Craftsmanship in Wood

Yes, I figured it was a typo, given that 'M' and 'N' are next to one another on the keyboard. Just posted that up in case others might be confused by it. All good, carry on...

djwong wrote:"This toolbox and tools belonged to a Kyoto carpenter named Iwajiro Sakata. Sakata-san worked on building the Momoyama Shrine in 1841. On completion of his work, he presented his toolbox and tools to the shrine. The record of a complete set of tools for a specific period is very unusual, since tools were consumed and added over time as need dictated."

Thank you!

so why do these boxes (in general) have the bottoms affixed under the sides, as opposed to between, as is the lid? that would put the weight on the shear of the bottom nails, although maybe on half the bottom wood thickness.

in either case I doubt it would be the fail point of construction, but these are things which I ponder . . .

thanks

Oh, basically because that is the quick and dirty way of putting a floor on a box. My Japanese power tool wooden storage boxes have their bottoms nailed on, and they've stayed nailed on, but I don't handle them all that much. Obviously, putting the panel in a dado is a better and more elegant solution, at the one slight expense of taking away from interior room.

FWIW, my two Japanese-style boxes in cedar, some of my earliest projects in wood, are still going strong. No signs of the bottoms having any issues. I’ve hauled these to and from various co-op shops that I’ve worked out of for years, so they’ve definitely had plenty of opportunities for wear and tear.

One of these days it’d be fun to tackle the full-joinery style for these boxes... but that’ll have to wait until after doing some splayed-post work (ahem, new workhorses).

s.e.charles wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 01, 2018 12:22 pm

so why do these boxes (in general) have the bottoms affixed under the sides, as opposed to between, as is the lid? that would put the weight on the shear of the bottom nails, although maybe on half the bottom wood thickness.

One theory I have seen is that it is assumed that the bottom of the box will wear out before the rest of the box and need to be replaced. Nailing it on makes it easier to remove and replace later.