Four moves to open the box so far, working on adding a lockable/ puzzle lid for the inside of the drawer.
There are 4 magnets in the back of the drawer and 4 mounted in the body of the box that are facing north to north to give a “spring” action when it is solved.
There are also another 8 magnets inside the back of the box in the locking mechanism to retain the buttons in their home or locked position.
Finished the box with water based blue dye, cutting board sealer and parifin wax to finish with a little added elbow grease. Below are some of the before pics just after I starting sanding.
The box itself was a great puzzle to assemble and design. I designed it entirely on inkscape.
In total including magnets, guide pins and pieces cut on the glowforge as it sits right now there are 133 separate pieces. The box measures 4"x4"
My first puzzled box was made just before this one based off the concept of the impossible joint box made by @brok09.
Not sure yet, brainstorming atm but possibly something simple like a planetary gear setup that when rotating the sun gear will unlock it. unless i can think of something more complex with magnets or maybe a gravity puzzle where it needs to be rotated or manipulated in a specific way to release the lid.
I’ve been playing with a variety of locking mechanisms, working my way up to a beast of a puzzle box, but the learning curve has been steep. I really appreciate the work that went into this box!
Have you heard of Chris Ramsay? He solves these puzzle boxes and it would be a great way to get your name out there if you are looking to sell. Check him out on YouTube if you haven’t heard of him. Awesome job btw👍
Not sure how I even found those videos lol but it was a rabbit hole and now I’m an avid supporter haha. Wish I could design a puzzle box to send them. That would be cool to see your own creation on the “big screen” haha
Chris did his first live-stream puzzle solve today, the “escape room puzzle” that Mr Puzzle showed a while back. He’s posting something every day in light of the current situation. I often wonder if those two share puzzles because they often have the same one around the same time. Mr Puzzle fixed Chris’ broken Excaliber puzzle, iirc.
Yeah I was watching his live stream today but I didn’t get to fully enjoy it. I usually watch when my kid is in bed haha. No distractions that way. But I haven’t watched Mr. Puzzle that much, seen a few maybe but enjoy Chris’ content more. I know the Excaliber was a pain, that’s cool that he did that for Chris.
Hope you enjoy.
