Fritz Flop Puzzle.

Boys and Girls,
 

Haven’t run out of victims (puzzles) yet… at least not the ones up for posting. Another packing puzzle that follows the “standard” shapes that seem to populate many of my latest puzzles.

 

Don’t blame me for the name… though I may plagiarise the design, I try to stick with the author’s moniker.

 

Before I prattle on incoherently, a quick disclaimer on my engraving.  

I copied the image from my previous puzzle and forgot to change the puzzle’s name, gallery picture #6... just persevere with the false reporting/pictures… it has been addressed

 

The non-MDF boxes are made out of merbau and I stick to trusty pine for the cubed pieces. While I enjoy the looks of the result, unlike the 3mm or 6mm MDF, non-standard dimensions is a PITA as the timber always needs to be prepared for laser cuttable thickness which are seldom consistent, and I usually have no idea of optimum laser cutting settings… not knowing the type of timber and associated janka, doesn’t help.

When preparing the timber, 

many finish up cupped/warped, which may not be a major issue in assembly, however, just a sub 1mm deviation in horizontal thickness, combined with cranky grain direction change, can have the laser’s cutting regime throw a wobbly and full pass-through may not be achieved in spots, resulting in a pain to separate.

While this is the effect of grain with engraving,

it works similarly for cutting.

 

For late comers… as with most of my solids puzzles, 18mm³ cubes 

are used to make up the puzzle pieces.  It is the size of the resultant piece(s) that will determine the inside measurements of the retaining box… 

which usually results in multiples of 18mm (in 3D), with an additional 1-2mm wiggle room added.

MDF is usually exact, however when gluing the pine cubes together, they may not be perfectly aligned and 2 cubes glued may result in say 36.5mm x 19mm. Having this deviation in several pieces, one can comprehend the need for the wiggle room. As the MDF and solids are cut using the same "files", the measurements usually err on the side of caution… good for fitting but sometimes the aid of friction to hold pieces in place may be missing requiring a 3rd hand and sometimes even a 4th. 

 

FAIW, the boxes are designed to be cut out from boards ranging 3mm to 6mm thick using the same files…

 

the thinner the faces, the more “tenons” need to be sanded off.

(picture of a different puzzle). 
 

I pick the 18mm as the base measurement as I make MDF puzzles out of 3mm or 6mm sheets.  Two 6mm laminations is a tad too small, four is just a tad too big… finally, three is Goldilock,

The bottom was engraved 

with my logo, date and puzzle id

as per usual, however, the engraving was not backfilled with Timbermate 

as the wood was too grainy and backfill would make it harder to decipher.

 

3DW Model,

and the A4 PDF Solution.

 

Anyone interested in my puzzles (or other authors’), you can see them all here in my “Puzzle Collection” .

If interested in any of mine (LBD), measurements can be made available on request for anyone not familiar with SketchUp… though a working knowledge of SketchUp’s navigation (as opposed to its design/use features) and access to 3DW could be of benefit.

Kids love ‘em and most of us are still kids.

 

 

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