ofuro for Cape town -1- lumber choice

IMGP8951Today we prepared the lumber for another tub going to South Africa.

The material is asnaro (also known as hiba) wood.
We are currently working on other units so the lamination and assembly work will actually start at the beginning of september and should take about 2 weeks.

IMGP8954You can see some stains. This is not water but natural oil contained in the wood. This is the source of the aroma!
Also, the fact that the plank is blackish is the proof it is well seasoned and fully dry. Of course once planed it will show its white face. It is a very high quality lumber.

IMGP8956You can see the lumber is quarter sawn (parallel wood grain lines) and Mr. Ikeda is optimizing the cuts to mach as much as possible the bent line of the trunk
IMGP8958the sapwood area close to the bark is reduced as much as possible.
IMGP8963finally, this is material to build one ofuro  1500x750mm.

Tanoshimi ni matte kudasai! (Look forward to see it complete!)