Movement Distance and Box Size
It was sunny again from the morning, and it felt quite warm today. I know I shouldn’t complain, but after so many sunny days in a row, I’m starting to feel a little tired. Before this, we had quite a long stretch of rainy weather. Maybe my body is having trouble keeping up with the change because I’m getting older!..Haha😅 Luckily, the weekend is here, so I should be able to get some rest.
I started today with the finishing work on the 5-sun puzzle boxes. I am making two different designs this time, but both use Yosegi sheets rather than solid wood, so I can finish them in the same way. A few areas of the Yosegi sheets needed some small repairs, so the work ended up taking the whole morning. I was a little worried because of the weather, but I was able to finish everything without any problems. I’m glad I chose the right days to attach the panels. If I had attached them on a rainy day and then finished them on a sunny day like today, the panels could have warped very quickly. So this stretch of sunny weather may have worked in my favor. When I apply the finish to the boxes next, I plan to coat the drawer lid panels at the same time.
After that, I worked on the Aruki panels for the 3-sun 18-steps puzzle boxes. The photo shows these panels. The 18-steps mechanism is fairly simple, with just three levels cut into the 6.5 mm thick Aruki panels. This allows a good amount of movement with each step and makes the panels easier to make. Since this mechanism is used in a small 3-sun box, each movement feels quite large compared with the size of the box. Each step moves 2.3 mm, which feels like a noticeable amount on a box this small. For comparison, each step on my 27-steps boxes moves 2.2 mm. This may feel fine on a 4-sun box, but on a larger 5-sun box, the same movement can feel rather small. You might wonder why I don’t change these measurements to suit each box size. However, because of the materials available and the need to keep production efficient, changing them for each size is not very practical. For example, I use 6.5 mm thick Aruki panels with 2.3 mm of movement per step for the 18-steps mechanism, regardless of the box size. My other mechanisms also have their own standard measurements. This time, I am making the 18-steps mechanism in a 3-sun box. If I used it in a 4-sun box, the same 2.3 mm movement would probably not feel as large. I remember once thinking about making this 18-steps mechanism using parts for the 21-steps mechanism. This time, though, I used the usual parts that I am familiar with, as I didn’t have enough time to try something new. So the mechanism has two points where the sliding keys need to move back in the opposite direction.
Have a great weekend!
I started today with the finishing work on the 5-sun puzzle boxes. I am making two different designs this time, but both use Yosegi sheets rather than solid wood, so I can finish them in the same way. A few areas of the Yosegi sheets needed some small repairs, so the work ended up taking the whole morning. I was a little worried because of the weather, but I was able to finish everything without any problems. I’m glad I chose the right days to attach the panels. If I had attached them on a rainy day and then finished them on a sunny day like today, the panels could have warped very quickly. So this stretch of sunny weather may have worked in my favor. When I apply the finish to the boxes next, I plan to coat the drawer lid panels at the same time.
After that, I worked on the Aruki panels for the 3-sun 18-steps puzzle boxes. The photo shows these panels. The 18-steps mechanism is fairly simple, with just three levels cut into the 6.5 mm thick Aruki panels. This allows a good amount of movement with each step and makes the panels easier to make. Since this mechanism is used in a small 3-sun box, each movement feels quite large compared with the size of the box. Each step moves 2.3 mm, which feels like a noticeable amount on a box this small. For comparison, each step on my 27-steps boxes moves 2.2 mm. This may feel fine on a 4-sun box, but on a larger 5-sun box, the same movement can feel rather small. You might wonder why I don’t change these measurements to suit each box size. However, because of the materials available and the need to keep production efficient, changing them for each size is not very practical. For example, I use 6.5 mm thick Aruki panels with 2.3 mm of movement per step for the 18-steps mechanism, regardless of the box size. My other mechanisms also have their own standard measurements. This time, I am making the 18-steps mechanism in a 3-sun box. If I used it in a 4-sun box, the same 2.3 mm movement would probably not feel as large. I remember once thinking about making this 18-steps mechanism using parts for the 21-steps mechanism. This time, though, I used the usual parts that I am familiar with, as I didn’t have enough time to try something new. So the mechanism has two points where the sliding keys need to move back in the opposite direction.
Have a great weekend!