02-Apr-2025
It’s been raining since this morning again. This morning, I started working on the Aruki panels for the 3-sun 18-steps puzzle box. The thickness is 6.5 mm, which is the same as the panels used for the 4-sun 14-steps box. But since these panels are smaller, they’re easier to make. Also, because they’re slightly thick for this size, they feel stable. The thickness and size make the mechanism move smoothly.
While I was working on those steps, the weather suddenly cleared up and it became quite warm. By around noon, the humidity had also dropped, and I thought, “Now I can probably do the assembly too!”So, I quickly started attaching the freshly made Aruki panels to the frames. The 3-sun box is usually made with a slightly looser fit, so assembling the Aruki panels isn’t too difficult—as long as everything is made well. If the Aruki panels fit the frame just right, the assembly goes smoothly. Luckily, things went pretty smoothly today too.
Since the assembly finished earlier than I expected, I decided to go ahead and attach the top and bottom panels as well. I had some free time today since I didn’t have any plans to go out.
For the 18-steps mechanism, the top and bottom panels are attached one at a time (it’s not possible to attach both sides at once). This time, I’m making about 40 boxes — half of them will have a Ichimatsu (checkered) pattern, and the other half will feature traditional Yosegi designs.
The panels for this 18-steps mechanism are shaved into a sharp angle at the tip, like this. that’s because, after the first Aruki moves, the top panel needs to move next. However, at that point, the available space is still very small. So the tip of the panel is made thinner on purpose, allowing it to move through the narrow gap. (It’s a bit hard to explain, but I hope that makes sense!) The gap where the top panel moves is even narrower in the 27-steps mechanism than in the 18-steps one, so the panel needs to be shaved even thinner.
So, the 3-sun 18-steps boxes are now finished up to the point where the top and bottom panels are attached. I haven’t decided yet which process I’ll work on tomorrow, but I’m thinking of making some progress on the knock box as well.
