The pieces are entirely comprised of cubes. Wherever the cube faces touch, they
align offset by half a cube size in one or both axis.
I was introduced to this puzzle at a friend's place just before I had to
catch a train. I took it apart and couldn't get it back together. I didn't have
the time to linger and figure it out. Very frustrating.
So I snapped a photo of the puzzle's pieces, and when I got home, built a copy
of the pieces and then figure out how it went together. Once I figured it out
I made another copy of the puzzle, this one out of cherry.
The pieces are entirely comprised of cubes. Wherever the cube faces touch, they
align offset by half a cube size in one or both axis.
The cubes are just butt-joined together. I only used plain old yellow glue. I had one piece break apart on me once, and had to glue it back together.
It would be tempting to put dowels between the cubes, but that would make it very difficult to align the pieces just right while gluing them.
The cubes are 35 mm along each edge. That seems like a good size for
this puzzle.
How this puzzle goes together is best illustrated with a CAD rendering. The lines
show how the pieces slide together.
Even though I have put this puzzle together many times, it still gives me
trouble every time. It's just an amazing puzzle that way.
A video of building one of these:
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This video might help you figure out how to put it together
I'm told this puzzle was invented by Steward Coffin and published in a book titled "Puzzle craft" in 1992. |
