Today was another warm day, like yesterday, and it felt a bit hot. It’s good weather for working, but if it gets much hotter, it might become difficult 😅 I made progress on several tasks again today. The panel attaching work for the hexagonal boxes, which I’ve been doing slowly, is not finished yet, but it’s getting close. I’m planning to complete it next week.
Today, I mainly worked on the 5-sun drawer boxes. I prepared all the materials and shaved them down to the required thickness, so now it feels like everything is ready to start building. However, I still haven’t prepared the traditional yosegi panel for the top, for the reason I mentioned yesterday 🤣 Using those materials, today I worked on the preparation of the side panels, the axis panels, and the top Aruki sliding panels. In the photo, you can see the side panels, the axis panels, and behind them the top Aruki panels before assembly. The axis panels are already finished. As I mentioned before, I often make the axis panels first and then wait until the side panels are ready before starting the assembly. The side panels are made by joining two boards and pressing them with clamps, so I will leave them like this for a few days. This helps them become more stable. Since they are for a 5-sun size box and are relatively large, they tend to warp, so this step is important. The top Aruki panel is made from three parts. Some of you may know this method—it is called “hashibami.” By combining pieces instead of using a single board, it helps prevent warping. Also, since this is a box with a drawer, it needs an internal divider panel. This panel separates the upper and lower spaces inside the box and fits into the groove you can see in the center of the side panels in the photo. I haven’t made it yet, so I need to prepare it soon!
This time as well, I will use MDF board for the top panels and the internal divider. It is easy to work with and stable against changes in humidity and temperature. Since climates differ from country to country—and even within regions—expansion and warping of panels can greatly affect how the mechanism works. In that sense, drawer-style boxes may be more durable, as they have an internal divider panel. It’s like having an internal support post inside the box.I often feel that when I look at older drawer-style Japanese puzzle boxes.
I hope you have a great weekend 😊
