06-Aug-2024
As my next new work, I have started making 4-sun 27-step Japanese puzzle boxes. Today, I prepared the necessary wood and roughly cut it. This time, I am making about 30 pieces of a single design. While I will sell these in this online-shop, I hope to wholesale most of them to overseas stores. This is because I haven’t made 27-step mechanisms recently, and I’ve been receiving frequent requests for this type of box. This time, I am only using natural wood designs, and I hope they become popular.
The 27-step mechanism is a popular box. It might be the most popular among the 4-sun size boxes. This is because while the 10, 14, or 21-step boxes are standard and widely sold in the 4-sun size, the 27-step mechanism is not commonly sold. I heard this from a supplier in Hakone. It is possible to make boxes with even more moves, perhaps 30 or 33-step, but in the current 4-sun size, the internal space of the box would become too small, weakening the box’s strength (specifically, the bonding area between the axis and the side panels of the structure would be reduced). If I were to make such a box, I think it would be possible if I increased the box’s height by about 5 millimeters. Writing about this, I thought I might try making it, ha ha 😄
As shown in the photo, these are the natural wood lid panels I am using this time. They are stacked in an ‘igeta’ formation to dry. The designs are made ofKeyaki, Purpleheart, Magnolia (Hoo), and Hinoki wood. It’s a coincidence, but these are the same types of wood as the natural wood mentioned in yesterday’s article. This time, I am thinking of reinforcing the lids by attaching MDF board underneath them. As I did before with a square shape puzzle box, I will layer two sheets (photos). I believe this will further reduce the shrinkage of the lids. Since this is a 27-step mechanism, both the top and bottom panels move as part of the mechanism and are not fixed to the main body of the box, making the panels more prone to shrinkage. I will write about this puzzle box again.
