27-May-2025
Today was a very cool and comfortable day. In my neighborhood, rice planting has already started this week. Around my workshop, there are many rice fields, so I can see this kind of scenery. The rice planted this month will be harvested around October.
Today, I worked on making the Mame 18-steps puzzle box. I attached the yosegi panels on Aruki(moving panel)-side as the final step of the assembly process. This time, I’m creating three different designs. One is the traditional Yosegi type. The second one has a solid hexagonal Yosegi pattern on the top. And the third one, which I’m making for the first time, has a solid checkerboard Yosegi pattern on the top.
As you can see in the photo, the top and bottom panels of the checkerboard Yosegi type are made from Rengas wood. Rengas wood is actually very easy to split, so I need to be careful when using it for the top and bottom panels. When I apply the base coat, the panels often stick together. If I try to force them apart, the wood might split. This is because of the nature of rengas wood—it has a fibrous texture and tends to splinter easily.
So, after the base coat and before applying the final finish, I carefully move the panels to make sure they don’t stick too much. Even though it’s delicate, I think it’s worth using because it looks very beautiful after finishing 😄 In Japan, we often call this kind of high-quality wood “Karaki”. Examples of this type of wood include Karin, Shitan (rosewood), and Kokutan (ebony).
Also today, I polished the smallest 12-steps boxes that I applied a base coat to yesterday. Now they are ready for the final coat, which I plan to do in the next few days.
