# Dai time



## childermass (Jul 22, 2020)

Built another base for one of my stones, this time it’s a smallish red Aoto (Atagoyama) stone. The Dai is basically finished except for the oiling part. I will post some more pictures after that.














For fine tuning of the fit I used a trick that I once stumbled across. To identify contact points I put a sheet of paper with chalk on one side between the stone and the base. This is a nice and well working way to determine where material has to be removed.







initial fit:



better fit after removing the surplus material:


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## Carl Kotte (Jul 22, 2020)

Wow, that’s great!!!


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## childermass (Jul 23, 2020)

After oiling...
Built another one in the meantime as well


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## childermass (Jul 23, 2020)

Carl Kotte said:


> Wow, that’s great!!!


Thanks


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## childermass (Jul 27, 2020)

Next one...


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## KingShapton (Jul 27, 2020)

Good job!!


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## childermass (Jul 27, 2020)

KingShapton said:


> Good job!!



Thanks!

This one was actually really challenging as this particular piece of Mulberry is very prone to splintering when chiseled. While oiling I have found a defect on the bottom where the wood separates on its own. I will have to repair this but am not sure how long this base will last.


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## KingShapton (Jul 28, 2020)

This is really a shame about the work and the finished Dai. The grain of the last one looks great!


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## childermass (Jul 28, 2020)

I was actually able to fix the separation quite easily and it seems to have been less severe than I thought. I’m pretty confident now that it will be fine.


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## cotedupy (Jul 30, 2020)

These are beautiful! Thanks for sharing


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## childermass (Jul 30, 2020)

cotedupy said:


> These are beautiful! Thanks for sharing


Thanks for the kind words. There are more to come so stay tuned


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## SeattleBen (Jul 30, 2020)

So in looking at this am I correct that you are not epoxying these down but are simply recessing the stone into the wood? Also those are quite handsome.


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## childermass (Jul 30, 2020)

You are right, no epoxy on these. All stones fit snuggly into the cavity and don’t move in use. If one starts moving due to shrinkage in the wood a little plasticine in the right spot is all it takes to fix that.


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## childermass (Jul 30, 2020)

SeattleBen said:


> Also those are quite handsome.


Forgot to say thank you


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## childermass (Sep 20, 2020)

Finished Dai for my now sold Karasu Suita. Made of Hornbeam wood and finished with floor oil as usual.


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## childermass (Oct 4, 2020)

Two glued ones this time...

First is an ancient Aoto that was so skewed I had to glue it into a piece of Larch wood (this one is a little older):














Second and more recent is a plum wood base for the small Tajima I had for sale but decided to keep:










Both are glued up with marine grade epoxy and finished afterwards.


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## childermass (Nov 21, 2020)

Finished the next one, right after the sale, for a hopefully happy new owner . Kizuyama on red cedar:


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## daddy yo yo (Nov 22, 2020)

Wow! Stephan, I‘m impressed!


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## Phip (Nov 28, 2020)

I plan to steal some of your design features. The notches for gripping the stones to remove them is a nice touch.


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## childermass (Nov 28, 2020)

Phip said:


> I plan to steal some of your design features. The notches for gripping the stones to remove them is a nice touch.


Sure, feel free. But that’s not my design but pretty commonly seen in Dai made in Japan as well. These notches also are very handy when making a more complex fit. You can make this area completely plane instead of having to follow the contour of the whole stone saving lots of time and nerves.
See this picture to know what I mean (this Dai wasn’t made by myself )


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## Phip (Nov 29, 2020)

I've done quite a bit of fitting irregular shaped metal objects in wood, and a time saving trick like making the Dai level at the points where you grasp the stone is a good one..


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## childermass (Dec 17, 2020)

Finished a Ho-wood Dai for this nice and hard Wakasa that was shipped to me from Italy. The bottom of this stone is pretty wonky (see 5th picture) but it came out quite nicely. It sits perfectly level and almost completely steady now.
The stone and Dai will go back to the owner now.
It was a great feeling to be trusted by a stranger by sending over a stone without knowing anything about me . And it’s nice to get some practice.












that’s the bottom...


and the top...


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## childermass (Feb 28, 2021)

Finished two more. The stones are not mine, the Dai are made to order.

First is a big slab of Tsushima Nagura on a lovely piece of Hornbeam:

















Second one is some unknown Awasedo on Walnut:


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## toddnmd (Feb 28, 2021)

Just came across this thread. Very nice work! And I may be inspired to give this a try.


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## doc (Feb 28, 2021)

Thats awesome!

How long do you need for a Dai?


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## childermass (Feb 28, 2021)

doc said:


> Thats awesome!
> 
> How long do you need for a Dai?


Thanks!
Time depends on how irregular the bottom of the stone is. I‘d say something between 3 and 8 hours.


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## cotedupy (Mar 2, 2021)

Just come across this thread again. And wow... it really is lovely work you're doing here! If I was anywhere near Wien I'd be sending you a couple of stones for commissions. (I'm kinda tempted anyway tbh).

As it is, I may just tap you up for some tips for attempting to try one myself...


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## childermass (Mar 2, 2021)

Thanks!
Shipping rocks around the globe might not be very cost efficient but I am happy to answer any questions you might have. As I saw your handles I know you know how to work with wood so making a base for a stone should be pretty straightforward for you.


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## cotedupy (Mar 3, 2021)

childermass said:


> Thanks!
> Shipping rocks around the globe might not be very cost efficient but I am happy to answer any questions you might have. As I saw your handles I know you know how to work with wood so making a base for a stone should be pretty straightforward for you.



Yes - it's a shame they're not the lightest things in the world. And... cheers  TBH apart from being ok at handles I'm certainly not god's gift to the woodworking world, but I think I should be able to make one that is at least functional, though certainly won't be as beautiful as yours! (And thank you - I shall ask any advice if I come up against any problems.)


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## why-am-i-bleeding (Apr 1, 2021)

childermass said:


> Built another base for one of my stones, this time it’s a smallish red Aoto (Atagoyama) stone. The Dai is basically finished except for the oiling part. I will post some more pictures after that.
> View attachment 87964
> View attachment 87965
> View attachment 87966
> ...



Love it!!!!


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## cotedupy (Apr 8, 2021)

So I got something nice in the post today...







I'd asked @childermass if there was any possibility to make me one of these very lovely things for my Maruoyama. To which he initially replied, rather flatteringly, that I was quite good enough at woodwork to do it myself.

After I explained that I could just about make an ok wa handle, but had barely picked up a chisel in my life, we agreed that he could make me one without having to ship a stone halfway around the world twice. All I had to do was make any small adjustments if needed, and then apply my preferred finishing oil. The piece of wood I chose (walnut) also turned out to have a rather fetching contrast between sapwood and heartwood .

And the dimensions were almost completely perfect already tbh:






It took about 10 mins of sanding/scraping, and I think this counts as a pretty snug fit:






Maybe water might change it over time, but I can always touch up slightly if so.

And I don't know if this is a clever design feature, or just me being lazy... I purposefully stopped the sanding when I got to this point. The stone fits perfectly with no movement, and completely level, but there's still a very small gap between the stone and base of the dai, which is going to stop the unsealed bottom of my beautiful Maruoyama Suita sitting in any excess water when I use it. So even if not intentional, I'm going to keep it like this.






I'll post another pic when I've applied a couple of coats of oil to finish, but as you can probably tell - I'm pretty happy!


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## Phip (Apr 12, 2021)

Stones and wood: What a lovely marriage.


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