Ronin Daiku: traditional Japanese chests

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Last of the Curly Koa Puka Wood

Been some time since the last post.....

It's been a great year and much has been happening in and around the shop.

The shop moved about a year back or so to a larger space near the Port of Hilo.

I will post some images in the near future of the shop......

In the meantime I thought I might show you some images of this years past work

by starting with the most recent and working back in future posts.

The new piece features the last of the curly koa puka wood. I found one amazing plank of beautiful curl that had tons of character and used it for three chests. It's one of those boards that make you wonder what ever happened to the rest of the tree

So it's sad to see it go I suppose. Maybe I'll find more of it some day.....

it is a small island after all.

The new tansu is an isho yaro similar to the other two in the series with the curly koa puka wood.

The Isho Yaro are a single piece clothing tansu. There were many differing drawer configurations some implementing safe doors and drop fit doors such as this one.

The small drawers also allow for areas to hide secret compartments and boxes known as hesokuribako. Which loosely means belly button chestnut box .....

This piece is made with the last of the curly koa puka wood.

It measures 18.5x36x42.

Here it is at The Harbor Gallery in Kawaihea Harbor, Hawaii.

The tansu is currently showing and exclusively available at the Harbor Gallery.

As with the others, the top and sides were made from single wide koa boards. These are amazing

(and hard to find). I was able to use book matched sides. Both with the same mineral patterning . Just beautiful.

The top has a few bark enclosures that compliment the drawer fronts.

The whole work is fully joined with dovetailed carcass and drawers.

All the major partitions are joined to the carcass with 6 pairs of tenons and two sword tip tenons, backed with yet more tenons lol.

Hard to believe there are more than 90 mortice and tenon joints in the piece.

The cut-outs in the tansu sides draw inspiration from the mokko pattern.

Drawers were made with figured Silky Oak and Port Orford Cedar drawer bottoms

The drawer fronts were veneered with a shop sawn veneer.

The veneers are thick enough to finish plane the faces like solid wood.

To make the design unique from the previous versions, I added a kendon buta ( drop fit door) .

Here is a pic of the door fitted and the bead detail carved in.

Inside is a pair of small drawers made from a very tasty Stress Curl Koa. It actually came from the same tree as the sides of the tansu.

Then behind drawer number two we find a hidden box made from Milo

Then there is one more hidden box behind a larger drawer.

The boxes are designed to fit dollar bills.

This one here is made from Kamani.

The handles are custom cast

The castings get cleaned up and edges filed smooth.

Here are the backplates in the different stages oif fabrication

From back to front, we have the laser cut blank, then after it was hammer finished,next is with the edges all hand filed to a neat bevel and finally oil blackened.

Here is the whole suite prior to installing...

The finish I have been using most exclusively for some time is a french polish.

I use a high grade German refined dewaxed shellacs. The finish has high clarity with a deep luster and adds a bit of warmth like an analog recording. The finish is then finally rubbed with a homemade bee's wax polish. It's quite water resistant, no white rings. And it patinas nicely.

Thank-you for stopping by and seeing the new work. Please do not hesitate to contact Gunner or Elli to check it's availability.

In the next post I will share some images of a kodansu my smallest tansu yet.

A few last construction pics on the way out........

If you are interested in this current work , it is currently showing and exclusively available at

The Harbor Gallery in Kawaihea Harbor, Hawaii .

You Can reach Gunner and Elli Mench at 808.882.1510

They are great people hosting a very nice gallery featuring over

150 Hawaii Island Artists next to Cafe Pesto.

This is the only work currently available from Matsu Kaze Woodworking.

Work is always on going and in process.

Please feel free to contact me if interested in work currently in production or coming soon.

matsukaze woodworking

simple devices for inspired living

Saturday, March 15, 2014

New Work

from

Matsu Kaze Woodworking

Aloha One and All thanks for checking in at the Matsukaze Blogspot.

I recently completed an Isho Yaro Dansu.

18.25 x 38 x 42

curly koa, silk oak, port orford cedar, australian cedar,

western red cedar, bronze, iron

The Isho Yaro were a single piece tansu. There were many differing drawer configurations

some implementing safe doors and drop fit doors.

I enjoy this particular style with the two small drawers for keepsakes or small clothing accessories.

The small drawers also allow for secret compartments and boxes known as hesokuribako.

Which loosely means belly button chestnut box .....

An elderly Japanese lady had said to me that wives would stash kuri ( or coins) in their heso away from their husbands. Who knows, maybe when the husband was looking for some cash to go to the pub or some other

nonessential expenditure.

Either way, I enjoyed the story and pass it on to you.

So without further ado here's some images in a variety of day time light.......

The carcass top and sides are made from rare single 18.25" wide boards in the typical Matsu Kaze fashion.

Beautiful Hawaiian Gold Koa from salvaged dead trees in upper Kaiwiki just a stones throw from our house on the foot hills of Mauna Kea. Elevation approx.2500'

The carcass is fully joined with through double tenons and dovetails , hand cut of course. The corners are mitered to facilitate the oval faced edge of the front to flow around the exterior and the dividing partitions terminate in sword tip miters.

The drawer front material is quite elegant. The board that I was able to eek out two tansu from came from under a house in Mountain View area. A widow of an off bearer was selling off boards that her late husband had collected and stashed over forty years ago and had been air drying since.

I would love to know who has the rest of the tree or see what they made from it.

It's absolutely stunning Koa. A true 5A Curl with sweet cat's paw burls scattered about.

The color changes in the light from a vibrant gold amber to a rich Kona coffee. Very dynamic.

The drawer side and back material is Silk Oak from Australia, planted here in the early 1900's

It's easy to work and very beautiful itself. I had saved some of my best pieces for this project.

This drawer in particular has some nice wide ray flecks. It contrasts nicely with the darker Koa highlighting the joinery.

Drawer bottoms are made from Port Orford Cedar and left with only a hand planed finish

so not to restrict the aromatic quality of the wood.

The drawer bottoms are .45" solid Port Orford Cedar made in a traditional Western style with beveled edges beneath and secured with a brass screw.

The kanagu , metal fittings, on the chest are of the Mokko Style. It's shape is reminiscent of a half cross section of a melon I do not know the name of. I like the mating of these Mokko with a Matsu or Pine bow motif back plate. The handles are caste in bronze and the back plates are steel. The straps that hold the handles to the drawer are forged steel and all is presented in a blackened oil patina.The back plates are worked with a hammer, edges are hand filed to a neat bevel, and the four nails are of a wrought appearance.

The handles were caste by Daniel Chisler, now retired. He was the only place in the world to source these handles. I still have a small inventory and a couple sizes to round out a suite that he and I developed together. Exceptional work by an exceptional craftsman. Thank-you Dan.

When you remove the small top drawer you will find a hidden box behind.......

The box is made from koa left over from the Koa Sugi Chadansu from last year.

Lined with Toon an Australian Cedar, which to me is exactly like Spanish mahogany.....

Toon polishes to a exceptional sheen with hand planes.

There is one more hidden box but out of respect for the future owner I can not disclose the location.

It's made from Toon with a curly koa top.

The back of the Tansu is made of Western red cedar. Some tight grained quarter sawn boards.

I make the backs in a frame and panel style with through tenons for extra rigidity.

The cedar helps keep down the overall weight of the tansu and adds to the bouquet of cedars used in the piece.

The finish is Super Blonde Shellac, made from flake here at my shop to ensure freshness

and clarity. It is applied in a french polish method. To me there is no finer finish than shellac over a hand planed surface save for urushi. Super Blonde is lighter in tone to Blonde which I use from time to time for it's vintage appearance.