Shoji Project: Are We Done Yet?

By now you're probably wondering, "What the hell happened to you? Did you die or something?". No I didn't die. Work and a faulty memory chip in my brain happened. But there is good news. I finally finished the shoji screen! Pictured below is the finished product. Note that this was a 5-panel screen but the very first panel is folded back due to a lack of space at the time this picture was taken.

To finish this project I purchased an 800 thread count bed sheet. The paper was very tempting but expensive. On the other hand, the bed sheet was available at walmart for 20 bucks. Also, I chose 800 thread count because it was denser and would look a lot better when a light was shining from behind the screen. After taking measurements it turned out a queen would do the trick. Just make sure that the edges are not seamed too far in as you'll be cutting off those parts and discarding them. You will want to subtract the seamed edge measurement from the total area the sheet will cover and make sure it will still get your shoji screen done with a single sheet.

Installing the cloth was easy. Spread the sheet in front of you in a landscape arrangement and mark out the inside of a frame width plus half an inch on the sheet. In my case the inside width was 14 inches plus a half inch. Why the half inch? We have to stretch into the 1/4 inch grooves we routed out earlier and also give our shims something to half on to. 1/4 x 2 = 1/2 inch, get it? Don't worry about the vertical measurement as the queen dimension that way gives us plenty of room to work with. Now start cutting and don't go crooked. Now hopefully you have some of that 1/4 inch square dowel stock left over from your latices. Make a bunch of 1 inch pieces to make the shims. Stand a frame on its side and lay an edge of your cut cloth along the 1/4 inch groove. Remember that you want the sheet to be touching the latices so you have to position the cloth correctly. Position a shim at about the middle of the frame and smack it in with some cloth under it. I used a hammer and a 4-inch piece of leftover dowel stock. It doesn't take that much force and should make a nice tight friction fit. Stretch out in a direction along the same edge and smack in some more shims until you have a whole side shimmed. Get those corners good. Now stand the frame on its opposite edge so the the cloth you tacked in falls across to the other side. Stretch and smack as before but this time you'll be stretching across your latices as well. Don't try to get it so tightly stretched so as the shims you already did would pop out. The 4-inch piece really helps out here as there's less of a chance your hammer will accidentally smack your latices. After you get the cloth nicely stretched and shimmed in you can do the top and bottom. I had some weird stretch patterns at this point and removed and re-shimmed the corners to a nice square stretch. It really makes you appreciate your friction fit shims. Yes I thought of staples but also remembered the holes they make if removal and adjustments are necessary.

Now stand up your first finished frame, take pride and feel satisfation of what you've finished, and repeat 4 more times(for a 5-framer). After you get all of them done just screw all the hinges back together and you now have your homemade SHOJI SCREEN.

Another Update

Here are 2 completely stained and clearcoated panels. No paper yet. I'll fill you in more as things come along.

Shoji Project: Day 5, 6, 7.....??

Alright, as you can see I've finally laid down 2 coats of the sedona red on a panel. This one's ready for the clearcoat. Another panel is propped up in my living room drying its second stain coat. Let me tell you now. Laying stain on the lattices is a bastard. I put at least 3 or 4 coats on those damn things just to get the color to match the color on the redwood frame. I don't foresee using poplar wood in the future unless it is absolutely necessary. Also, I've renewed my hate for oil based stain. It just takes too long to dry and you don't get nearly the vivid color you get from water based. Even the brush cleaning is easier. And even though I'd need to sand one more time to flatten the grain, it's still less frustrating than waiting for the damn stain to dry. At least it gives me something to do. But anyway, the color is very decent and the above picture gives no justice to that. I just hope that the water based clear coat I put on later doesn't react with the oil based stain. I'm thinking that I may have to go water based spar urethane. Oh, and as far as the finish selection, it's most likely going to be satin even though I enjoy shiny things.

Stain Selection

Well it looks like I didn't get a lot of support from the poll. Those who did vote ended up evening out. So I went to the store and bought a couple sample stains: Natural Cherry and Sedona Red.

Natural Cherry:


Sedona Red:

After a day of thinking I've decided to go with the Sedona Red. What pulled me that way was the similarity of the shade with my cherry finished futon frame. I've already started staining one frame and I'll get a pic of that up when I have one complete.

Shoji Project: Day 4

I woke up at 9 this morning and routed out the remaining frame pieces. After a putting the last 2 frames together and a having a blooper with one of them I'm taking a break. I don't even know if I'll do the lattice work today. I'm bushed after working a straight 5 hours and not getting enough sleep the prior night. Well, at least the Sharks held off elimination again on game 5... Uh, here's the 5 semi-finished frames together. In that picture the screen spans 6 and a half feet.

I don't have enough room in my apartment for me to take a full picture of the damn thing. And I tried every angle, believe me.

Shoji Project: Day 3

Well, not much of a day at all but it's coming along slowly. All I managed to get done today was the lattice work and pick up some more hinges at OSH. I estimate that I'll be able to get the other 2 panels complete with lattice work this coming weekend. Sure I have 3 panels already and some probably want me to paint, finish, and paper/fabric up the thing already but remember I'm going for cool points. 5 frames = bonus cool points. Plus I still haven't decided whether I wanted to use paper or white fabric for the backing and if I want to paint the thing black or stain it cherry. Well guess what? Yeah, I'm gonna poll it! First up this week is the color. Check the side panel for that.

Shoji Project: Still Day 2

Another update. I just finished another frame. I'll do the lattice work maybe tomorrow. I'm tired. BAH...

Shoji Project: Day 2

Just got done with a second panel a little while ago. Only 3 more to go! I knew more about what I was doing this time so this panel only took me about 2 and a half hours to complete. Although I ran into some trouble with a rounded brass screw head while securing a top piece. That took me a good while to drill out. After that I screwed on a couple of top mount hinges, glued the vertical members, and stood her up.




Looking good so far eh?

Shoji Project: Day 1

Ok this thing ended up being a full blown wood working project. I used the actual tools I needed and even bought some new tools.

Tools Purchased:

- combo saw horse/work table with built modular 2 vises

- 1/4 inch chisel

- 2 18 inch clamps

- new tape measure

Tools Borrowed:

- plunge router with 1/4 inch straight bit (thanks Mike!)

- pickup truck for transport of lumber (thanks Woody!)

Materials Purchased:

- 10 2x2x8 redwood posts - 7 bucks a piece

- 6 1/4 x 1/4 x 3 poplar square dowels

Materials on Hold:

- rice paper or cloth material for screen

Ok, obviously the first thing I had to do was cut down 2 8 foot posts. The total height I'm aiming for is 6 feet. The top and bottom of the frame will overlap the sides meaning that the length I need to cut is 5ft 8in. When the top and bottom of the frame are attached they will add 4 inches giving me a total 6 ft height.

The 2 pieces I have left over from cutting the sides of the frame are 2 ft 4 inches which gives me plenty to cut my top and bottom. I want each panel to be 18 inches wide. One reason I chose the 8 ft stock was for the least wasted material possible. Each post basically lets me make half a frame - one side and one top or bottom. Proceed to cut your top/bottom.

Now we have to predrill a hole for the router so we can get our groove on... cough. I used a 1/4 inch drill bit and eyed drilling in 1/4 inches. The groove will also be a 1/4 inch.

After the pilot hole was drilled I grabbed the router and set the depth to a 1/4 inch using one of the 1/4 inch square dowels I purchased. The straight line guide was set to line up with the pilot hole as well.

Then I set the router on the pilot hole and routed away. The sides are routed end to end while the top and bottom are about an inch short on either side. You'll see what I'm talking about later.

Here is a finished top/bottom:

On the sides I made 1/4 inch notches for the cross members at 11 and 5/16ths inches apart. This gives me 5 horizontal cross members total.

BREAK TIME!!!

Predrill, screw, and countersink a 3 inch brass wood screw on the bottom and top of the frame. Remember to keep the notches on the inside.

Cut the dowels for the horiontal members to 15 and 1/2 inches. I manually marked and cut the vertical members. I dry fitted all the decorative members in the frame and here's what I ended up with.

Tilt your head 90 degrees. The top and bottom segments don't have vertical members as this is the design I decided on.

The Shoji Screen Project

I've created a few things now out of wood and I promise I'll get those up here as soon as I can. But the latest idea I'm playing around with is building my own multi-panel shoji screen. I'm thinking 5 panels in a similar design as the picture below. As a rule and theme of this blog I'm doing all of this with minimal tools and no pre-made plans. It's just my creativity and engineering skills that I'm relying on here. The only training I've had was watching This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop.

The Mission:
To create a simple to build shoji screen with minimal tools, minimal materials, and most importantly minimal cost. My aim here is to get away with up to a 5 panel homemade shoji screen for under 100 bucks. Sure I can buy something cheaper on ebay for less than 100 bucks but that's getting away from the mission here. The initial materials bought will account for a single panel frame, 1 pair of hinges, and enough thin wood material to have a finished decorative design on one side of the panel. The addition of an identical, or possibly a completely different, design on the other side of the panel will depend on the expense of labor and cost.

Predetermined Toolset:
- screwdrivers
- rotary tool with drill bit(dremmel)
- routing jig connection with routing bits for rotary tool
- small 1/4 in square chisel
- hammer
- dovetail saw(any saw will do but that's what I have)

Finishing Materials:
- brass hinges with screws
- minwax polycrilic satin spray finish
- black paint(or any other color)
- sandpaper/block(2 reusable sponge blocks of 150 and 300 grit should do ya)

Proposed Materials:
- 1/4 inch square dowels for decorative design(my estimate is about 14 linear feet worth)
- 2x2x8 wood barstock(the kind used to help prop up trees, unknown material)
- fabric or synthetic rice paper

Expected "Hardest Part"?:
- routing out a 1/4 inch deep and wide groove the entire length of the vertical framing
- routing out 1/4 inch deep and wide groove for 14 1/2 inches of the top and bottom frame pieces

The purpose for the 1/4 inch groove all the way around the inside of the framing is for the paper/fabric guide and for easier installation of the decorative 1/4 inch cross members.



Stay tuned!