Project by Dave Rutan | posted 11-24-2015 08:30 PM | 2273 views | 11 times favorited | 8 comments | ![]() |
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What says ‘Merry Christmas’ better than a hand made puzzle to create frustration? I made this very simple puzzle from a piece of oak, a few brass washers and a new black shoe string. After I saw Peter Brown’s video [link] on this I just knew I was going to make one. The wood measure about 3-1/2×2 inches and is about 3/4 inches thick. I lopped off two opposing corners to add some interest to the piece. The one edge already had a round-over on it. The secret to added frustration is to make the hole just smaller than whatever rings you use. That way it almost looks like it’s possible to somehow pass the ring through the wood.
The string is epoxied into holes drilled in the ends of the wood. I added a small brass washer for decoration and to hide any glue squeeze out. The piece is finished with spray lacquer.
This is the sort of thing where the shape of the wood can be just about anything. Now I’m imagining a new use for hole saw plugs!
The object is to simply get both rings (washers) onto the same loop of string.
Steve French’s video shows the solution without any fuss. [link]
Steve French also showed how to make this puzzle [link], but I enjoy Peter’s cheekiness.
-- Ni faru ion el ligno!
8 comments so far
Ivan
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16513 posts in 3834 days
#1 posted 11-24-2015 08:40 PM
Very challenging!
-- Ivan, Croatia, Wooddicted
bushmaster
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4094 posts in 3249 days
#2 posted 11-24-2015 09:46 PM
‘will Have to try this one for sure.
-- Brian - Hazelton, British Columbia
CharlieK
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#3 posted 11-25-2015 04:14 AM
That’s a great little puzzle Dave. I saw one like it several years ago and it took me quite a while to figure it out. Once in a while I come across it again and sometimes I have to learn it all over again!
-- Adjustable Height Workbench Plans http://www.Jack-Bench.com
irtamos
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314 posts in 3010 days
#4 posted 11-25-2015 07:50 AM
Well done!
-- irtamos, Belgium
Dave Rutan
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2008 posts in 3155 days
#5 posted 11-25-2015 11:07 AM
After playing with it for a while, my daughter handed it back to me to ‘fix’. It took me some time to sort it out. Then I had to look up the solution again.
-- Ni faru ion el ligno!
CFrye
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11143 posts in 2806 days
#6 posted 11-25-2015 11:47 AM
Love it, Dave!
-- God bless, Candy
Dave Rutan
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2008 posts in 3155 days
#7 posted 11-25-2015 12:55 PM
Thank you, everyone for putting this project in the Daily Top 3!
-- Ni faru ion el ligno!
mahdee
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4291 posts in 2734 days
#8 posted 11-25-2015 03:45 PM
Really cut. Lack of conversion saver for sure.
-- earthartandfoods.com
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