17-Apr-2025
As planned, today was a full workday. First, I attached the ichimatsu pattern panels to the side Aruki (moving panels) sections of the knock box, which I’ve been working on for quite a while. This process is done in the same way as with a regular puzzle box. I first prepare the surfaces of the box, then attach the slightly oversized ichimatsu panels. Since this box doesn’t have any sliding keys (Kannuki), I thought I could attach both side panels at the same time, just like I usually do. However, when I tried to secure them with rubber bands, I realized I couldn’t press down evenly on the outermost panel. So, after attaching a few, I quickly stopped and decided to switch to attaching one side at a time instead. I started gluing the first side in the morning, so I plan to glue the second side at the end of today’s work, in the evening, before heading home.
After that, I started my next project today. This time, it’s the 14-step Mame himitsu-bako (1-sun Japanese puzzle box). I’m making about 150 of them, since I’ve received orders from several shops. It’s been a while since I’ve made this many at once😅 When I first started making the mame himitsu-bako—which was about 20 years ago—I used to make 200 boxes per batch. Over time, the number gradually decreased, and now I usually make around 80 to 90 at most. Since these are small boxes, the process will involve many fine and detailed steps. A few days ago, I already glued the yosegi sheets for the mame boxes onto the boards, and they’re completely dry now. So today, I prepared the wood for the axis parts of the boxes and the Aruki panels, and trimmed them down to the required dimensions. In the afternoon, I started making the frames. I’ve lost count of how many mame himitsu-bako I’ve made by now, but since I’ve made so many over the years, the work goes smoothly without hesitation.
This mame himitsu-bako has a design where the frame’s side panels and the surface yosegi side panels are integrated as one piece. Originally, the mame himitsu-bako did not have this type of structure, but I made this change in the early days of my production to improve efficiency. I feel that this updated design allows the mechanism to move more smoothly and consistently. For just a few boxes, the old method still works fine, but when making a large number—like 100 or more—they all need to function in exactly the same way. With the old structure, there could be more variation between individual boxes. I think this happens because the box is so small, so even slight differences can affect the movement.Thanks to the current method, I can now produce many boxes with stable and consistent quality. So, as you can see in the photo, I’m currently working on the structural frame parts, but the outer yosegi design has already been applied.
I’ll probably continue with this work tomorrow as well.
