22-Jul-2025
Since yesterday, the real summer heat has arrived—it definitely feels like summer now! 😄
Today, I worked on making the Aruki panels (moving panels) for the square box I recently started. This version has a 12-step mechanism, and I feel that 12 steps really suit this box.
The structure is based on a 4-sun box, but its overall length is actually a little smaller than a typical 3-sun box. Because of that, I think customers won’t see it as a very large or high-priced box, so I’d like to offer it at a more affordable price.
Actually, there’s not a big difference between a 12-step and a 14-step mechanism—just two extra steps. But from the maker’s side, adding just one more part can be a bit of trouble. It’s not so much the number of steps, but the difficulty of attaching that one specific part. It’s a slightly tricky piece to attach.
That’s why, for me, making the 12-step version is much easier. The same goes for the Aruki panels—those for the 14-step version require more careful attention during the process. Once finished, both versions look exactly the same on the outside, but there are small differences on the inside.
So when I want to offer something at a lower price, I personally prefer the 12-step version because it’s easier and smoother to make. I guess you could say that’s one of the “behind-the-scenes” reasons for my choice 😄
After that, I worked on attaching inside parts and the Aruki panels I had just made. Since the afternoon was really hot, I did the rest of the work sitting in the air-conditioned room.
Also, I filmed a short video of the square-type knock box I made recently. It’s a simple video showing how to open it, but since this box works a bit differently from my usual ones, I thought it might be helpful as a reference in case someone gets stuck trying to open it 😄
