It was another nice day today. It seems that a little rain fell last night, because when I arrived at the workshop there were puddles on the road. By the evening, they had completely disappeared. Recently, for personal reasons, I have been coming to the workshop on Saturdays as usual.
So today I worked as usual. First, I finished the final preparation work for the 10-steps Mame puzzle boxes that I managed to assemble yesterday. This means rounding the corners of the boxes and then sanding them with sandpaper. Since there were quite a few pieces, it took some time, but I was able to complete it successfully. After that, so that I could do the gluing work later if I had time, I also made the top and bottom panels for the 3-sun 12-steps puzzle boxes that I am making at the same time.
In the afternoon, I started the coating work for the Mame puzzle boxes. I do not write much about the coating process in my weekday blog, but all of it is done here in my workshop. Today, as shown in the photo, I was coating the Mame puzzle boxes. In this region, the traditional system of specialized work is still common. There are still professional coating workshops. Most woodworking shops finish making their products and then take them to one of several coating workshops to have a clear finish applied. Usually, after about one or two weeks, the coated products are returned to the maker. I also used to take my puzzle boxes to those coating workshops for many years. However, now I no longer do that.
In most cases, the coating is done by spray finishing. Otherwise, it would be difficult to coat many boxes at once. The finish is also usually cleaner than applying it with a brush. I already knew the basic method of coating, but coating puzzle boxes was still a process of trial and error. It took many years and many mistakes before I was finally able to reach the level I have now. At first, I coated the Mame puzzle boxes myself and took the other boxes to a professional coating workshop. Gradually, however, I began doing all of the coating work myself.
Doing the coating work myself means more time and effort, and the production volume becomes lower. Coating takes a lot of work. That is also one of the reasons why many workshops ask outside companies to do it. The reason I began doing it myself is that problems often occurred while the puzzle boxes were at the coating workshop. After the assembly is finished and before the coating is applied, the puzzle boxes are in their most delicate condition. Because of that, the undercoat should be applied as soon as possible. However, in most cases, the timing of the coating depends on the schedule of the coating workshop. Sometimes the boxes may be left there for more than a week. Since this happened repeatedly, I gradually began doing the coating myself. In the end, leaving the final finishing work to someone else is very difficult. It does not always turn out the way you expect.
However, large-scale spray coating requires special equipment called a spray booth. When the coating is sprayed, a large ventilation fan pulls in the excess paint and releases it outside. In fact, such equipment is required by law. Fortunately, the workshop I am using now was originally a coating workshop. Because of that, this kind of coating equipment was already installed here. There is also one other Himitsu-bako craftsman who, for similar reasons, does the coating work in his own workshop. It is true that my production volume has decreased, but I enjoy the coating work, so I would like to continue doing it while improving through trial and error.
