much more difficult, so I was relieved. For the top panel, I made new Aruki panels. After attaching all of them, I completed today’s process for these boxes.
I also made several “random wood grain” panels for this box. This time, I will make only four of them. The other sixteen boxes will have traditional yosegi panels on the top and bottom. For this random wood grain version, the top panel will have three different tones, similar to the ones I made last year. I am using teak, wenge, walnut, makore, and sen wood. For the bottom panel, I combined two of these woods. Making these veneer sheets takes quite a bit of time and effort, but once they are finished, they have a very nice look, so the process is enjoyable. The last ones I made last year were the two-tone square boxes, if I remember correctly. I am happy to say that they all sold out. If I have the opportunity, I would like to continue making them in the future 😊
After that, I had some extra time, so I started making the Aruki panels for the 4-sun 14-steps puzzle boxes. As I wrote before, I am making only 20 of these boxes in order to use the leftover Aruki panels. The Aruki panels for the side sliding key sections were already finished, and I made the frame to match them. This is not an easy process, but when I made the shaft panels, I cut them about 0.1 mm shorter so that the Aruki panels would fit slightly tightly. It seems that this decision was correct. When I installed the Aruki panels today, they were a little tight, and with some light adjustment, I was able to fit them properly. If they had been loose, it would have been much more difficult, so I was relieved. For the top panel, I made new Aruki panels. After attaching all of them, I completed today’s process for these boxes.
I also made several “random wood grain” panels for this box. This time, I will make only four of them. The other sixteen boxes will have traditional yosegi panels on the top and bottom. For this random wood grain version, the top panel will have three different tones, similar to the ones I made last year. I am using teak, wenge, walnut, makore, and sen wood. For the bottom panel, I combined two of these woods. Making these veneer sheets takes quite a bit of time and effort, but once they are finished, they have a very nice look, so the process is enjoyable. The last ones I made last year were the two-tone square boxes, if I remember correctly. I am happy to say that they all sold out. If I have the opportunity, I would like to continue making them in the future 😊