Benchmark Puzzle Box

Hi Guys,
It's been a bit since I posted, still here, lol.

Benchmark is a 30 moves to open puzzle box.
Now, as most of you know, I like to use a lot of found boxes that I retrofit.
I picked this box up on facebook, from a guy I barely know.  It turns out that he didn't make the box either, in fact a fellow by the initials SMB made it back in 2014 as part of a box swap. If you know SMB, maybe give them a heads up!

I had a bit of health issues last year and funds were getting tight, so I gathered up the last 20 years of shop notes that I collect as I work on a design.  Nothing too revealing, mostly scribbles and sketches of intended mechanisms. I auctioned them off on PuzzleParadise.net with the caveat that the winning bidder would get first crack at this puzzle box once it was built.

Design wise, it was going to be another self-inflicted challenge.  I wanted to make it so that the only tools provided were real ones used in a wood shop. A small folding vintage wood/brass ruler, a pencil, an Allen key, and a screw.  All to find the one tape measure we all keep close and never leaves the bench!

The final treasure is a finely made brass measuring tape that is in the shape of a Chameleon.  They sell this kind of stuff on Coppertist.com

I don't care for hinges, and this one already was a simple lid that you just set on, and so in keeping with a bench theme, as you remove the lid, it pulls out with it another set of bench legs.  The end gears are tricky in that they don't feel to have a function, but yet when you remove the center hub from the gear, a small slender hole is revealed.  This is the spot where you take the brass calliper from the folding ruler and slide it inside carefully.  Now, it doesn't automatically line up with its intended location, and this is why the end gears rotate.  

I call this type of locking mechanism a Gauntlet, in that you must pass through many spots to get to the final location.  The other tools help you get there.  

One of the fun parts of the build was removing the decorative Bench Vise and replacing it with a functional one.  When withdrawn completely, you can remove the carefully hidden (sorta) Allen key that begins the journey.

As with any puzzle box making venture, I never know how its supposed to look, but I design as I go, but never gluing any mechanism is until I am sure.  Making the special locked container was challenging due to its size and weight.  The first attempt was not the one to make it, it took a second go at a new location within the box.  This process is a lot like playing chess against yourself.

I would love to show you all more of what's going on inside when I can catch a few more pictures.

Thanks for looking guys!
Create a beautiful day!
Kel