Keeping Both Sides Even
Today started with very heavy rain. It seems that the autumn rain front, which brings long periods of rain at this time of year, has been staying over Japan. It has been raining a lot lately, and there have already been some areas affected by flooding and other water-related damage, so people are being warned to be careful. Friday is garbage collection day in the area around my workshop, so I had to put on my rain boots just to take out the garbage this morning!😅 That’s how heavy the rain was.
Although it was still raining, I used the dehumidifier and worked on the Aruki panels for the 5-sun 36-step puzzle boxes. I didn’t want to risk attaching them in this weather, so I only made the panels today. Making these panels takes a little time, so yesterday I had already done some of the work in advance, including the stepped machining and cutting them to the correct width. So today, I worked on the lower leg sections and cut the notches for the sliding keys. One feature of these Aruki panels, as you can see in the photo, is the two notches for the sliding keys in the side Aruki panel. This means that this box has two sliding keys on one side. So, for example, a 54-step puzzle box with four sliding keys on one side would have four of these notches in the panel. As you can see in the photo, even with just two sliding key notches, quite a lot of the panel has already been cut away. If there were four, another two notches would have to be cut below these two, making the remaining area of the panel even smaller. This shows why larger panels are better when making puzzle boxes with a high number of steps and two or four sliding keys on each side. With a 5-sun box, having four sliding keys on one side makes me a little concerned about the strength of the panel. This is why many puzzle boxes with a high number of steps are made in larger sizes, such as 6-sun (about 18 cm / 7.1 inches) or 7-sun (about 21 cm / 8.3 inches). At those sizes, the side Aruki panels are also larger, which gives them more strength.
Another thing I pay attention to when making a panel with these two notches is keeping the two sliding keys even. Since these sliding keys move in the same way, their movement and the distance they travel should also be the same. Otherwise, their movement can look a little uneven. So not only do the two notches need to have the same depth, but the starting positions of the small wooden pieces inside, called Bocchi, that are attached at these notches also need to be even. If they are not, the two sliding keys will travel different distances when they move from side to side, and the movement will not look as smooth and balanced as it should. I use a machine to make these notches, and for work like this, the accuracy of the machine is very helpful. However, the final assembly is still done by hand, so I need to keep checking everything carefully as I work.
Have a great weekend!😊
Although it was still raining, I used the dehumidifier and worked on the Aruki panels for the 5-sun 36-step puzzle boxes. I didn’t want to risk attaching them in this weather, so I only made the panels today. Making these panels takes a little time, so yesterday I had already done some of the work in advance, including the stepped machining and cutting them to the correct width. So today, I worked on the lower leg sections and cut the notches for the sliding keys. One feature of these Aruki panels, as you can see in the photo, is the two notches for the sliding keys in the side Aruki panel. This means that this box has two sliding keys on one side. So, for example, a 54-step puzzle box with four sliding keys on one side would have four of these notches in the panel. As you can see in the photo, even with just two sliding key notches, quite a lot of the panel has already been cut away. If there were four, another two notches would have to be cut below these two, making the remaining area of the panel even smaller. This shows why larger panels are better when making puzzle boxes with a high number of steps and two or four sliding keys on each side. With a 5-sun box, having four sliding keys on one side makes me a little concerned about the strength of the panel. This is why many puzzle boxes with a high number of steps are made in larger sizes, such as 6-sun (about 18 cm / 7.1 inches) or 7-sun (about 21 cm / 8.3 inches). At those sizes, the side Aruki panels are also larger, which gives them more strength.
Another thing I pay attention to when making a panel with these two notches is keeping the two sliding keys even. Since these sliding keys move in the same way, their movement and the distance they travel should also be the same. Otherwise, their movement can look a little uneven. So not only do the two notches need to have the same depth, but the starting positions of the small wooden pieces inside, called Bocchi, that are attached at these notches also need to be even. If they are not, the two sliding keys will travel different distances when they move from side to side, and the movement will not look as smooth and balanced as it should. I use a machine to make these notches, and for work like this, the accuracy of the machine is very helpful. However, the final assembly is still done by hand, so I need to keep checking everything carefully as I work.
Have a great weekend!😊