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The Hinoki File

Woods, joints and old houses, kept on file

The Hinoki File

An independent tally of woods, joints and old houses, kept like the rack book of a Japanese lumber yard: every board states what it was checked against and what this card does not claim.

Run the tally board

A lumber yard rack of stickered hinoki boards stacked to dry, pale golden board ends in neat rows with thin air gaps, warm late afternoon light
Board ends on the drying rack, the yard's own photograph

Fresh from the saw

8 / 14 boards
A stack of pale hinoki boards on a sawyer trestle, straight fine grain, a faint lemon scent almost visible, workshop daylight from the side.

WD-001Woods

Hinoki: the temple wood

Explains what hinoki is, where it is used and where it should not be used.

Checked
A small brass hygrometer on a wooden windowsill beside a potted plant, condensation on the glass behind it, a timber-framed wall beyond.

CR-001Care & Keeping

Humidity and wood indoors

Explains the humidity band that keeps wood comfortable and how to read the signs.

Checked
A pale kiri tansu chest with iron drawer pulls standing on tatami, drawers slightly open showing folded cloth, soft window light.

WD-003Woods

Kiri: the paulownia chest

Explains why paulownia became the chest wood and where its softness is a limit.

Checked
The interior of a kominka farmhouse with dark massive beams and a central pillar, a sunken hearth square in the floor, smoke-darkened rafters above.

HS-001Old Houses

The anatomy of a kominka

Explains the main members and layout of a kominka and what to look at first.

Checked
A hand wiping pale oil onto a small wooden board with a folded cloth, the grain darkening as it wets, a capped bottle and worn brushes beside.

CR-002Care & Keeping

Oils that feed the wood

Explains drying oils for wood: how they work and how to lay them thin.

Checked
A wide keyaki zelkova board on sawhorses, warm brown grain with bold flame-like figure, hand plane and a coil of shavings beside it.

WD-004Woods

Keyaki: the gate wood

Explains what keyaki is, where it belongs and why old stock matters more than new.

Checked
Two long beam ends meeting in an interlocking stepped zigzag splice on a carpenter bench, pencil marks and a chisel laid beside the joint.

JT-001Joints & Assembly

Kanawa-tsugi: the long splice

Explains what the kanawa-tsugi splice does and when to choose it over a simple scarf.

Checked

Woods

Species and materials, entered by name

4 boards · checked 20/09/2026
A stack of pale hinoki boards on a sawyer trestle, straight fine grain, a faint lemon scent almost visible, workshop daylight from the side.

WD-001Woods

Hinoki: the temple wood

Explains what hinoki is, where it is used and where it should not be used.

Checked
A pale kiri tansu chest with iron drawer pulls standing on tatami, drawers slightly open showing folded cloth, soft window light.

WD-003Woods

Kiri: the paulownia chest

Explains why paulownia became the chest wood and where its softness is a limit.

Checked

Open the rack

Joints & Assembly

How wood meets wood, and stays honest

4 boards · checked 14/09/2026
Two long beam ends meeting in an interlocking stepped zigzag splice on a carpenter bench, pencil marks and a chisel laid beside the joint.

JT-001Joints & Assembly

Kanawa-tsugi: the long splice

Explains what the kanawa-tsugi splice does and when to choose it over a simple scarf.

Checked
A wide tabletop board with a narrow gap between frame and panel visible, a finger-width groove along the edge, morning light raking the surface.

JT-003Joints & Assembly

Wood that moves by design

Explains seasonal wood movement and how good joinery leaves room for it.

Checked

Open the rack

Old Houses

Kominka, beams and the houses that keep them

3 boards · checked 17/09/2026
The interior of a kominka farmhouse with dark massive beams and a central pillar, a sunken hearth square in the floor, smoke-darkened rafters above.

HS-001Old Houses

The anatomy of a kominka

Explains the main members and layout of a kominka and what to look at first.

Checked
A polished dark wood engawa veranda running along the side of an old house, sliding panels open to a moss garden, late afternoon light.

HS-002Old Houses

The engawa edge

Explains what an engawa is and what it does for the house it borders.

Checked
A stack of dark reclaimed beams in a salvage yard, end grain visible, old mortise pockets and peg holes showing, a hand checking one end.

HS-003Old Houses

Reading a reclaimed beam

Explains how to assess a reclaimed timber beam before buying it.

Checked

Open the rack

Care & Keeping

Keeping wood sound once it is indoors

3 boards · checked 19/09/2026
A small brass hygrometer on a wooden windowsill beside a potted plant, condensation on the glass behind it, a timber-framed wall beyond.

CR-001Care & Keeping

Humidity and wood indoors

Explains the humidity band that keeps wood comfortable and how to read the signs.

Checked
A hand wiping pale oil onto a small wooden board with a folded cloth, the grain darkening as it wets, a capped bottle and worn brushes beside.

CR-002Care & Keeping

Oils that feed the wood

Explains drying oils for wood: how they work and how to lay them thin.

Checked
A water stone in a wooden base on a bench, a plane blade held at its bevel angle, dark sharpening slurry on the stone surface, water dipper nearby.

CR-003Care & Keeping

Sharpening on water stones

Explains the two-stone sharpening method and the habits that keep edges keen.

Checked

Open the rack

The tally board

  1. WD-001 Hinoki: the temple wood
  2. CR-001 Humidity and wood indoors
  3. JT-001 Kanawa-tsugi: the long splice
  4. WD-004 Keyaki: the gate wood
  5. WD-003 Kiri: the paulownia chest
  6. WD-002 Nikko sugi: the cedar avenue
  7. CR-002 Oils that feed the wood
  8. HS-003 Reading a reclaimed beam
  9. CR-003 Sharpening on water stones
  10. HS-001 The anatomy of a kominka
  11. HS-002 The engawa edge
  12. JT-002 The mortise and tenon without glue
  13. JT-004 Wedges that tighten the joint
  14. JT-003 Wood that moves by design

Other yards

Boards tallied at other yards, each read before it was stacked here.