Master timber house builders share their trade secrets скачать в хорошем качестве

Master timber house builders share their trade secrets

(17 Apr 2014) LEAD IN: The city of Kyoto is famous for a kind of timber framed building known as Kyo Machiya. The number of craftsman capable of building these structures has diminished in recent years, but a few young carpenters are trying to keep the tradition alive. STORYLINE Honing the blade of a hand plane is a fundamental skill that a Japanese carpenter must master. The blade will be taken through 3 grades of whetstone to the point that it reflects light like a mirror. Sharpened and adjusted correctly, the cut that it makes leaves a sheen on the surface of the wood that is one of the hallmarks of Japanese carpentry. Naito Tomohiro is a young craftsman who owns an architectural joinery company. He explains that carpenters are only as good as their tools. "Set squares, chisels and planes are central to Japanese carpentry. It is a profession that depends upon blades so carpenters take extreme care of their tools." His workshop is located in the mountains that surround Kyoto City although he still has an office in the goon district that he inherited from his father. He is a descendent of Naito Eisuke who came to Kyoto from Fukui prefecture at the beginning of the 19th century. Eisuke completed an apprenticeship and went on to establish the Gion Naito Komuten, the company that his great, great grandson now runs. As Naito Tomohiro explains, he is the 5th generation carpenter in the family line. The word carpenter, daiku san in Japanese, embraces a range of different disciplines. Naito's work is probably best described in English as architectural joinery. He explains, that his company's main line of work is in the construction of timber framed housing, Kyo Machiya in particular. The term Kyo Machiya refers to a traditional style of architecture that has developed in Kyoto over hundreds of years. Machiya are generally 2 storied buildings, occasionally 3. Characteristics of Machiya include timber frames that rest on a stone foundation, walls made of earth and straw plastered onto a bamboo frame and wooden lattices on the exterior. The project that Naito is currently working on is the reconstruction of an old Machiya originally built during the 1920s. Although the craftsmen set levels using laser technology and use a range of modern power tools, building methods and materials follow centuries old traditions. The joinery that connects the structure follows established conventions. Joists are fixed with wooden pegs rather than nails or bolts and traditional materials like cypress wood, bamboo, earth and straw are integral to the structure. At 36 years old Naito Tomohiro is an accomplished craftsman. Although working with a designer, he draws the schematics from which all the other craftsmen work. His also controls the budget, manages the construction schedule and takes care of administration as well as hands on involvement with pretty much the whole construction process. "An apprenticeship is very tough but people who have become carpenters, craftsmen, seem full of life. They love the wood that they work with. I personally feel a great sense of pride in what I do," he says. The skills that he and his colleagues have mastered are vital to the conservation of Kyoto's architectural heritage. According to Shinohara Shoten Ltd - a company that manufactures roofing joists - the total number of carpenters in Japan in 1995 was 761,822. In 2010 they say the figure was 397,400. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...