The Art of Japanese Joinery

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Cut along line B with a crosscut saw: on either side to intersect lines C and D; on bottom to intersect line A. shown in Figure 5.24(8). Take special-care as to the amount of cut line to remove since this will affect the fit of the connection when the members are assembled.

Characteristics off Wood Wood finishes In most traditional Japanese structures, paints, varnishes, or other finishes are seldom used, except for some decorative purposes in temples, or occasionally to prevent moisture penetration on, for example, beam ends. Coal tar or creosote may be applied to the base of posts or other footings to resist water damage. One method of finishing sometimes used is scorching with a torch of logs or posts. This seals off the cells of a porous grain and also darkens and highlights the grain pattern. The materials used for metal roofing are tin, aluminum, stainless steel, Monel, zinc, copper, and others.Start at tip towards center of mortise and cut off at angle until top edge is flush and surface is angled towards bottom. Turn board over and repeat procedure. To determine the koshi haba location (point of tarumi or mukumi), divide the length of the irimoya hafu facia into 5 equal lengths. If the koshi haba is located at % of the length away from the ogami end, the facia will appear strong at the point of tarumi or mukuri. 3. For a sori hafu facia, increase the tarumi slightly. If it is not enough, the curve line will appear straight. 7 Working the Wood Planing Whether a carpenter can do a good job of planing or not can largely depend on the quality of the board being planed. To plane well, all conditions, including the sharpness of the blade, proper height of support, and the others mentioned previously must be satisfied. Since the care of the blade and body have already been discussed, only the planing itself is explained here. Hasami zuka: Scissors web or short post. (Tsuka is the correct pronunciation when alone; zuka is correct when following another word.) End post. Kirizuma hafu facia. The mukuri hafu facia. Shape of the hafu facia. 1. Locate koshi haba at midpoint of the hafu facia's length. There are cases where koshi haba is located at % or

After the end surfaces are squared, using the ink line mark a line between the two squares on both sides of the piece, as shown in Figure 5.32. Plane the surface up to the lines to make one side of the piece completely square. Repeat this procedure until all sides have been squared. A Word on Machine Tools Power tools are of extreme value to the Japanese carpenter in removing, or hogging out, large quantities of wood. While machine tools can rarely match handwork in versatility and acute precision, much time and labor can be saved by employing them wherever they can be used without decreasing the quality of the work. G Gangi gane: Large metal. (Kane is the correct pronun¬ ciation when alone; gane is correct when following another word.) A special carpenter’s square. Purified goods: rice, wine, sea salt, rice cake, spring water, and products of the sea, mountain, and fields, totaling either 5 or 7 (an odd number is preferable). Examples of mountain products: fruits, mushrooms. Field products: vegetables (but not onions). Sea products: fish, dried foods, shellfish. (The fish’s head must be on its left side, with its belly facing the altar.) The arrangement of these things will vary depending on the priest, so prior discussion with the priest will be necessary. If ritual digging is to be done, the shovels must be brand new, and their handles wrapped with white paper tied with sacred paper string. On houses the modified kaigashira gegyo and inome gegyo are used quite often. The modification consists of the elimination of the fin.

of the length from ogami end. 2. The depth of koshi haba should be 6/00 or 0/oo of the total length. 3. Mukuri's depth should be ’-5/00 to 2/00 of the total length. (Mukuri is the height of the curve or arc from an imaginery straight line between two furthermost end points. For roofs of shrines, temples, and other large roofs, the mukuri should be about 3/00 of the total length.) 4. Ogami (also called hafu gashira) should be 1.2 times the depth of koshi haba. 5. Kijiri (also called hafu jiri) is to be 1.1 times the koshi haba depth. Extend the tai zuka web beyond the niju bari chord and consider it as joining the two roof systems—the truss system below and the shinzuka PLATE Baka: A carpenter’s square. Banzuke (or banzukemen): The surface of a post which faces the main entry.

In Japan, as in North America, there are a number of regional variants within a given species, such as cedar or cypress, each with its own characteristics. A workman should be¬ come familiar with the different woods available which have the features desired for each use. One good way to identify local woods which are suitable for use in wood frame con¬ struction is to visit local heritage buildings. The craftsmen who built them were generally limited in their selection of materials to those available locally, so the woods they used for certain applications, and their joinery methods, can be instructive. Types of wood typically used in constructing Japanese houses are listed in Table 3.1. Traditional Japanese carpentry student Dylan Iwakuni, a Kyoto native, is an inspiring example of someone who is folding these traditions into the future. After attending a carpentry trade school in Japan’s Gifu prefecture and helping to renovate old shrines as an apprentice under a woodworking master in Kyoto, Dylan now spends his time perfecting his Japanese joinery skills and holding workshops with the Florida School of Woodwork to help educate people in these traditions. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-01-27 09:01:53 Associated-names Nii, Koichi Paul; Satō, Hideo, 1924- Japanese woodworking; Nakahara, Yasuo. Jitsuyō zukai daiku sashiganejutsu. English Boxid IA1767118 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier Along lines C and D make kerfs with a rip saw from line B to line A. Chisel out diagonally marked section between lines C and D.APPENDIX 2 The Okane—Large Carpenter’s Square (a) Before beginning the foundation work in the construction of a building, the leveling and setting up of the batter boards have to be done. For these jobs, the squareness and level¬ ness of a structure are obtained using either the levels or the okane. Establishing square¬ ness with the okane is called “3:4:5 no hi”, or “43 wo furu” (“shake the 43"). This method utilizes the geometric relationships of a triangle with legs 3:4:5. Hako kaidan: Box stairs. Hako mechigai tsugi: Grain different box joint. L-shaped shipped and tenoned half lap joint, or blind U-shaped stubbed mortise and tenon joint. Hako mechigai refers to the shape of the tenon, whether it is Lshaped or U-shaped. Glossary Eriwa tsuki dotsuki komisen uchi: Pin driven with col¬ larring and with trunk. Collared, haunched, and pinned through mortise and tenon. Always make sure your chisels are sharp before working on any project. If they are not sharp they will not be able to carve with efficiency and precision.