Chapter 6

My Ideas by Trial and Error in My Life


Last, I mention about my ideas by trial and error in my life. It may help artists and extends their field of activity.



6.1. Make a Baren from Toothpicks


The baren is a time-honored traditional Japanese tool used in hand-printing process for woodcut. It is a disk and has a flat bottom and a knotted handle on the top side. Firmly press the baren and rub the back side of the paper for picking up ink from the surface of wood printing block.

This baren is made from bamboo; the core of the baren is bamboo cord which has many knots and these knots make a pressure for printing. Using the toothpicks instead of the knots may be a substitute for press machine in lithography.


Try to use the toothpicks for the baren. Put a rubber band around the toothpicks and put this bundle of toothpicks into a cup which has the flat bottom. Turn the cup over and press on the work with it, like the baren; you may use both side of a point and the head. A pressure is an aggregate of a point: it does not need to be an area. Cut open a plastic folder/clear sheet protector and use it instead of putting paper for printing with the toothpick baren.


The press machine is too heavy for installing in general house and the floor would fall through. Although the lightening press machine was developed by Professor Ozaku above, it needs an enough space for installing the press machine as a matter of course.

A lot of material is used for the core of the baren today: metal ball chain, paper cord, cotton cord, hemp cord, cardboard, polyester, nylon, resin and the like; however, these baren do not make enough pressure to paper for delicacy of the materials except metal ball chain in printing, and besides, metal is too hard and metal ball chain damages the printing plate, especially in plywoodgraph.

The toothpick is made from wood and it is harder than a knot of bamboo but moderately soft to the touch for the printing plate. The toothpick baren makes enough pressure and it is effective to thick art paper well.


I have a plan to use a toothpick cord instead of a bamboo cord for producing the baren. Tie a lot of toothpick together with wire on the grooves of the head and cut the body off from the head for making a cord. Coil this toothpick cord into a circle and use this circle of the toothpick cord for the core of the baren. This my plan would make the toothpick baren easier to use.



6.2. Use Facial Cleansing Oil as Cleaner


Using the facial cleansing oil as a cleaner for cleaning the ink might make your artistic activity more comfortable. Need not care of ventilation, not roughen the hands, and may be easily disposing of waste fluid.


I use the cleansing oil for cleaning the metal printing plates, rollers, spatulas and the like. The cleansing oil is normally for removing a make-up, but it dissolves ink well and easily rinses.

If you worry about a small amount of residual oil, wash the tools with neutral detergent and water or wipe them off with absolute alcohol; by the way, I wipe the surface of the metal printing plate replaced fatty acid with the silicon instead of the lacquer off with absolute alcohol.

I buy the cleansing oil at "one coin shop" for 100 yen like 1 dollar in Japan; however, the bottle is very small, so the cost-performance ratio is not clear; getting the oil cheaper at the drugstore than at the one coin shop might be possible.


At the large studio, diluting sulfonated castor oil (red turkey oil / turkey red oil) with cheap vegetable oil as 3-5 times is better and may add a small glycerin into the oils for prevention of chapped hands.

Sulfonated castor oil is castor oil that has been treated with sulfuric acid so that it is fully dispersible in water. This oil is commonly used for emulsifying agent and has a unique smell and it is also raw materials of the cleansing oil.



6.3. Apply Silicon on Tools


Applying silicon on the tools makes easy to clean the rollers, the spatulas, the ink board, the work stand and the like. It makes easy to peel ink hardened by carelessness off from tools. Even if the hardened ink was not removed clean, you may remove it together with silicon; silicon is removed by kerosene.

You may try to apply silicon on a plywood board and put it on the legs such as plastic beer cases for a work stand. The board should be more than 1cm thick; too thin board bends.

Also you may clean them with the cleansing oil.


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