Today was another nice day from the morning, and I spent the whole day working in the workshop. One more side of the sliding key panels for the 4-sun puzzle boxes that I attached yesterday was still remaining, so I attached it after the temperature became a little warmer. Even on sunny days like this, there are times when the humidity is actually still high, so it is important to be careful. Today had a little of that kind of condition as well, although I think it was still within an acceptable range.
In addition to this, today I also worked on attaching yosegi sheets as preparation for my next project. The next project will be a custom-sized puzzle box requested by the Hakone market. Unfortunately, the design and specifications are still confidential, but once completed, I think you may see it in the online shop of a famous store in Hakone. As preparation for this project, I attached around 150 yosegi sheets today.
In addition to this, today I also spent some time thinking about the next production work that I will do alongside the Hakone market project. Since the custom work for the Hakone market is fairly complicated, I thought it would be better to work on some smaller puzzle boxes at the same time, so I decided to make 2.5-sun puzzle boxes. For those who may not know, the slightly unusual 2.5-sun size was originally created to hold the smallest type of puzzle box, called the Mame puzzle boxes. The inside dimensions of the 2.5-sun box are just the right size to fit a Mame puzzle box inside. The mechanism is a 5-step puzzle. I have been making these boxes since I first started my own workshop more than 20 years ago. Recently, I have not made many small puzzle boxes, but I still continue to make these 2.5-sun boxes quite often. This time, I will use a design combination that I have made frequently over the past few years: traditional yosegi for the top and bottom panels, together with natural wood side panels. The main wood used for the side panels is agathis wood, but the upper edges are bordered with another type of wood. Recently, I have been using urushi wood for this detail. These boxes are often sold together with Mame puzzle boxes, so they are what you could call nested boxes. Even though they are small, they are still one of the more popular puzzle boxes. In the past, customers often said the boxes were smaller than they expected, but recently I improved the size information and photos, so people no longer say that very much anymore 🤣 In the end, this is a product that is more about enjoying the opening process rather than storing something inside.
