Back in 2018 I posted about my next project: Next Project
After many months the project is now complete.
This is a puzzle cabinet based on an apothecary that I saw at the Luray Valley Museum in Luray, VA in early 2018. It isn't an exact reproduction as I didn't take a photo of the apothecary due to photography restrictions in the exhibit so I sketched what I remembered later. My cabinet is most likely larger than the original and I have no idea what it looks like inside the closed sections since the apothecary was inside a display case. Also the top center area on the original is a shelf and I have placed something else there.
The puzzle cabinet holds 29 puzzle boxes, brain teasers and other 3D puzzles. These are all commercially sold puzzles and none I made myself. It requires a sequential order to solve and open with twelve steps to reach the end. Some of the puzzle boxes are part of the sequential order and require solving to access tools and keys. There are different locks, mechanisms and access points some of which are based on other pieces I've made, some on 18th and 19th century furniture pieces I've seen and some I designed during the course of this project.
This photo shows less than 29 puzzles but I neglected to show a couple that were either disassembled or still in their original shrink wrap and not yet solved. Believe it or not there is still room for more puzzles.
The cabinet also features four paintings that I did that in themselves form a puzzle of discovery as there is a sequence to their order. They are paintings that I did based on lessons or teachings I have received from four painting instructors that I follow on YouTube or through their books.
Bob Ross Joy of Painting lesson, done in acrylic
Frank Clarke Simply Painting lesson, done in acrylic
Based on the teachings of illustrator James Gurney, done in gouache
Lesson From Matthew Palmer's Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner book, done in watercolor
Group of keys and tools that were made specifically for this project plus commercially made modern keys.
Views of what can be found on the other side of the two closed doors. Note only the left door has a key hole. The right door doesn't have a keyhole or a knob.
There are four secret compartments inside the cabinet.
Obstruction that sets in the back of the center open section to block one of the secret compartments. Built to resemble a desk and bookcase, the desk comes off enabling someone to remove the locking device that holds it in place. The reverse of the obstruction has the painting from the Frank Clarke lesson of the couple walking by a tree down a hill.
The obstruction also holds a wooden knob used for gaining access to the final space in the cabinet. The well of the obstruction can be used to house disassembled pieces of a 3D brain teaser that has not yet been solved.
Cabinet open with all the components and some of the tools visible. The hinges for the lid were ordered from McMaster Carr and are for large metal cabinets. I needed something that would open the lid but leave no visible hinge outside the cabinet so it could possibly appear that the top isn't a lid after all. The lid has no visible lock either and requires some trial and error to figure out how to open.
The cabinet has been stained but not lacquered. In its current state it looks like the apothecary its based on which for me was the original intent of the project. The back is temporary and will be modified at some point in the future. But at this point the project is complete because the cabinet is doing what it was created to do and I don't feel like working on it anymore. Good enough reason to call it finished. The wooden and brass key was stained and shellacked.
Most of the photographs were taken in my garage but the cabinet lives in my office/den inside the house where the climate is better controlled so drawers and locks don't swell and puzzles, paintings and the cabinet get along very well.
After many months the project is now complete.
This is a puzzle cabinet based on an apothecary that I saw at the Luray Valley Museum in Luray, VA in early 2018. It isn't an exact reproduction as I didn't take a photo of the apothecary due to photography restrictions in the exhibit so I sketched what I remembered later. My cabinet is most likely larger than the original and I have no idea what it looks like inside the closed sections since the apothecary was inside a display case. Also the top center area on the original is a shelf and I have placed something else there.
The puzzle cabinet holds 29 puzzle boxes, brain teasers and other 3D puzzles. These are all commercially sold puzzles and none I made myself. It requires a sequential order to solve and open with twelve steps to reach the end. Some of the puzzle boxes are part of the sequential order and require solving to access tools and keys. There are different locks, mechanisms and access points some of which are based on other pieces I've made, some on 18th and 19th century furniture pieces I've seen and some I designed during the course of this project.
Cabinet with all puzzles.jpg
Collection of puzzles that fit inside the puzzle cabinet. These are all commercially sold...
This photo shows less than 29 puzzles but I neglected to show a couple that were either disassembled or still in their original shrink wrap and not yet solved. Believe it or not there is still room for more puzzles.
The cabinet also features four paintings that I did that in themselves form a puzzle of discovery as there is a sequence to their order. They are paintings that I did based on lessons or teachings I have received from four painting instructors that I follow on YouTube or through their books.
Painting on inside of lid
Painting done from Bob Ross, Joy of Painting, episode Autumn Fantasy, Season 20, episode 7
Painting on reverse of obstruction
Paint along lesson from Frank Clarke's Simply Painting, Beautiful Ireland in Acrylics, episode...
Frank Clarke Simply Painting lesson, done in acrylic
038_Painting on reverse of removable panel.jpg
Done of view in my backyard with some additions appropriate to the sequential order of the...
Based on the teachings of illustrator James Gurney, done in gouache
Painting on reverse of flip down panel
Painting is part of Outline 2 lesson in Matthew Palmer's Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner, a...
Lesson From Matthew Palmer's Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner book, done in watercolor
Group of keys and tools that were made specifically for this project plus commercially made modern keys.
Views of what can be found on the other side of the two closed doors. Note only the left door has a key hole. The right door doesn't have a keyhole or a knob.
There are four secret compartments inside the cabinet.
Obstruction that sets in the back of the center open section to block one of the secret compartments. Built to resemble a desk and bookcase, the desk comes off enabling someone to remove the locking device that holds it in place. The reverse of the obstruction has the painting from the Frank Clarke lesson of the couple walking by a tree down a hill.
The obstruction also holds a wooden knob used for gaining access to the final space in the cabinet. The well of the obstruction can be used to house disassembled pieces of a 3D brain teaser that has not yet been solved.
Cabinet open with all the components and some of the tools visible. The hinges for the lid were ordered from McMaster Carr and are for large metal cabinets. I needed something that would open the lid but leave no visible hinge outside the cabinet so it could possibly appear that the top isn't a lid after all. The lid has no visible lock either and requires some trial and error to figure out how to open.
The cabinet has been stained but not lacquered. In its current state it looks like the apothecary its based on which for me was the original intent of the project. The back is temporary and will be modified at some point in the future. But at this point the project is complete because the cabinet is doing what it was created to do and I don't feel like working on it anymore. Good enough reason to call it finished. The wooden and brass key was stained and shellacked.
Most of the photographs were taken in my garage but the cabinet lives in my office/den inside the house where the climate is better controlled so drawers and locks don't swell and puzzles, paintings and the cabinet get along very well.