13-Nov-2024
Today, I was out for most of the day, so I didn’t make much progress on my work…and It was quite hot today with temperatures exceeding 20 degrees Celsius 😂, which is unusual for November. Normally in Japan, November marks the deeper part of autumn with hints of winter approaching, and temperatures typically reach only about 15 degrees at most.
Today, I did manage to assemble the frame and attach parts for the 3-sun 12-step puzzle box (photo). Traditional Yosegi sheets are few stock, but I decided to make a few traditional Yosegi-style boxes this time.
The side panels for this box are crafted from North American walnut wood. Walnut is a slightly harder wood and isn’t generally ideal for puzzle boxes, but its deep, rich color gives it a heavy, elegant feel that many people like. To prevent warping, it’s important to select pieces with the best, straight grain. Fortunately, smaller 3-sun boxes are less prone to this issue, which is why I often use walnut for them. Another notable feature of walnut is that its dark tone beautifully accentuates the colors in Yosegi marquetry. This time, I plan to use walnut for both the solid top panels and the Yosegi-decorated top and side panels.
The Yosegi sheet with the Ichimatsu checkered pattern I mentioned yesterday is used to create puzzle boxes like the one in the photo—the 3-sun cube 14-step. The Yosegi sheet for this box is about 10 cm wide, which matches the vertical length of the 3-sun box. By cutting this sheet to match the width of the top panel on the 3-sun box, it becomes the perfect top panel. This means I can continue using this Yosegi sheet to create future 3-sun 12-step boxes with the Ichimatsu and walnut design. In fact, this 3-sun box with the Ichimatsu pattern is quite popular, and I had hoped to continue making it. However, I had to pause production for a while because we ran out of Ichimatsu Yosegi sheets. Fortunately, this approach will allow me to keep making these boxes😄
Today, I also performed the final quality check on the triangular puzzle box. It looks like everything is in order, so I should be able to deliver it without any issues. I’ll be out tomorrow morning as well, so the delivery will likely be in the afternoon😊
