Extraordinary build !!! I've never seen any curved kumiko pieces, anytime, anywhere ! Ever consider using contrasting wood for some of your original infill ... might cure your lost patterns?

Okay, now you've really done it. I take it from the number, variety and quality of your video presentations that you have feelings as strong about imparting skills and educating others as you do about the work you do. I can't think of anything more deserving of our commendation and gratitude. I've watched a bunch of such videos over the past month, awakening a latent interest I had in kumiko for a while. My background supports me, since I trace my love of woodworking and my respect for tools and workmanship to my grandfather (who was born on the island of Nisyros in the Aegean), and my father. Dad was Pop's son-in-law, but Pop succeeded in motivating his son-in-law to pursue a rewarding career as a custom cabinet builder. I cherish the memory of spending time with them as they worked. That background served me well when I later served as a machinist's mate in the engineroom of a nuclear-powered sub. Working there, attention to detail, patience to do a job correctly the first time, and high standards were the norm. We kept all the potential dangers at bay, because although we had some wonderful times together, we took our work with the seriousness and care it demanded. Segue a few decades on and I'm now retired on a small farm with my spouse. When we built our barn 25 years ago I put in a good wood shop. I could write for hours about how rewarding that decision has been. Your videos, and the work of yours I've seen here and on your website, do more than impress me with the beauty and craftsmanship involved. It made me feel I could learn kumiko, accepting and embracing the challenges involved, mindful of how wonderful it is to be an old man who still looks forward to doing something new. I owe you a debt I'm happy to carry, for making tomorrow something to look forward to so very much. When you're 71, that means a lot. Not every artisan is willing, not to say eager, to share their skills and techniques. It takes a generous heart and mind to do that. Having watched so many kumiko videos so far, yours are the best, hands down. Bending kumiko - wow. I haven't seen any other among the hundreds of videos I've watched, where an artisan dares to try this. Your courage, considering the work and huge risks involved, and your enthusiasm are an example and an inspiration. I watched this and thought, okay, I'm just a beginner, but with practice I could eventually do this too. Maybe not tomorrow or next week, but with practice, and the example you set to emulate, some day not so far off as to scare me away. I'll stop writing now, so I can head to my shop and get started. But not before I say thanks again, as I will be doing for a long time to come. Bravo, Maestro! Efcharistó!

This bent kumiko chandelier Video, but even more you creator, definetly deserve much more credit for your time, effort and creation from youtube....

It is fabulous! You have the patience of a saint to do this project. It is timeless and one of a kind.

Stunning build, JT! incredible patience and precision. Thanks for sharing.

why must alway be someone ahead with an idea 😮 well done! watching the bending was nerve-wrecking, I would have died after that crack 😂

Impressive dedication

Their are no words that can adequately describe this Beautiful work of Art! As others have stated, I also in my twenty plus years of building High end Furniture have never seen curved Kumiko . You sir have just inspired a whole lot of people with your creativity, I get goose bumps just thinking about the possibilities ….that sounds silly but I’m just blown away, Well Done Sir!!!!

I had to hold my breath whilst you bent it. Absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful!

If you put this kind of love and patience into everything in your life, you can't help but be satisfied.

Just phenomenal work! Woodworking elevated to art. As others have commented or alluded - I was terrified when you did the bend. I also enjoyed the design change (much cleaner). So glad it worked out!

Stunning! Just stunning!!

Beautiful build! Thanks!

I’m blown away!! Beautiful!!

Its beautiful. Love it!

DUDE!!!! You knocked it out of the park with this one! This should break the internet!

Beautiful work. That’s for sharing the process of experimentation.

Breathtaking work!

Beautiful and one of a kind piece. Kinda opens up the possibilities. Thanks for the video.

This build was well worth the wait from all the teasers you released. Outstanding...the choice you made at the beginning to rearange the pattern was wise as both patterns now blend as well as stand on their own. Fantastic accomplishment🙏

this is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

absolutely stunning piece! very inspirational...glad YT brought me here.

This was so rewarding to watch. Awesome idea and execution. Thanks for sharing

Wow, this is incredible. Very inspiring

That is gorgeous.

This came out absolutely AMAZING! I'm so impressed with how this looks and how much hard work went into this - great job!!

Awesome Dude! I loved it.

Appreciate the hard work. The smile of success is always a great payoff.

Absolutely amazing man!

You really went around the bend on that one.

I have always been a little on the fence about kumiko design but this is amazing. Well done

Congratulations Johnny !! This is truly a masterpiece! So gentle and airy! Wow, the craftsmanship, 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 breathtaking work!

Wow! Amazing...

not that it matters, but the glue pop happens right up against your jacket, somewhere on that line, you can see it release tension very slightly as it pops. Absolutely incredible project, love it.

Beautiful 😍

Absolutely stunning!!! Well done..... well presented. Thank you for sharing your talent and work with us. Can't wait to see what you make next.

Inspiring craftmanship!

very very cool build. i'd love to give kumiko a try soon!

Just came back to this project. Still stands out as a lovely design, brave construction challenge and great video. Wow!

Great work!!!

Beyond amazing!

Impressive!

That is incredible, Johnny! That would easily sell for crazy money! Super build!

Well done, amaising!

Absolutely masterful- can’t adequately describe how impressive this is, right up there with the kumiko canoe

Wow, that's amazing work Johnny, got another subscriber

he actually did it!!! the absolute madman!!!!! ❤

Fantastic job 👏

incredible!

It's beautiful👍🏾🇬🇧💙

Fantastic and skilled work Mr. Tromboukis. Thank you for sharing.

Beautiful

Great job man! You took the risk and it paid off handsomely. You can proud of this work for years to come!

Very nice!

I have no words to describe this wonderful work of art. Simply amazing work! Every care in detail is something from another planet. Thanks so much for sharing this masterpiece with us. A big hug from here in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil Peace, health, success, wisdom and blessings to you and your family.

This is crazy good work my friend! I love everything about it. Your music in the video was so relaxing that I wanted to meditate. 🙂(Oh, and I saw my sticker too! Bonus points.)

9:30 the colluseum 😅

Curved Kumiko who would have thunk! This will definitely be added to my to do list. Very nicly done!

Simple beautiful Johnny. I have nothing else.

Wow man, that’s a whole lotta trust you put into that piece just to get it to the point of no return but what a fantastic finale. Bravo!

Outstanding! Kerf bending is the smart way to do this. I did it the stupid way: vertical bars stay the same, horizontal bars become rings. This isn't so bad (I used a CNC to make the rings), but diagonal infill pieces need a twist! I was working with a much smaller diameter (about 4"), so the curvature is much greater/tighter. Got through it by boiling the wood and clamping in a jig, but your technique is much better. Starting in now on a spherical kumiko - no straight pieces anywhere. It works in CAD, we'll see...

a hand held steamer might help. Awesome work.

Very nice

Top notch project! I've added it to my list. Need to build your sled first and do some practice with the diamond patterns. Question: How did you join the two ends together to complete the circle?

Grandios !!!

Really beautiful, amazing that the kumiko pattern held together through the bending, what type if glue did you use for the kumiko?

Wow.....

13:50 ... you must have a Go Pro...! They are notorious for that. Absolutely fantastic work, very satisfying to watch!

Damn that fitment of the circle coming together must have felt great. How do you even figure out the math of how big to make the circle? You must be a math wizard too lol

Mega, I got goosebumps when I saw your finished project. I would love to do a Kumiko training with you. Best regards from Daniel from Oberhausen

Incredible build! I love everything about this Kumiko lamp. Art work, really. Can you provide a link for the decorative paper that you used. I never could catch the name of it. I would really like to try this someday. Congratulations, well done!!

7:57 fun fact: many basket weavers use water in spray bottles to keep their wood damp after the initial soak. This is a lot easier than towels. 💖🌞🌵😷

Stunning. Just stunning. What material did you use? I can’t find basswood that long, so I assume pine? The paper was a great choice too.

Thats amazing shoji paper! Where did you find it?

Excuse my French but you have balls bending Kumiko. Amazing result. I’ll stick to my Soji-Kumiko lamp for now. You are a master my friend

Maybe try building you kumiko around a round form? Grat work and great video.

Ok, so when I started watching this I was like “oh, that will be cool and quite a challenge to bend kumiko” …. But then to see it as this finished project and am blown away! Awesome project. Also, I am completely resigned to the fact that I will never achieve this level of meticulousness in my life😅

Absolutely wonderful workmanship! Frank Lloyd Wright would have loved it too!...

3:56 instead of holding down the piece of wood with your thumb... what if you added a clamp to the jig? If you had significant hold down pressure, could you pare more than one piece of wood at a time with the chisel? 💖🌞🌵😷

Hallo Grüße aus Deutschland! Ich möchte für mein nächstes Projekt Kumiko einbauen, und ich finde das Muster in dem Video da am besten. Das Standard Kumiko Muster und die anderen die man so im Internet findet sind nicht so mein Fall. Ich werde das jetzt zum ersten Mal machen, zudem aus Eiche. In anderen Videos wird eher ein Weichholz empfohlen, aber mit den passenden Vorrichtungen klappt das bestimmt!

Very cool project, cost to share a bit stiff.

I happen to find even a certain japanese made a kumiko decorated wooden geodesic dome that doesn't need bending .. Does it ring you the bell ..

I'm not a woodworker, but to me it seems like you could find a way to make thin long sheets of wood, maybe using a really large bandsaw, than glue the layers together using flexible glue that wont crack once bent, once all sheets are glued flat, use some king of machine to laser or CNC cut intricate patterns even more complex than what you are doing, than maybe steam the whole thing and bend it into a circle for your lamp shade? a machine shop would have a machine I think . I don't know what home CNC/ 3D routers can do, but if any of the machines can cut super thin detailed designs you would up your wood game. Just an idea from a non- woodworker. I would ask around machine shops and people who have 3d/ wood cnc type machines. oh found one, machines like these: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b6qPZNygup_Sk6s.html

🎉🎉🎉

Hi, would you mind sharing where your initial inspiration for kumiko came from? For me it was a combination of kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y7SlpNp735-2fnk.html paired with nothing going on in 2020. Brilliant project!

With a modern era cutting technologies, you don’t even need to bent anything like that, it’s just a waste of time from a point of stability in construction, since bent wood will always have more stress inside. Just a bit 3d skills and laser cutter (since you use automated cutting tools anyway, it’s just the same).

Damn, this page is legit.