Jojo

Welcome to LumberJocks. Enjoy the site.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Glad to see that you have made Lumberjocks a part of your Woodworking experience… Welcome…

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

Welcome to LumberJocks.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Welcome to LumberJocks!

This is an awesome group of woodworkers that generously share thier talents, passion and interest in woodworking. We are looking forward to your projects and input.

LumberJocks is the premier member based woodworking site.

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

Well, thank you for your warm welcome messages guys! It’s nice to see the community spirit here.

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Welcome to the one and the only LumberJocks website. Enjoy your time spent here. Should you have any woodworking questions do not hesitate to ask…Somebody will know the right answer.

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

Jojo. I think the sense of community sets this site apart. Why are you shopless?

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

After all I have heard about the site from Matt and Co. I think it does so, WayneC. Regarding my shopless present status, space IS a premium here in Japan and to make things even worse there are NO basements here! ;o) But the main reason is that my wife and I are living here for a few years only and powertools are definitely neither that easily available nor cheap as in the States. So it makes no sense to get them. Anyway, we’re already working on what we hope will be our last and definitive relocation to western Washington, probably the Peninsula. In any case around the Puget Sound/Hood Canal/San Juan Islands for those of you who know the area. So nowadays I’m all set with a few handtools, like in the good ole days of woodworking. On the other hand, there are amazing tools you can’t find anywhere else readily available and lumbermills in every corner. Man, life is so safe here that they stock the 15 ft boards right in the curb with nothing attaching them, even at night. And I mean downtown, not in the backcountry! I got to take some pics for you guys.

Again thank you all for your comments.

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Photos would be great. Also, there is a lot of interest related to Japanese hand tools on the site. Photos of your tools would be apreciated as well. Thanks.

I’ve been in the area in Washington and there are a number of LumberJocks that are in the area currently.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I definitely will be getting you some pics. Where do I have to post them for everybody to see? I still had no time to get around the whole site yet but it seems to be many different places to post comments and things.

Re. the japanese tools I actually would like to make kind of a small survey because I’m seriously studying the possibility of setting up an on-line business for selling them. I’m in touch with a couple of sawmakers and I can find almost anything, from the ultra-expensive planes and chisels to the affordable “normal” ones used by all the pros here.

Actually my father-in-law is a “daiku-san”, a master traditional all-wood housebuilder and I do know well which are the most used ones. BTW I have to say that nobody here takes the trouble of re-sharpening the “dozuki” saws. They are way too thin and easy to break and blades are widely available. You’d be amazed of the tons of different specialised saws available. I specially love the fact that many of them are designed to be able to make a cut in the middle of a panel without a previous drill hole, just the tiny kerf. A dream come true for those matching-grain drawers cut off of the aprons…

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Welcome Jojo -

I’d love to see some photos of anything you wish to post! Lumber, saws, father-in-law’s houses, etc.

I’m a Puget Sound guy – Seattle is home. My father used to live in Japan for 8-10 years, when I was in my teens. Went to Japan only once though.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Welcome to LumberJocks! I look forward to seeing your woodworking.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Try this link for an explanation as to how post photos

http://lumberjocks.com/help/writing/embedding-pictures

You will need to use a free hosting site to include photos in blog entries and comments. Project and workshop photos can be uploaded from your desktop when you create or edit entries of that type.

I would be intersted in seeing the kind of pricing you would have for good professional japanese tools (new or used).

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Hello … get out your digital camera … lets see what you’re working on !!

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

Hey guys, thx again for your comments. I’m sorry because I got no time to take some pics of those lumbermills yet. I tried the other day, but it’s the rainy season here and that makes things quite difficult… For those of you that don’t know, the “tsuyu” is like the japanese version of that passage of the Bible: it keeps raining and raining for about 30 to 40 days, day and night, almost without any interruption. And then, worse comes to worst, this year’s first typhoon (AKA hurricane) came very early and passed yesternight South of us. Almost no casualties though, only a couple of old fellas and a poor boy, 12, that tried to reach a ball fallen into a roaring river carrying lots of water from the floods. Very sad indeed. :o(

WayneC: I’m targeting the good-but-affordable pro saws and other tools that the home-builders and woodworkers use here. Thus, even if I can’t give any estimates yet as I have to work out all the margins and that, I can guess that, in the case of the saws, most of them could range in the $25/$50 + shipping. All of them have easy-to-replace interchangeable blades and I’d carry replacement packs as well. Also there’s a whole lot of different tools very interesting and well thought. More on this later.

Dorje: I’ve selected some pics of amazing joinery jobs from thousand years old temples and I’ll post them as soon as I pass them throught the Photoshop.

Now I have to go to the futon, it’s waaay to late at night folks.

As Matt says: straight grains…

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Thanks Jojo. I’ll be interested to see what you come up with.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Welcome Jojo…sounds like we are all going to be interested in those photos.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Damn it! after 20 some years working with computers I’m no newbie at all but I can’t seem to be able to change the picture in my profile… am I missing something or what?

Bob: Thanks for your welcome. Too bad I didn’t know about your brother’s home in Hawai’i when I went there last year… :o) BTW you seem to like geckos… wouldn’t you work in the insurance business? Jokes aside, nice stuff on your projects page. That’s a fine example of a Morris chair.

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

You upload the picture from your account page.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I know WayneC, I’ve (tried to) do it many times but the trouble comes once I submit it. The screen changes and goes blank and then it hangs up there with no more results. And it does it over and over again. The computter works fine though, it is a Mac so no strange Windows hang-ups and any other page loads and works perfectly fine.

It’s not that I try to upload anything strange: a simple standard 28 Kb “jpg” and neither is my DSL, it is a very reliable and damn fast one (50 Mb down/12 Mb up ‘cos I didn’t feel the necessity of paying for the 100 Mb!... ah the joys of living in Tecnoland!).

Tomorrow I will try from my wife’s computer and we’ll see.

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Hmmm. You may want to ask Martin.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

What an experience you have in Japan, while dreaming up your next and hopefully permanent shop in the occidental side of the pacific rim. Living in Japan, working with handtools, fluent in French… looking forward to your perspective and projects to come!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Hi Scottb, I see somebody’s been sneaking through my blog and comments! :o)

It is indeed an awesome experience being here. Not always positive (I left my pink spectacles at home many years ago) but eye-opening and really worthwhile in any case.

Albeit I like working with handtools I definitely don’t like the fact of being forced to do so because the lack of place to set-up a shop. As they say: everything comes to those who can wait, and I am confident that in a few years I will be having a shinny new shop that will make you all envious. :oD

PS: don’t tell anybody (not to brag about) but I’m fluent in 4 languages and working up my way in my 5th. ;o)

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

I had a Japanese wife and some of the most awesome day’s of my life was ferry boating around to the little islands and stare in amazement at the old things. The old buildings for instance, planks on the floor made out of logs, 12’’ thick, 36’’ wide, 40 to 60 feet long. Now imagine the tree trunks that made the studs,rafters and the same boards on top for sheeting. I could go on and on, what an interesting culture. S/F

-- www.flickr.com/photos/egamarine/

It’s very true EGA, amazing buildings made of amazing trees. If you take a look at one of my posts—the one about the Itsukujima shrine in Miyajima, you’ll see one BIG ”torii” made of huge logs, the two main posts being single logs really wide.

Were you stationed over here a long time ago?

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

NICE WE ARE TOGETHER HER

-- Suliman , Syria, jablah ,

Thank you Suliman, I admire your doors. You do an amazing job with them. Keep up the good work!

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Thanks for the comment! To answer your question, yes it is a “hidden butterfly” This was my first table and my largest project up to the time I mad it and I didn’t trust myself so I wanted to add some insurance that the table didn’t come apart!

Thanks again

-- Kpi314, kevin@kevinpi.com

Hi Jojo,
I finally found somebody from Japan, and more surprisingly you are in KYOTO!
I live in Kobe now but I was born there and raised, lived there for 30 years. Maybe we have met before, maybe you are somebody I know… Just kidding.
Anyway, glad to know I have somebody near here.

-- Junji Sugita from Japan, http://tetra.blog12.fc2.com/

はしめましてじゅんじさん、よろしくお願いします。

Yeah, we are neighbors, can you believe it? There’s also another LumberJock here in Japan although I think I am the only ”gaijin” among us. His name is 中丸さとるさん but he lives in 埼玉県. Also, there’re a couple of ”kankokujin” that are very good craftsmen, Brian Kim and Jaeyoel Park. Unfortunately, all seem to be inactive because none of them hasn’t posted in a long time.

By the way, I have an issue of Fine Woodworking from last winter that came twice in the mail, if you want me to mail it to you, feel free to drop me a private message with your address.

If you need anything, just ask and I’ll try to help you within my possibilities.

またね！

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Jojo,
Sorry, I didn’t notce your message here.It was posted 38 days ago…. Oh no!
I didn’ know about other Japanese guy, but seems like he is not using a lot…
I had checked the projet of Jaeyoel Park, to tell you the truth, I have been checking all the projects after I joined here. (Now I know why everybody telling me that this site will be addictive!)

Hey, I am also impressed that you are using Japanese, and even some Kanji! Can you also read messages in Japanese?

-- Junji Sugita from Japan, http://tetra.blog12.fc2.com/

Jojo, we need to get in touch. I also lived in Kyoto from 1986-1991, and Tokyo 1994-2008. Unfortunately the woodworking bug didn’t take hold until after my return to Canada, so you could say I missed out on a huge opportunity in Japan. It really is a woodworker’s paradise there, isn’t it? uraimashii!

Wow, you must love this country, you’ve been here a longtime. Married to a Japanese maybe? ;o)

I definitely couldn’t stay in Tokyo that long though, that city drives me crazy by the second day. Give me Kyoto any time. Where did life take you nowadays, Easter or Western part of Canada?

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

Eastern Canada, not far from Belleville, Ontario, my hometown. The transition is not as smooth as I’d thought and often wish I’d stayed in Japan. Sure I’ll be back for at least a visit one of these days.

Do you happen to know the Japanese word for the style of table made from thick slabs, and unplaned (naturally contoured) sides? There’s no point in trying to compete with Ikea, but I reckon not too many people are making these beautiful rustic one-of-a-kind pieces. I know they can be found in coffee shops, some sushi bars, etc in Kyoto and a lot of them are made in Hida-Takayama, near Nagoya. If you haven’t been to Hida-Takayama, you gotta go. Check out the HIDA Sangyo showroom.

I know the kind of tables you mean, thick slabs, live-edge, either hanging from the wall/bar-countertop or using simple planks as pedestals… very common here as you say. I don’t know of the top of my head but let me check with my father-in-law, he’s a ”daikusan” and should know.

I see those tables working very well in cabins and log houses surrounded by maple trees over there in Canada.

Regarding Takayama, it’s funny you tell me because although I never been there yet, I do know about it. Actually, we’ve already rented a car for mid-”sichigatsu” because we are taking a French girlfriend of us that is coming to visit for her first time in Japan. If I feel inspired I’ll write a blog post at my return but don’t hold your breath, I’m not very prone to do so lately.

If you ever stop by here in Kansai drop me a line before, you are welcome into our humble ”machiya” at any time. By the way, check the work of Junji, he’s a good one and a very nice guy that writes proper English (and you know how hard it is to find a Japanese with such great level of ”eigo”…)

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin

I do indeed know how hard it is to find a Japanese friend with jouzu Eigo. (I taught English for most of those 19 years I was there) I’ve been in touch with Junji. He seems multi-talented and a nice guy, as you say. Hey, I suppose I should ask him about the tables, too. duh!

Yep, I highly recommend Hida-takayama. It actually has an old section of town that looks more like the Gion than the Gion. They have rickshaws and dozens of cobblestoned, shop-lined streets. Then there’s the wood. Used to be the center for all things wood in Japan. Much of the Gojo was furnished with pieces from there.

How’s your web-based business coming along? I think you said you might be selliing hard-to-find Japanese tools, is that right? I’d be just as interested in any sort of Japanese reference material, if such exists, explaining their thoughts on design, joinery, workmanship, etc. Anyway, you’ve got a great idea there.

Hey!
You guys are talking about me and a Japanese word without me???
I guess what you are trying to say is “Ichimai-ita” （一枚板）, literally “one piece board”, and sometimes it means a solid lumber, but many times it means a thick table top.
But I didn’t know that you don’t have over there in Canada, USA or Europa. Or maybe I got a wrong word?
Like ones you can find in here?
http://www.kondo-kougei.co.jp/

Takayama is not far from here, but I have been there only once. It was about 20 years ago, and I was just passing by in the rain. I was by myself riding a motor-cycle. So I didn’t see much of it.
Maybe I should visit there again now, so I can see what I want to see. Must be really interesting.

-- Junji Sugita from Japan, http://tetra.blog12.fc2.com/

Hey Junji-san!

Sorry i haven’t replied to you directly yet. YES! That is exactly the kind of table I’m talking about, and that website (kondo-kougei) is exactly the kind of site I’ve been searching for…arigato gozaimashita!

I have not seen many examples of an ichimai-ita here in Canada—at least not here near Lake Ontario—but there must be some in northern Ontario and BC. But even if we do have some solid wood slab-type tables, no one makes them quite as beautiful as the Japanese do. I would still like to know how Japanese woodworkers make theirs, what techniques they use for the finishing, and well, too many questions for one message really :)

Maybe Jojo and Junji can get together and make one some day?

Ha ha, we were talking on your back and you caught us, Junjisan :o)

You got it right, “妻” says “一枚板” is indeed the proper name. And, lucky me, she loves them so I can see some in our future.

There are tables like this in America Junji but I guess they are way more prominent here.

I just seen your last message Jafu and yes, I think in BC and the West Coast there is more stuff like this. When I used to live in Washington State I did so in a 170 year old log house all warped and full of character. A friend of us, Keiji-san lives in Vancouver Island building log houses too.

Regarding Takayama, check this: Hida Takayama.

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin