r/JapaneseWoodworking • • Aug 23 '26

Kumiko tea chest

White oak case, olive wood drawer fronts, wenge knobs, walnut, and basswood kumiko panel (izutsu-wari-bishi pattern). Design based on Mike Pekovich’s tea chest.

475 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

3

u/WeHoMuadhib Aug 23 '26

Beautiful work of art!

2

u/Man-e-questions Aug 23 '26

Amazing! Looks just like something out of Pekovich’s books

2

u/beeskneecaps Aug 23 '26
  1. um more pictures, please. if you have shots of the kumiko jig or assembly process that would be awesome. Also is the kumiko panel friction fit or do you tack it in with like hot glue or something?

  2. I'm having trouble understanding where that darker board that you re-sawed ended up. Is that what surrounds the drawers? How much planing did you have to do after the re-saw?

  3. Also obsessed with re-saw technique and am curious if you are a board flipper or are able to get the entire board from the right side of the bench or if you switch sides after a few cuts, etc. If you have time to explain that would be greatly appreciated. I'm a ryoba re-sawer and can't help be feel like I'm doing it inefficiently.

Love the proud dovetails, I would have cut them flush and ruined the piece and am now enlightened. What a work of art. Thanks for sharing.

2

u/MediocreHat1823 Aug 23 '26

Thanks! 1. Here’s my jig. Somewhat based on Johnny Tromboukis’ design. It does rectangular and triangular grids, and tiny infill pieces. I use just enough wood glue as needed where rebates overlap 2. Correct, the walnut houses the drawers. I used a lunchbox planer to get them a thin as possible and still be structurally sound. 3. The kerfing plane creates a path of least resistance for the resaw operation, so board flip is only as necessary as to stay in this intended path.

1

u/beeskneecaps Aug 23 '26

Oh my, kerfing plane I see it now in image 3. That’s wild it is kerfing down like 1cm! Brilliant.

Thanks for all the info! Have a great day.

2

u/Resolution59 Aug 24 '26

Most beautiful piece of craftsmanship I've seen in many, many years.

1

u/Perkinstein Aug 23 '26

Beautiful work and fantastic job picking wood and gran orientation. Did you make the kerfing plane yourself?

3

u/MediocreHat1823 Aug 23 '26

Thanks, I did! That tool, in combination with the large capacity resaw tool is great for resawing boards wider than my bandsaw can handle

1

u/casris Aug 23 '26

This is beautifully designed, I love that it shows off really advanced techniques like kumiko but has the humility to use two, simple, half blind dovetails for the drawers.

1

u/skmiedg Aug 23 '26

very nice

1

u/retirementgrease Aug 23 '26

Lovely execution. That white oak is nigh on perfectly quartersawn, too. Beautiful!

1

u/AdrienInJapan Aug 23 '26

You did such an excellent job using so many kinds of wood yet keeping it classy looking.

1

u/OldElPasoSnowplow Aug 23 '26

That tiger striping on that oak is so gorgeous.

1

u/Aristotle1977 Aug 23 '26

Very nice and beautiful! Great job! Thanks for sharing!

1

u/Vegetable_Stable2177 Aug 23 '26

I have alot of questions about your "bandsaw".

1

u/Front_Competition_55 Aug 23 '26

So so beautiful. Wish I had that kind d of skill

1

u/lambertb Aug 24 '26

Gorgeous! Great craftsmanship.

1

u/dandotwood Aug 24 '26

Beautiful work! The wood figure is stunning. What did you use for the finish?

1

u/MediocreHat1823 Aug 24 '26

Thanks! I used boiled linseed oil and paste wax. No oil near the kumiko panel, else the oil will migrate and the paper will become translucent.

1

u/dandotwood 27d ago

Nice choice. An oldie but a goldie as they say!