“AKKU” Packing Puzzle.

Boys and Girls,
 

OMG, it’s been a whole 2 days since I last posted a puzzle… it’s not that I’m short (of puzzles, not stature), but even for me it takes time to amass the garbage I extoll on the unsuspecting public.

To prove I’m a masochist, I’ve decided to undertake the arduous task of combining some words and pictures to unleash another puzzle on yazall.  

You can take pleasure in the complacency that there is no jail sentence should you choose to ignore it. 

Though I have already posted some of my more recent ones, here is one I made about 6 months ago and I can’t lie about the date as it’s embossed on the bottom of the box, 

Hold onto your hats, 

as this may just be the start of my resurgence and you may will be inundated by more of them in the near future.

 

I may have run out of film back in May as there are only a few original happy snaps, but I will try to eke out some extra wordage if only to piss off the naysayers.

For those that cannot sleep pondering where the name came from… apparently, as the story goes, when you take the 9 “L” shaped parts and arrange them so, 

aligned look like the voltage of a battery or accumulator (???), hence the name AKKU…. don’t shoot the messenger, I make ‘em, not name ‘em!

 

I am graduating to fabricate my puzzles out of solids as opposed to laser cut MDF, however, I prefer to prototype out of MDF in case I goofed up the solution and the puzzle I built is unsolvable. I’d hate the thought of wasting time on good timber (and time) on a futile exercise.

From the model in SketchUp (available for download from the 3DW below),

it followed the path through Layout → CorelDraw → JobControl (laser software) to glue up,

and ready for testing.

Through the use of the cheat sheets,

I only needed 3 hands on this solution,

for the prototype to be mastered,

Happy with the results, it was time to go solids.  The first step was to prepare the cubes for the puzzle pieces.  This was the start of me stockpiling which I mentioned in previous posts. 

I made a video of making the cubes,

and bevelling the cubes,

on my sanding disc on the lathe, 

 

The pieces were easy to make up and as all the 9 pieces were the same, I had enough fingers to keep track.

Then came the box out of solids… the method, though different shapes, has been documented in many prior project posts.  

At the time of the build, I hadn’t devised the “rectangular build” and still retained the fingers,

Stupid me, engraved and backfilled the box bottom prior to assembly, consequently there was a danger of ruining the backfill during finger removal,

Fearing bottoming out the engraving during sanding, I covered it up with masking tape,

The tape wouldn’t protect the engraving, but it provided a “progress meter” during sanding so I could judge when the bottom was flat (fingers sanded) yet not ruin the engraving… it worked.

 

One of the interesting parts of this puzzle is in its shipping packaging.  

Many of my puzzles are “packaged” into the box in such a way that the pieces are kept together but parts sticking out as opposed to the solved configuration.

Unfortunately the packaging (and unpackaging) is nearly as complex as solving, so I had to make up separate instructions for that. Consequent the main solution  instructions cited the following prelude,

 

Only made 3 of these so don’t expect a Christmas present.

 

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.

All the solutions to my puzzles can be found at this link...
*** Measurements and further details can be provided on request. ***
Christmas is coming and puzzles make a great stocking stuffer... for all ages.  
Kids love ‘em and most of us are still kids.

 

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