27-Aug-2024
Today, I’m working on the top and bottom panels for three qty. of the 6-sun 54-step Japanese puzzle boxes I’m currently making. While preparing them, I remembered the top panel from a 78-step box I made previously. Take a look at this photo. This box is a 7-sun 78-step puzzle box. It has the same eight sliding keys as the 54-step box I’m making now. I once designed solid wood top panels for boxes with many moves like this one, meaning boxes with eight sliding keys. However, since this box was made about 15 years ago, my memory was a bit unclear. So, I searched for the photo to confirm that my memory was correct.
Come to think of it, 15 years ago, I made several unique 78-step puzzle boxes that didn’t feature traditional yosegi designs. For example, I created this box with a solid lid panel and also a 78-step box with one point yosegi design. I’d like to introduce them again sometime in the future.
This time, I plan to make the top panel of 54-step box like the photo (though I just glued the material). I’m using five different types of wood. Making a solid lid with a large panel like the 78-step box requires careful attention, but this time I want to use a solid wood top panel again after a long time. Also, the 78-step box uses traditional yosegi on the side panels. For large boxes like this, yosegi sheets are still the best choice for the side panels. Such large side panels are easily affected by changes in the environment, like humidity and temperature, which can cause the wood to shrink or warp. Yosegi sheets help to prevent these problems.
However, this time, I plan to use solid wood for the side panels as well. Among the various types of wood, I’ll be using two that have straight grain and are less prone to warping: hoo (magnolia) and nyatoh wood. Agathis is also a wood that doesn’t warp easily, but since this is a more expensive box, I’ll be using these two higher-quality woods instead (Agathis wood is not particularly cheap, but…). This process of making the 54-step box has been a great opportunity to recall some of my earlier work 😄
