Don’t let the name fool ya… to quote a famous playwright,
“a rose by any other name will still smell sweet”, even to those that hate gardening… on the other hand, a puzzle will always stink to a naysayer… this is still called a puzzle, by me.
Not only did the OGWOOFYcome from my garden, but in true Craftisian diversification, let me introduce some cooking into this project… here is something I prepared beforehand
… albeit a few years ago.
Looking at the log, I was mesmerised by the growth ring pattern
and thought it may make a cool puzzle box. Had a look at the split handle I screwed up when “handling” my hand screw kit,
thought that the turned handle didn’t look too shabby, the grain pattern along the split face gave me an idea of what a flat face would look like and it didn’t get my juices flowing… nothing like the endgrain.
Clamped the “log” to an old discarded box carcass
and ran it along the fence of my bandsaw to slice it up into enough cookies to make two boxes,
I cut the cookies a tad too thick so I reduced some of the thickness on my belt sander, holding the cookies with my air clamps,
… makes a mess of the filters.,
but at least it kept the pump clean… if there is a next time… thinner cookies off the bandsaw.
Double sided taped 6 cookies to a sled for my drum sander,
Then it was over to my Fe$tool VAC-SYS for some finer ROS sanding,
resulting in a final thickness of ≈4.5mm.
Laser cut a set of MDF sizing templates to mark up some initial cutting lines on each cookie for each side,
(looks like a set of MDF puzzle pieces are now needed).
Cut out 2 templates for mitre saw cutting setup, to set:
the top’s width
base dimensions (55mm x 55mm)
side height (37mm + 2 x thickness)
long side length (55mm + 2 x thickness)
While this may seem like an overkill, any inaccuracies and parallax errors could make the box internals too lose or too tight hindering solution as pieces have to be rotated and move “blindly” inside the box.
The inside was first buffed and laid out in sequence,
before glue up, and then assembled with the aid of some 123 blocks,
Once assembled, the outside is buffed and a new set of puzzle pieces made (and buffed),
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.
All the solutions to my puzzles can be found at this link... Kids love ‘em and most of us are still kids.
Don’t be crafty Craftisians,... SHARE your craft!
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
SplinterGroup commented about 9 hours ago I like that application for the vac clamp! My finger tips are all about 1/2" short of "spec" from doing that sanding operation freehand.
Sharp looking box pattern, have those "cookies" ever shown tendency to get radial cracks?
It's the fingers that begged for the use of the vac... was surprised at how well it held... working on a 40-40mm diameter one... sourcing here in Aussieland is hard. The log had a few radial cracks on one end... I had to put aside 3 cookies... the 4th one split down the centre but big enough for the top (1/2 lid)... other half can be used for another box, Did a non-scientific stress test, and was surprised at how well it held out before breaking. With the glue up, I reckon it could take a drop without issues.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Being cut from a log like that, I'd be concerned with cracking as the wafers dry out. Maybe stabilizing them with epoxy in a vacuum chamber would prevent that.
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
