Choosing Material Length
A new week has started again today. It was cloudy from the morning, and the heat from the past few days has calmed down a little. The unusual heat for this time of year over the last couple of days was often mentioned in the news. Today, I continued from last week and attached the sliding key panel to the 4-sun boxes. The top and bottom panels are already attached, and the sliding key panels themselves are already made. I attached the small internal wooden parts to the box, carefully made the surface completely flat, and then did the attachment. Today, I worked on one side first. I plan to attach the other side tomorrow.
After finishing attaching the panels, I prepared the side panels for the next project, which is the 3-sun boxes. This time, I plan to make 60 boxes, so I attached enough material for that amount. In this case, I prepared 30 panels. The reason is that from one panel, I can get four side panels for 3-sun boxes. So, 30 panels will give 120 pieces. Since each box needs one panel on each long side, this is enough for 60 boxes. Like this, many parts of puzzle boxes are first made together as one larger piece, and then cut into smaller parts later. This can be seen as a method for efficient production. If I prepare each panel one by one and then cut grooves or make steps individually, it would take a lot of time and could reduce accuracy. So instead, I do the detailed work while the material is still in a longer board. For this 3-sun box, I prepare a board of about 33 or 34 cm. From this one board, I can take four panels for the long sides and five panels for the short sides (sliding key panels). In this way, I find a good length that can be used efficiently for both directions and continue the work.
I had something to do in the evening today, so I closed my workshop a bit early and went out. The busyness of the new school and business year in April has settled down a little, and the cherry blossom season has also ended, so it feels like the traffic on the roads has become calmer again.
After finishing attaching the panels, I prepared the side panels for the next project, which is the 3-sun boxes. This time, I plan to make 60 boxes, so I attached enough material for that amount. In this case, I prepared 30 panels. The reason is that from one panel, I can get four side panels for 3-sun boxes. So, 30 panels will give 120 pieces. Since each box needs one panel on each long side, this is enough for 60 boxes. Like this, many parts of puzzle boxes are first made together as one larger piece, and then cut into smaller parts later. This can be seen as a method for efficient production. If I prepare each panel one by one and then cut grooves or make steps individually, it would take a lot of time and could reduce accuracy. So instead, I do the detailed work while the material is still in a longer board. For this 3-sun box, I prepare a board of about 33 or 34 cm. From this one board, I can take four panels for the long sides and five panels for the short sides (sliding key panels). In this way, I find a good length that can be used efficiently for both directions and continue the work.
I had something to do in the evening today, so I closed my workshop a bit early and went out. The busyness of the new school and business year in April has settled down a little, and the cherry blossom season has also ended, so it feels like the traffic on the roads has become calmer again.