# Help with restoring antique Japanese wooden hibachi



## louxwe (Jan 28, 2013)

I need help finding some wood or finding an alternative/substitute and also some advice/ideas on design. I am restoring an antique Japanese wooden hibachi. I believe it is around 100 years old and I think it is made out of keyaki wood and I would like to replace the wooden panel on the top left. I do not think that it is original and as it is it doesn't make any sense how it is designed. This top section on the left is made with three separate pieces of wood, the front one and back one are (were) attached to the top and the middle one was not attached and like a loose lid or something but as it is now it would not stay in place and only fall down into the drawer below it. As you can see from the picture it doesn't make a good lid because it just opens up unattractively into the drawer below it. I have done a bit of research here and I cant find any other antique hibachi like this so I don't think it is original. I was thinking about replacing the whole thing with one solid piece of Keyaki wood, assuming that is what the rest of the box is made with, or using a wood that would closely match but if it would not match good and would look weird I thought you guys might have some design advice on something totally different type of wood that would look cool. I would like to restore the old antique finish and complete it with a spray lacquer, make a base for it and use it as a cool end table. Also for the ope part on the left it can be covered with glass or it would traditionally have a two piece wooden top to it, Keyaki wood as well. Also if I replace the wood on the left I will need to do something with the end grain, maybe glue strips of ebony? The square wood frame around the grill area has some kind of weird ebony ish two tone wood that would work around the edges.

Anyone know where to get Keyaki wood or any other advice here… also looking for a replacement drawer pull.
Thanks, Bill


----------



## louxwe (Jan 28, 2013)

More pictures


----------

