Hi Folks,
Can't imagine how I missed this forum before!
I'm a fulltime puzzlemaker in Raleigh. I know, I know, weird job to say the least. Got into it about 5 years ago - bought a Japanese puzzlebox on EBay and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Started collecting puzzle boxes and interlocking puzzles. Found out quickly that the interesting designs are tough to find and very expensive b/c they are only made in limited numbers by individual craftsmen.
I was in San Diego working as a computer manager at the time, milking the GI Bill to the max at night school, and had never made anything in my life. Went down to Home Depot and bought a miter box and some 1" square stock. I remember not being able to figure out how to get the center out of a notch…I got the fact that I could make two cuts on the end, but the part in the middle had me stymied until I discovered chisels.
Anyway, I got hooked hard and fast and moved out of my apartment into a place across the street with a 1 car garage. Fortunately some dumb $%&* pulled out in front of me and totaled my old crapper motorcycle…I came out of it with sore balls from hitting the tank and a couple weeks later a check big enough to buy a tablesaw and some other tools.
My addiction only got worse when I discovered metal…took a semester at Wake Tech right before they shut the program down. So now I have a little Sieg mini-mill and lathe I retrofitted with DROs and my eye on a benchtop CNC mill and maybe a CNC router if I can find the room. Oh, also just got a laser cutter...man is that thing cool!
Here's some pics of my latest puzzle box...can you figure out how it opens? My customers didn't get the benefit of seeing the mechanism and it stumped a lot of them. I put in a couple red herrings but also a clue engraved on the bottom from Newton's Principea.
Can't imagine how I missed this forum before!
I'm a fulltime puzzlemaker in Raleigh. I know, I know, weird job to say the least. Got into it about 5 years ago - bought a Japanese puzzlebox on EBay and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Started collecting puzzle boxes and interlocking puzzles. Found out quickly that the interesting designs are tough to find and very expensive b/c they are only made in limited numbers by individual craftsmen.
I was in San Diego working as a computer manager at the time, milking the GI Bill to the max at night school, and had never made anything in my life. Went down to Home Depot and bought a miter box and some 1" square stock. I remember not being able to figure out how to get the center out of a notch…I got the fact that I could make two cuts on the end, but the part in the middle had me stymied until I discovered chisels.
Anyway, I got hooked hard and fast and moved out of my apartment into a place across the street with a 1 car garage. Fortunately some dumb $%&* pulled out in front of me and totaled my old crapper motorcycle…I came out of it with sore balls from hitting the tank and a couple weeks later a check big enough to buy a tablesaw and some other tools.
My addiction only got worse when I discovered metal…took a semester at Wake Tech right before they shut the program down. So now I have a little Sieg mini-mill and lathe I retrofitted with DROs and my eye on a benchtop CNC mill and maybe a CNC router if I can find the room. Oh, also just got a laser cutter...man is that thing cool!
Here's some pics of my latest puzzle box...can you figure out how it opens? My customers didn't get the benefit of seeing the mechanism and it stumped a lot of them. I put in a couple red herrings but also a clue engraved on the bottom from Newton's Principea.