05-Sep-2024
I am currently working on the production of a 4-sun 27-step Himitsubako for the Hakone market. However, I also plan to add a few original designs to these boxes, which will be sold on my website. I have already finished applying the panels to the 6-sun 54-step Himitsubako, but I’ve postponed the undercoating for a day to focus on the 27-step Himitsubako. There’s a delivery deadline (though not strict), so I feel more at ease by making progress on this project😅 The 54-step box is securely fastened with rubber bands and placed in a humidity-controlled case.
Today, I am working on the framework and attaching small internal parts for the 27-step Himitsubako. One of the parts, the “axis,” is sometimes made from different types of wood. I currently have a lot of Karin wood, which is a high-quality material, but I haven’t found much use for it because it’s so hard. While it’s not suitable for most parts of the Himitsubako, I thought about using it for the axis, as it needs to be strong, and the hardness of Karin wood fits that requirement.
However, there is one drawback: Karin wood doesn’t bond well with glue. When I made the 27-step Himitsubako before using Karin wood for the axis, the box broke while with an overseas dealer. Although the breakage was partly due to the strong impact it received, the adhesive bond between the Karin axis and the frame’s side panel(agathis wood) wasn’t strong enough. Because of this, I decided to make the entire framework out of Agathis wood when creating boxes with more than 18-step mechanism. In boxes with up to 14-step, the frame is reinforced by being glued to the bottom panel, but in boxes with 18-step or more, the bottom panel moves as part of the mechanism and isn’t fixed, so the box is supported solely by the axis and the side panels.
I mentioned earlier that I plan to add a few of my own designs to the current lot of boxes, and I’m still deciding what those designs will be. I have some solid yosegi in stock, so I’m thinking about embedding those into the boxes. The solid yosegi will be embedded into the natural wood panels. While the embedding process might take a little extra time and could impact the delivery schedule, I don’t expect any issues since I won’t be making many. I’ll be sure to share them here once they’re ready!😄
