18-Apr-2025
It was a very hot day today. I mainly spent my time working on the Mame 14-step puzzle box, but I also made a bit of progress on the knock box.
Since I’m making a large number of Mame puzzle boxes this time, each step takes more time than usual. To be honest, I haven’t even finished assembling the frame parts I made yesterday, but today I worked on making the Aruki (moving panels) parts. Sometimes this kind of thing happens — normally, I make the Aruki panels to match the assembled frame panels from the previous step. But when I’m short on time, or when it’s more convenient, I assemble just a few frames (about 5 to 10) and then make the Aruki panels based on those. This time, I’m making around 150 boxes, so I assembled about 20 frames first and then made the Aruki panels to match them. Since there are so many, it took me about half a day, but I was able to finish the task. For a while, I’ll be continuing with assembling the remaining frame panels and fitting the Aruki panels into them.
Finally, all the panels of the knock box have been attached, and it’s now in the finishing stage. Since the temperature was quite high today, I was a bit concerned about doing the finishing work during the day, so I started the process in the evening. Due to time constraints, today I only worked on rounding the corners of the box. As I mentioned before, there are still some parts of the side panels that stick out, so I’ll carefully trim each one by hand. At that stage, I also check the box closely to make sure there are no scratches or any damage to the yosegi patterns. Once the box is painted, fixing any flaws becomes very difficult, so it’s important to check everything beforehand. After that, I’ll move on to the base coating. For today, I just rounded the corners using a machine and finished there. The boxes are now stored back in their cases, held together with rubber bands like before.
As the title suggests, I’m currently experimenting with a new type of paint. Among the knock boxes I’m working on now, there’s one that doesn’t use traditional yosegi but instead features a zebra-wood design. Today, I fully finished that one box and applied this experimental paint to it. Unlike the solvent-based paints commonly used in this region, this one is water-based. Of course, solvent-based paints in Japan meet strict safety standards, but they still have a noticeable smell — the kind of thinner-like smell many people are familiar with. The paint I’m testing now is a new water-based product that has no strong odor, and it’s said to have the same level of durability as solvent-based paint. If possible, I’d like to switch to this kind of more eco-friendly water-based paint. I’ve tried water-based paints a few times before, but the results were never satisfying. I wonder how it will go this time… I’ll give it a try and keep an eye on the results.
See you again next week!
