#sumitsubo

The process of making the Sumitsubo :)

I left out the design process though (^-^;) I had to squish it a bit so the distance between the wheel and the reservoir is a bit smaller than it usually is :)

The crank and the axles were made from 3 pieces of brass that I silver soldered together :) I had a great deal of fun making this :3

I also made my own carving tools which for this project as there was no way I could afford them or go to a seller that sold them back then... I know 2 stores in Tokyo that sell these kinds of tools :)

I’m very happy learning a few skills and practicing using others :) Like lacquering using Urushi, forging, hardening and heat treating, woodturning and carving, turning horn (smells really bad if it gets too hot...), silver soldering, polishing, etc. :) I can see why Japanese craftsmen take pride in the Sumitsubo they made and I feel the same about mine (o^-^o) Maybe in the future I will make one thats even more beautiful :)

I wish everyone a great time with sweet dreams (again :D and that you have something you can look back on and feel proud of (^-^)/

P.S. today I had to bring back my train ticket to my former employer and had a short chat with the boss. After telling her that I’m taking a class for a circuit diagram software she told me that maybe I will work for them again. I was a bit shocked as they kicked me out (my contract ended on the 2017-12-31) for reasons I have no hand in (a company that used to be their customer cancelled every order thus causing them to cancel the contracts of younger single people). I told her that I have my doubts about working for them again as I they were quite dishonest when they handed me my papers and that I don’t think I can trust them anymore... It is a personal thing and I don’t bear them a grudge but it would be hard to subdue the thought of having a 6 month probation period again, having to negotiate my salary again and to have 2 days less vacation if I started working there again...  I hope my skills and my knowledge will help me find a good job soon and hopefully find one in Japan :3

Finished my Sumitsubo :)

I made everything you see on it (including the Sumisashi :) myself :) This was probably the most challenging project I’ve done so far :)

It is made from a block of wood from a tree that came down in a friends garden :) He wanted to use it for firewood but he was kind enough to give me a nice piece of it (^-^)

I wanted to make everything from this piece of firewood which made it necessary for me to make the wheel from 3 pieces of left overs :)

The handle of the crank and the eye for the string are made from from buffalo horn :) I have no idea what kind of wood the handle of the awl is made from but it is very hard, red when freshly cut and dark brown after being exposed to air :) I picked up this piece of wood on a sale at tool sellers shop :) <= it was not marked with which kind of wood this is.

Very happy with the result (^-^)

I finished everything with Suri Urushi (^-^)

Time to get organized

It’s funny how your progress on a task is directly related to your ability to find your tools.   Working on my tool cabinet was getting harder than it already was because I couldn’t find anything.  So, out of frustration, I slapped up some plywood on one of the walls in the garage and started getting organized.  Below are some photos of my effort to date. I tried to organize the tools by function…

Progress on my Sumitsubo :)

I finished carving the shape of the main part (o^-^o) It think it turned out quite well (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

I won’t finished it until I finished the wheel though because I want to apply the finish on both at the same time :)

I’m especially happy with how the detail at the back of the reservoir turned out :3

It took the last photo at the flea market at a Japanese school in Hamburg :) Daruma + Ausfahrt (Exit ;)

Working on this project is a lot of fun but also quite daunting because I put quite a lot of work into it and ruining it would mean putting a lot of work into it again (^-^;) This is also my second try for making the wheel as the first one broke (; _ ;) Making the layout on the wheel is also quite tricky :D I enjoy these challenges :D