Unshu Abacus Almost all of the many stages involved in the production of an Unshu abacus are done by hand. There are, in fact, 187 different stages, besides which each of the materials also have to be individually processed. Following below is a brief outline of the main stages involved. The main materials are as follows: Beads: Some beads are made of birch obtained from the prefectures of Tochiki, Guma, Saitama and Iwate. Another wood called isunoki (Distylium Sieb. et Zucc.) comes from Kagoshima Prefecture. Boxwood is also obtained from Kagoshima Prefecture, and from Thailand. Ebony comes from Africa. Shafts: For these a process bamboo and a smoked bamboo are used. Frame: The frames are made of such hardwoods as ebony from South East Asia. Finishing Drilling the holes Beads First the wood is seasoned and then roughly cut to size before being roughly turned. The beads are then dried and cleaned up. They are then made ready for the drilling of the hole, after which they are finished and any edges are trimmed. Staining follows and then polishing. The beads are then given a final finishing and are selected for use. Shaping the splints Fitting the shafts in the center strut Shafts The bamboo is selected and cut into lengths before being split. Having been roughly shaped, the splints of bamboo are drawn through a devise to whittle then down. Next, the best pieces are selected and the skin is removed. The splints are now finished and polished. After being cut to a standard length, any edges are removed and then they are fed into the center strut. Frame The wood is seasoned and then converted before an initial selection process. The pieces are then more or less cut to size and allowed to dry out. Any warping or twisting is then corrected, after which pieces are identified for the four sides of the frame and the back strut. Inlaying the celluloid strip Center Strut After holes have been drilled, the two faces of the center strut are scraped. A groove is made and inlaid with celluloid before the piece is cut to length. The top and bottom edges are finished and the holes cleaned up before the faces are finished. Inlaying dot marks Top and Bottom Frame First, holes for the shafts are made and then the pieces are cut to length. The joints are cut and a groove is made for the back strut. The pieces are then profiled, giving them a slightly triangular section. Dots are inlaid and the inside faces are finished. The holes are then cleaned up. The frame is now temporarily fitted together. The five beads below the center strut are put on their shafts and the whole thing is put together to made sure all the pieces fit well. Fitting the single beads Next, the single beads above the center strut are fed onto their shafts and fine supporting struts at the back are fixed. The bottom of the frame is now put in place, followed by the back strut. The frame is then bound and the bamboo at the calculation marks and fine back supporting struts are fixed in place. Next the corner joint is skillfully fashioned and some polishing is done. Further calculation markers are put in place before a final polishing is done. Any final finishing is completed before the abacus is inspected. Fixing of markers and supporting struts Calculation marks