Rhombsticks - Stewart Coffin #268-A

’Rombo’ IPP 34 London Exchange by Bart Buie

This is a very confusing puzzle, expertly crafted by Bart using Bubinga, Wenge and Yellowheart.

Stewart wrote:

“Prompted by the Sixticks discoveries, I decided to try working with rhombic 

sticks rather than square, and this is where things got really interesting. There are six possible pieces and they assemble a great many different ways, some more interesting than others. I use 85-95degree rhombic sticks for experimental pieces, although other angles will work just as well.

I attempted a complete analysis of all possible combinations but ran into some complications. While doing this, I discovered something that had until recently escaped my attention. In my initial woodworking with Rhombticks, I found I had unknowingly been making two kinds of pieces that were 

mutually incompatible. In setting up the saw jig, there are three angles to consider – the tilt of the saw 

table, the feed angle relative to the miter grooves, and the tilt of the rhombic sticks forward or backward.  Choosing these randomly can lead to much 

confusion. After making one set of pieces, reversing any one angle produces a second set of pieces

incompatible with the first. But reverse any two of those angles and you are right back where you started. 

One set of pieces will produce what I call the Squat solution, while the other set will produce the Upright solution. To simplify things (if that is even possible) I have limited my investigations to only the Squat version. This puzzling investigation is still ongoing.”