Gateway (49)

Post 49 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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I felt a slight easing today, psychologically, thinking that the project seemed well on schedule and I could dial back the self-imposed stress a notch, which was nice.

It was slightly below freezing in my shop today, however I am pretty much battle-hardened by this point. Hah! Polar vortex shmolar vortex… wearing two jackets over the long undies and fleece top does help mind you! And you just keep moving, that’s basically all there is to it.

I spent the first chunk of my day milling stock for the three doors used on this gate. While i have already milled the rails and stiles for the side door, I still have many parts to re-saw, joint and plane. a slice from my day then:

I have completed preliminary milling on all the material required for the doors. Felt good to reach this point in the project.

Later on in the afternoon I worked on some of the hinoki left-overs from the old gate, which I am re-using for commemorative gifts, a side job requested by the Museum. The stock has been super-surfaced on all faces, and that left just the end grain clean up. I don’t use a shooting board all that often, so it is something I usually cobble together from some scrap wood when I need it:

When that lot was done, I had a tidy pile of little sticks:

Each of these will need a couple of holes drilled for a cord, something I will tackle in the next day or three. Then they will be sent off to a company which will do some pyrography on them.

All for today – make this a great weekend! Next up: Post 50