{"id":616,"date":"2015-07-11T21:48:24","date_gmt":"2015-07-11T21:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diyguidebook.co.uk\/?p=616"},"modified":"2016-10-24T19:54:55","modified_gmt":"2016-10-24T19:54:55","slug":"just-fit-puzzle-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.michaelbibby.co.uk\/woodwork\/?p=616","title":{"rendered":"Just Fit Puzzle Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"google_plus\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"google_plus\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a><\/span>

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With another Christmas looming, it was time to get my head down and think about my annual wooden puzzle project to give to my brother as a Christmas gift. Each year I try to create a puzzle for him which I hope will have him totally stumped, and yet each year he seems to solve them much, much too quickly.<\/p>\n

So I started scouring the internet for ideas and existing puzzles which I could try to emulate [cough] copy <\/em>[cough] myself.<\/p>\n

I came across a number which seemed pretty good but in the end I settled on one which I felt had a good mix of visual interest, adequate difficulty and also was relatively simple to make. It was called Just Fit by a guy called William Strijbos and it won the Hikimi Puzzle Competition in 1990, which was a competition for wooden made puzzles.<\/p>\n

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The puzzle is made up of 16 pairs of blocks which are glued together side by side. Half the squares are black and the other half unpainted. The blocks also feature an angled edge. The aim of the puzzle is to place all of the blocks into the box provided such that they sit flush with the top edge of the box. Also the checkerboard pattern must be maintained at all times. Seemed pretty difficult I thought, I just hoped it would be difficult enough to foil the puzzle-master (aka my brother)<\/p>\n

So as always I began by designing the puzzle in 3D on my home computer. By doing this I am able to figure out all of the dimensions and required stock before I ever even enter the workshop. It also helped me to ensure the solution I had was actually correct and that the puzzle would be solvable.<\/p>\n

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As always, I started by creating the design in 3D on my computer<\/p><\/div>\n

Once I had the design I headed to the workshop. I decided to make the project out of oak. I think oak is a beautiful looking wood and takes finishes very well. Also I had about a tonne of small off cuts lying around the workshop which would basically be perfect for the job.<\/p>\n

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I used a couple of spare pieces of oak lumber I had lying around the workshop.<\/p><\/div>\n