| ©1990-2005 by Stewart T. Coffin For questions or comments regarding this site, contact the chief metagrobologist:  |
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These brief woodworking hints are necessarily and purposely just that and not detailed directions. To give workshop blueprints for each puzzle would not only take a prohibitive amount of space but would also I think detract from the theme of the book. Part of the fun is figuring out how to do things. Because of the simple repetitive nature of geometrical dissections in general and the few recurring angles, the individual blocks are easier to saw out than one might suppose. By the same token, any error in sawing can become cumulative and surprisingly excessive when blocks are glued together. Accuracy at all stages of the work is most important.
Beyond that, the greatest problem in puzzle craft is coping with uneven expansion and contraction with changes in humidity. It can be as much as 2% from summer to winter. If it were uniform in all directions it would be no problem, but it can be 10 times as much across the grain as lengthwise. The result is that higher humidity tends to make most interlocking puzzles tighter. The burr puzzles are especially susceptible, and so the more stable types of woods should be used for them. Other designs, such as those of the Scorpius and Jupiter configurations, are barely affected by humidity - they just grow or shrink overall. By studying the geometry of a puzzle, sometimes one can find ways in the construction to minimize the effects of humidity. For example, in puzzles like the Three-Piece Block Puzzle or the Octahedral Cluster Puzzle, if the blocks are arranged such that their grains all run in the same direction in the assembled puzzle, the result will be an almost complete cancellation of the effects of humidity.
Start with the easier projects such as the two-dimensional dissection puzzles, the standard burr, and cubic blocks. As you gain experience with these and are able to make them to your satisfaction, then you may wish to progress toward the more difficult models. The arrangement of the chapters is roughly in order of increasing difficulty except where indicated otherwise. Do not be too disappointed if you find the Star Prism Puzzle or the Jupiter Puzzle to be beyond your woodworking capability. Curiously, it is the simpler puzzle that turns out almost invariably to have the greater recreational potential. For some indication of the author's personal preferences and recommendations, note the amount of space devoted in this book to each puzzle design.
For more information the reader is referred to my previous book, Puzzle Craft, which is oriented more toward the practical woodworking aspects of geometrical puzzles.
| ©1990-2005 by Stewart T. Coffin For questions or comments regarding this site, contact the chief metagrobologist: |
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