Sunrise-Sunset - Stewart Coffin Design #181 by John Devost

When I first made a few copies of this design, I didn’t realize that it was a precursor to  a couple of other tray designs, namely ‘Castle’ and ‘Vanishing Trunk’.  

These five simple pieces can be used to make many other shapes, there’s a unique solution to both the 4x6 rectangle and 5x5 square (with the centre voxel vacant).

I thought I’d make myself a copy using some choice Purpleheart, Padauk, Yellowheart, Black Palm and Bocote.

The tray for the 4x6 is made from Padauk with Black Limba Bottom and Holly Slipfeathers.  The Sleeve is Black Limba with Wenge Slipfeathers.

The tray for the 5x5 is made from Black Limba with Wenge/Peruvian Walnut Slipfeathers.

Here’s Stewart’s description:

“This puzzle started out as just five colorful polyomino pieces that fit into a 4x6 rectangular tray one way only, but it evolved over the years into a version with a two-sided tray that is square on the other side.”

3-in-1 Tray Puzzle Set - Goh Pit Khiam by Tom Lensch

I acquired this awesome tray set from a fellow puzzler.  Obviously your task is to fit each of the five pieces into the tray, however it wasn’t until I had the puzzle in hand that I realized the unique way the tray is made.  There’s much more here than simply placing the pieces inside the tray, you definitely need to plan out your attack.

Once you start placing the pieces in and then shunting them around it quickly becomes a merry go round of futility!

Each set of pieces are made from the same wood type, Walnut, Cherry and Maple.

As always Tom’s craftsmanship is ‘top notch’ and Pit’s designs always have a devious twist to them!

Jigsaw Cube 2 - Arrow - KW-33-6 by Hideaki Kawashima

Hideaki is my favourite craftsman from the Karakuri Creation Group and I just couldn’t pass on this masterpiece!

The amount of work that is required for this amazing puzzlebox is simply astounding, if you follow Hideaki’s Instagram you’ll get sneak peeks at most (if not all) of the various steps along the way for his puzzlebox creations.  I’m astonished by not only the woodworking techniques used but the multiple steps multiplied by amounts required for each release.

The movements on this beautiful PuzzleBox are stunning and I’m amazed at how it works flawlessly, once open there are four compartments that each have their own lids.

Here’s a description from Hideaki’s at his KCG page:

“I improved the design of Jigsaw Cube 2, which I presented in 2017.

The previous version was decorated with collapsed hexagons, but the change to an arrow shape has increased the appeal of the piece.

However, with this change, the number of bevels and the difficulty to work with increased dramatically.

In the 15 years since I started making karakuri boxes, I have mobilized all the skills, knowledge and tools I have acquired to produce this piece.

Some changes have also been made to the internal structure.

The puzzle is not difficult. Please enjoy the fluid movement.”

Shape Shift - Stewart Coffin Design #204 by John Devost

I decided I should make myself a copy of this cool design.  I’ve only ever seen pics of Tom Lensch’s 4-colour version.  I thought I’d make my copy with both the 3-colour and 4-colour variant along with a 2x3x4 Box and a 4x6 Tray.

Here’s Stewart’s description:

“Five multi-colored solid polyominoes come assembled in a 4x6 tray, and the problem is to rearrange them so that no two like colors are next to each other, and also with color symmetry. A second 4x6 arrangement exists and also a unique 3x8 arrangement, but neither satisfies the requirements of symmetry. 

The solution is to pack them in the unique 2x3x4 solid arrangement. There are two different versions of this puzzle: three-color and four-color.”

Box and Sleeve is Leopardwood with Black Limba Top & Bottom and Wenge Slipfeathers.

Piece wood variety for the 4-colour version are Purpleheart, Yellowheart, Redheart and Black Palm.

Tray is Padauk with Holly Slipfeathers and a Black Limba Sleeve (removable) and Bottom.

Piece wood variety for the 3-colour version are Yellowheart, Bloodwood and Black Palm.

Bison - Jack Krijnen by Pelikan

 

This awesome Bison Puzzle was originally designed and made by Jack.  Here’s an excerpt from Steve’s Blog with a quote from Jack:

“Gwenn Rigal contacted me in April 2021 and asked me to participate in his Cave Art Chest Project. He wanted an apothecary chest with 6 boxes, all dedicated to a specific cave and the paleolithic cave art in it. The other participants were Michael Toulouzas, Stephan Baumegger, Kelly Snake, Tracy Wood Clemons and Tomasz Gawronski. Nicholas Phillips would make the chest itself. My contribution should have the Tuc d'Audoubert cave as theme. It is located in the south of France. The masterpieces of this cave are two clay bisons, the best preserved examples of clay modellings in the whole European cave art. They are 15,000 years old, and have become iconic. The bisons should have a central place in the SD-box for the project.”

This copy was beautifully crafted by Pelikan.

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“A first look at this puzzle leaves you absolutely stunned – it is breathtakingly realistic! The intricacy of the design and manufacture is incredible. I am amazed that this can be produced in any numbers and indeed, Jakub did tell me that it was very difficult to produce. Jack Krijnen designs some wonderful puzzles and this year he produced a very small run of these Bison puzzles and then allowed Pelikan to make some more. This is a new category for me. Kumike is a very old Japanese tradition but not so,etching I've ever played with before (apart from very simple plastic puzzles as a child). It is not a terribly difficult challenge but is an absolute delight to look at, hold and to dismantle. There is a nice surprise inside. Whilst not hard to do, there is something compulsive about it and I keep dismantling and reassembling it with a big smile on my face. It is not suitable for young children or clumsy people as the interlocking sections are quite thin and could be broken if inadequate care was taken.”

I made a Box from Black Limba with Holly Slipfeathers and a Padauk Sleeve.