Just a quick update on the Model #360 puzzle. I am sold out on my first batch but plan to produce some more this weekend. My apologies if you went to my Etsy store and couldn’t find the puzzle – try again next week. The good news is you can also buy them in person or online at Eureka! Puzzles in Brookline, MA, USA Also, I shipped some to my good friends at: Oy Sloyd Ab […]
They said it couldn’t be done! They said it would cost millions of lives! They said I was crazy to try! Well, I showed them! Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Model #360 is finally done: And here’s a picture of the top showing the logo with the blue ink that takes me forever to add: It’s pretty hefty by the way, 11 1/2 ounces (325 grams). I have enough metal parts to make a hundred in total but will […]
Hooray! I received the first sample of Model #360 back from my machine shop this weekend and, in my humble opinion, it looks great. The nickel-plating turned out the way I was hoping. Here’s a shot of the top: My plan is to fill the engraved logo with turquoise-colored ink and hopefully that won’t be as ridiculously labor-intensive as the red ink was on Model #808. Here’s the bottom: Here’s the front: […]
I’ve been plugging away at my next puzzle, Model #360, for some time now. I made the first prototype out of wood, oak I think, back in the late 1990’s and it was pretty bulky. It sat in a box until I found a machinist to make me some slimmer models from delrin. Then I changed jobs and other interests and responsibilities consumed my time so it sat on a metaphorical shelf for another couple […]
It’s been over two years since I came out with my last major puzzle, Model #360, and that’s certainly not what I had planned. Instead of just focusing on a single design and getting it out quickly, I’ve been working on four and progress on all of them has, predictably, suffered. However, the end to this long dry spell is in sight. Here is a picture of a working prototype of my next puzzle, Model […]
I’ve been plugging away at three designs to succeed my earlier Model #808 and Model #360 puzzles – it’s been slow going. Every time I think I’ve resolved the last of the usability, aesthetic, manufacturability, and packaging issues, something comes up. I’m on the eleventh revision on one design, the nineteenth on the second, and the twenty-second on the third. Believe it or not, I’m not complaining – I love working through design problems – […]
I have a couple of things to report about my Model #808 puzzle. First of all, I’m sold out (!). I’m kind of in shock because I had expected to sell two or three of them a month for the next couple of years, not all 106 of them in eleven weeks. Second, if you’re trying to find one, I would suggest checking with these fantastic puzzle stores who have the #808 for sale: Eureka! […]
Surf’s up! Dinner is served! Lift-off! Well, the day has finally arrived and Model #808 is now available for purchase. There are only 106 of them – that’s all I made – so if you’re interested please head over to my Etsy store. And here it is: I have to say, everything about this process took longer than I expected so it’s a great relief to have at last reached the finish line. I never […]
I recently stumbled across the Partridge Puzzle invented by mathematician Robert T. Wainwright. Consider a collection of square tiles, the smallest of which is 1 unit by 1 unit in size (and there is one of them) and the largest of which is N units by N units in size (and there are N of them). The total area of all the tiles would be 1x(1×1) + 2x(2×2) + … + Nx(NxN). That sum of cubes […]
Though I haven’t blogged in about a year, at least I have been making progress on my puzzles. Pictured here are Model #808 (the rectangular one with two holes), Model #518 (the multi-colored cube), Model #921 (the circular one), and Model #360 (the thicker rectangular one with the red logo). The internal design of Model #808 (formerly known as Model #873) continues to evolve and I’m hoping to get a prototype today that will confirm the reliability […]