Post 32 in an ongoing series describing the design and construction of a kabukimon, a type of Japanese gate. This is a project for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
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Another frigid day in the shop at -3˚C (26.6˚F). Not developing much affection for this polar vortex phenomenon. However, it is much colder in other parts of the country, so I’m thankful I’m not in those places at this time.
Some snapshots from today:
Made good progress on the filling in work on the stress-relief kerfs on the kabuki, including both tenons, and the long infill on the front face of the stick. The electric blanket came in handy once again as you can see in the above picture. Instead of using 2-part epoxy on such a long glue up, I used a construction adhesive applied by way of caulking gun, PL200 Pro by Loctite. Low VOC was a plus.
A closer look at one end where the tenon has been the subject of some futzing about:
All the slot mortises have been checked with the go/no go gauging stick and adjusted as necessary.
I also bored the hole in the other main post for the threaded rod anchor:
This one also came out in the desired location within the mortise:
Here you can see some new arrivals in the shop, some POC 2×4’s, 12′ long:
The wood that I had earlier ripped out of the extra kabuki beam, before cutting further to obtain the two nose pieces, turned out to be unsatisfactory – unusable actually. It took some digging around to find some dry, clear 12′ lengths of POC, but I finally managed to do so up in New Hampshire at Goose Bay Lumber and Sawmill. The owner there, Carl, was extremely helpful – we did all our business over the phone and internet – and I think I’ll do business with them again should the opportunity present itself. Very happy with the outcome. The above sticks will serve to fill in the stress-relief kerfs on the main post front faces.
Lastly for today I made a start on machining up some of the hinoki from the old gate, which will go to making commemorative plaques:
Not sure how many pieces I’ll obtain from that lot, however it should get me well on the way to 100. The plaques are all of 2.5″x8.0″x0.375″.
All for today, over and out. Thanks for your visit! Up next: the big 33
Chris;
Isn't the cold fun?
J.T.
I am enjoying this build very much. Are the nuts for the threaded rods tightened with a punch or do you have a special wrench in mind.
JT,
well it can be fun if the activity involves a snowboard or snowshoes, say, but I am looking forward to Monday when it is supposed to climb to 40˚, which seems like some sort of paradise at this point.
~C
Paul,
I'm thinking that I'll have enough room to get a standard box end wrench on the nut, and just enough swing room at the mortise opening to turn it 1/12th of a turn, flip the wrench over and turn, flip, turn, flip, turn….
If I don't have enough room to accomplish that, then I will look at other options, like widening the mortise, obtaining a ratcheting wrench, etc.. I'm sure it will work out.
~C