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Slide key of 3 sun box

Continuing from last time, today I'm making and attaching slide panels. The previous work, attaching the side long panels, has already been completed. All side panel designs for this production lot are made of walnut wood. Walnut wood is the most popular wood I use for solid side panels. This is partly because walnut wood is popular worldwide, but I also think a major reason is that its rich (dark) color makes the Yosegi on the top and bottom panels stand out even more.

To make it, first, I make a board and cut it into three parts. The thickness of this board is about 3.5 mm. All these operations are done with a woodworking machine. When cutting into three parts, I make angle cuts, as shown in the picture (did you get it?😀). This angle is about 20 degrees. By cutting at this angle, the middle part of the slide key panel (=the slide key) will not come off when you move it. I think the best angle for this is about 20 degrees because if it's lower than 20 degrees, the slide key will come off easily, and if it's higher, the angle will be too sharp and the edge of the slide key will be more likely to chip.

Another reason why walnut is popular is that it makes the seams of the sliding keys (where the three parts are cut) less visible. This joint may occasionally be visible as a black line, but with dark walnut wood, this black line is less noticeable.

It is very difficult to paste these three parts together, and I still have a hard time moving the slide key smoothly. There are various ways to attach them, and it depends on the craftsman, but I paste all three at the same time.

In fact, walnut wood is hard and somewhat unsuitable as a material for these side panels, but this problem is solved by carefully selecting the wood and choosing a day with good weather conditions (humidity and temperature) when attaching it.