What Is Needed for Production
Today is Monday, but it is a national holiday in Japan. It is called Marine Day and is a relatively new holiday that was established in 1996. Students are now on summer vacation, and today is a very hot day that truly feels like summer.
I am currently making Mame puzzle boxes. I plan to make another type of Mame puzzle box after this, so it will be the first time in a while that I have made two Mame puzzle box batches in a row. I am now attaching the top and bottom panels. They are fitted into the shape of the one-piece box body. Adjusting the width by such a small amount is very difficult and requires delicate work. The fit of these panels also affects how the mechanism moves. In the end, I cannot know the exact stiffness until the box is completed, but at this stage, it seems best to fit the panels slightly tight.
Since Mame puzzle boxes use only sliding panels and have no sliding key, the panels naturally move freely during production. Therefore, when attaching the outer yosegi panels, it is very important that the inner Aruki sliding panels are in the correct positions for the mechanism. For other puzzle boxes, different craftsmen use different methods. Some of these methods can be useful as references, while in other cases I use my own approach. However, when I first started making Mame puzzle boxes, no one else was making them, so the production method became completely my own. I went through a great deal of trial and error to decide how to attach these panels. I developed and now use a faster and more efficient method while maintaining accuracy. I still continue to experiment with puzzle box production and sometimes change my methods. However, I have not changed the method used for these Mame puzzle boxes for quite some time. At present, I believe it is the most efficient method. These boxes have the smallest movement range of any of my mechanisms and require extremely high accuracy. It is possible to make one box carefully, but many techniques are needed to produce a large number with the same accuracy and within a limited amount of time. This work requires not only skill, but also a great deal of patience.
I am currently making Mame puzzle boxes. I plan to make another type of Mame puzzle box after this, so it will be the first time in a while that I have made two Mame puzzle box batches in a row. I am now attaching the top and bottom panels. They are fitted into the shape of the one-piece box body. Adjusting the width by such a small amount is very difficult and requires delicate work. The fit of these panels also affects how the mechanism moves. In the end, I cannot know the exact stiffness until the box is completed, but at this stage, it seems best to fit the panels slightly tight.
Since Mame puzzle boxes use only sliding panels and have no sliding key, the panels naturally move freely during production. Therefore, when attaching the outer yosegi panels, it is very important that the inner Aruki sliding panels are in the correct positions for the mechanism. For other puzzle boxes, different craftsmen use different methods. Some of these methods can be useful as references, while in other cases I use my own approach. However, when I first started making Mame puzzle boxes, no one else was making them, so the production method became completely my own. I went through a great deal of trial and error to decide how to attach these panels. I developed and now use a faster and more efficient method while maintaining accuracy. I still continue to experiment with puzzle box production and sometimes change my methods. However, I have not changed the method used for these Mame puzzle boxes for quite some time. At present, I believe it is the most efficient method. These boxes have the smallest movement range of any of my mechanisms and require extremely high accuracy. It is possible to make one box carefully, but many techniques are needed to produce a large number with the same accuracy and within a limited amount of time. This work requires not only skill, but also a great deal of patience.