Model Engine Maker

General Category => Oddball => Topic started by: Kim on December 18, 2016, 08:55:20 PM

Title: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on December 18, 2016, 08:55:20 PM
I decided to take a little break from my Steam Tractor and do something different.

I’ve actually got a little time off between now and the end of the year and I hope to spend some of it in the shop!  And a little project I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now is to make a Burr Puzzle.  If you’ve not heard of Burr Puzzles before, Wikipedia defines it as: “an interlocking puzzle consisting of notched sticks, combined to make one three-dimensional, usually symmetrical unit.”  If you want to read more about it, the article can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr_puzzle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr_puzzle).

Burr Puzzles can come in many sizes and shapes, but I’m making a fairly standard 12-piece Burr.  In this puzzle, as the name implies, there are 12 pieces with each piece being identical (not often the case with Burr Puzzles).

Here’s what a wooden one looks like:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-01-DSC_2100.jpg)

And here are the pieces:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-02-DSC_2099.jpg)

I chose to make this one from 5/8” square Aluminum stock.  I selected this size to keep the cost reasonable, but make it large enough to be fun to play with.  A 4’ length of 5/8” square 6061 cost me about $10 (including prorated shipping) from Online Metals.

Here are the quick plans I sketched up to help guide my work:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-03-DSC_2088.jpg)

I started by cutting 14 pieces, just over 3 1/8” long.  This was how many I could get out of the 4’ piece.  I only need 12, but I figured I’d start with a couple of extras just for fun.  Then I cleaned up the ends and cut them to exactly 3.125” in length on the mill.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-04-DSC_2078.jpg)

In the next picture, you can see the scrap of steel I clamped on one end of the mill vice to act as a stop.  Since I’m making 12 identical pieces, I needed a good reference point to line everything up with.  This is very sold and is working well to keep things uniform.  I just have to make sure all the swarf is out before I tighten down the vice.

As it turns out, not only are all 12 pieces identical, they are also symmetrical.  So, the stop comes in doubly handy (i.e. I get to use it 24 times per operation, not just 12! :)).

Here I’m roughing out one side of the center notch.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-05-DSC_2080.jpg)

Then I flip the part around – not moving anything else:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-06-DSC_2082.jpg)

And rough out the other half of the notch.  Since my mill is small, I took multiple passes to get the full depth.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-07-DSC_2083.jpg)

And a long and repetitive time later, I’ve got the first notch roughed out in all 14 pieces!
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-08-DSC_2086.jpg)

Then I switched to a 4-flute end mill, and did a little trial and error to make the notch the exact width I needed.  Turns out the 5/8” stock I have is actually 0.630” wide.  I made the notches about 0.001” wider on each side to give a nice fit, but still allow things to move well.  I did this by a little trial and error.  I also adjusted the depth to be exactly 1/2 (plus 0.001”) of the width of the stock.

Here I’m making a pass on one side:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-09-DSC_2089.jpg)

And the flipped it around and made a pass on the other side of the notch.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-10-DSC_2092.jpg)

With the notches finished up, I can now connect two of them together, like so:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-11-DSC_2094.jpg)

(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/001a-CenterGroove-12-DSC_2095.jpg)

This doesn’t seem like much, but it took me about 5+ hours to do this first notch. There are two more notches I have to cut, so I’m less than ½ way done.  (More than 1/3 though, since I also cut them & cleaned up the ends).

Kim


Edit: Some setting got changed in Picasa so I was uploading huge files.  Sorry about that. I've fixed it now.
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: PStechPaul on December 19, 2016, 06:49:11 AM
Interesting project. It might be cool to use some brass and steel, or perhaps some plastic or even wood, for variety and visual appeal. Aluminum anodizing would be interesting as well. :)
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on December 19, 2016, 02:06:00 PM
Very Nice Kim. I really like this as a change of pace. May even have to have a go at one of these if only to sit on the desk and confuse people :)

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on December 19, 2016, 05:23:07 PM
Thanks Paul and Bill,

I considered brass, even half brass.  But at 6x the cost ($48 for 4'), I decided to stick with aluminum for playing around with.  I looked at Stainless too, but it costs almost as much brass ($39 for 4').  But you're right.  Mixing it up a little would look good!  I think you'd end up having to mill the size of the stock too - I'm not sure 5/8" brass is going to be the same size as my 5/8" AL (which was 0.630").

Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on December 19, 2016, 07:29:36 PM
After completing the center notch, I moved to the outer two notches.  They are on a different side than the first notch. So, I have to make sure and orient all the parts correctly.  Again, I used the rougher to remove most of the material.  I set it up so that it left a bit on the side and on the bottom to be removed with the 4 flue end mill.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-01-DSC_2105.jpg)

Four passes later, the first notch is done (or at least, half roughed out :) ).
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-02-DSC_2106.jpg)

And one the other side:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-03-DSC_2111.jpg)

Then I repositioned to take the other half of the notch.  On side, then flip it around, and do the other.  This shows both sides having been completed.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-04-DSC_2123.jpg)

Next, the final passes with the 4-flute end mill. Here’s the inside of one notch completed.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-05-DSC_2132.jpg)

And then the other side:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-06-DSC_2139.jpg)

With the center notch, I could test it right away by taking a cut on both sides, then test fitting another piece in the notch.  But for the outer notches, I couldn’t do that.  It was a whole different setup for the two sides of the outer notches.  So, to determine the final position of the inside edge of the outer notches I used the edge of the center notch that had already been completed and lined it up with that.  And 'lined up' would be correct, except that the notches are wider, to give a little room for the pieces to slide.  So, there should actually be some overlap between the two notches - the overlap would be the amount of that extra room for a sliding fit.

Before I go on, I have to correct something I said in my first post.  I said I left an extra 0.001” on each side to allow a nice sliding fit.  That was completely wrong.  That’s what I THOUGHT I’d do, but in the end, I left 0.003” on each side (that’s an extra 0.006” for the total notch width).  I obtained this by trial and error, and it seemed pretty good.  0.001" wasn't enough space.

Here's a picture of what I'm trying to say. Hopefully that will help:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-CenterToOutsideNotchSpaceing.jpg)

So, what I did was to make sure that the inside edge of the OUTER notch, was 0.006” inside the edge of the center notch (because each of the edges was 0.003” over than the ‘ideal’ line).  To do this, I used a 0.006” feeler gauge, as shown in these pictures.  (unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to take the pictures while I was doing it – these were staged later, with finished parts).

This shows a piece slid into the center notch, and the feeler gauge placed between them, like so:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-12-DSC_2163.jpg)

My theory was, that I could feel if the edge of the outer notch lined up with the edge of the piece (the underside of the feeler gauge) and make sure it was flush.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-13-DSC_2161.jpg)

This apparently worked well enough.  And once I got the insides done, the outside was easy – just make it .636” away from the inside face :)

And here is a completed piece:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-07-DSC_2152.jpg)

After some fun with a deburring wheel, here they are:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-08-DSC_2153.jpg)

(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-09-DSC_2156.jpg)

And the final test; assembling 12 of them into the final puzzle shape:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-10-DSC_2157.jpg)

(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/002a-OuterNotches-11-DSC_2160.jpg)

I’m pretty pleased with it!

As Paul mentioned, I could have done it with some contrasting metal types and it would have been pretty.  But I’m pleased with the aluminum.  Maybe next time I’ll branch out.

Thanks for taking a look,
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: chucketn on December 19, 2016, 07:39:54 PM
Nice work, and a very interesting diversion.

Chuck
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on December 19, 2016, 07:48:32 PM
Thanks Chuck!
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: fumopuc on December 19, 2016, 10:44:20 PM
Hi Kim, that is fun. I like it.
If you visit an anodising company, you will get the bars with different colours.
Or may be a starter kit for DIY anodising ?
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Dave Otto on December 20, 2016, 02:41:20 AM
Interesting project Kim and it turned out very nice!
I was thinking along the same lines as Achim. The puzzle would look great if all the parts were anodized in an assortment of colors.

Nice work,
Dave
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on December 20, 2016, 02:15:40 AM
I love it Kim!!  I definitely have this on the to do list now. I also enjoyed looking through some of the resource links you posted as well.

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on December 20, 2016, 03:04:16 AM
Thanks Achim, Dave, and Bill,

Yeah, there are some really interesting info up on the internet about Burr puzzles.

I had so much fun with this one, I decided to make a 6-piece one too. Apparently there are millions of variations of a 6 piece Burr.  I'm only doing one :)  (I know, what a weenie!  ;)).

Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on December 20, 2016, 03:07:19 AM
Hope you will document it as well. Could these be done smaller say using 3/8" square stock?

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on December 20, 2016, 03:12:08 AM
Yes, I think you could use whatever size suits you.  3/8" would work fine.  It just gets smaller.  The wooden one I have was 3/4" square and each piece was 4" long.  At 5/8", each piece was 3 1/8" (about).  At 3/8" they'd be just 1 7/8" long.  Might be really cute to do it smaller.  And a lot less metal to turn into swarf!

Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on December 20, 2016, 03:24:21 AM
And a bit less pricey for brass or stainless in smaller sizes. I see the type of burr you made (altekruse). Did you come up with the dimensions or find a pattern and then scale it?

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: crueby on December 20, 2016, 04:02:12 AM
Neat puzzle! I had made a wood one a while back, they can be real mind benders. Someone had sent me a website with lots of designs for them, have to see if I have a link...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on January 08, 2017, 06:31:50 PM
I’m a bit behind in posting here. I completed the 6 piece Burr before Christmas, but haven’t had any time since to post or to do anything more out in the shop.  Lots of wonderful family events and doing things with my kids while they were home (Plus a few less fun things that just happen and had to be dealt with.)

In my browsing about these Burr puzzles, I came across this online version of a book on polyhedral dissection as it relates to puzzles. I found it quite fascinating.  Thought some of you might be interested too: http://www.johnrausch.com/PuzzlingWorld/default.htm (http://www.johnrausch.com/PuzzlingWorld/default.htm)

There are literally hundreds of variations of a 6 piece Burr puzzle.  This one is a common one (so I am led to believe) and uses 6 uniquely notched pieces.  I found the pieces documented here: http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/about-the-burr-puzzles.html (http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/about-the-burr-puzzles.html)

And the six pieces look like this.  Note the letter I wrote beside each piece.  This was to help me keep them straight when working.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-01-DSC_2172.jpg)

Since I had leftover 5/8” square aluminum bar available from my 12 piece puzzle, I used that for the 6 piece too. For this puzzle, each piece needed to only be 3 units long (where a unit is the width of the piece), so I cut 6 pieces and milled them down to size.  My 5/8” stock was actually 5 thou over, so the length was 3 x 0.630 = 1.890”.

There was a bit of symmetry in these pieces, but nowhere near as much as in the 12 piece. So, I chose to go a different direction in making these parts.  I decided to just work from one side.  So I setup a table of coordinates for a ‘left side’ and ‘right side’ cut for each notch that was needed, as shown in the sketches below:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-02-DSC_2173.jpg)

(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-03-DSC_2183.jpg)

Then I dialed in the position of my stop, set zero on the DRO, and went to work on one of the pieces (Piece “B” I believe).
 
The minimum width notches required were 5/16”.  So I used a 3/16” end mill to do all the milling.  On this part, I’ve already milled the left and right edges very carefully, and am now just milling out the middle of the notch, which happens to be two units wide.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-04-DSC_2166.jpg)

Here’s the first notch completed in piece B.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-05-DSC_2168.jpg)

Then I rotated it 90 degrees, and milled out a 1/2 unit wide notch.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-06-DSC_2170.jpg)

Here I am starting on piece C (I started labeling them.  I need all the help I can get!)
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-07-DSC_2176.jpg)

Here’s the process I followed for each notch.  First, I would dial in the DRO at ~30 thou less than the actual desired edge, and cut multiple passes to the desired depth (which was always 1/2 unit, plus 2 thou.)
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-08-DSC_2177.jpg)

Then, at full depth, I would mill to the actual desired position of the edge of the notch.  I always did it so that the final pass was a climbing mill pass of 1-2 thou to get a nice smooth finish.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-09-DSC_2180.jpg)

Then I would do exactly the same to the other side.  If there was something extra in the middle (as with piece B) I’d go back and remove that last.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-10-DSC_2181.jpg)

Then I rotated piece C, and did an offset notch on that face.  Unfortunately, I apparently failed to get a picture of that operation.

After piece C, comes, you guessed it, piece D. :)  I repeated the same process to cut the notch in this piece.  Note that the notches are in different locations for each piece.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-11-DSC_2189.jpg)

Then I rotated it, and cut the next notch in a different side.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-12-DSC_2192.jpg)

Now, Piece D is a special piece.  It actually contains a blind notch – by that I mean one that isn’t just a cut through.  In this portion, only 1/4 of the cross section of the piece is removed. To do this, I CAREFULLY milled a half notch from one direction:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-13-DSC_2193.jpg)

Then flipped it back to the original position.  Here you can see the curve left by the 3/16” end mill.  Next step will be to do exactly the same pattern here, to take out that curve on the bottom.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-14-DSC_2195.jpg)

Like this:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-15-DSC_2198.jpg)

Unfortunately, that sill leaves a little nubbin down in the blind corner that is curved on two sides, so the notch doesn’t REALLY go all they way down to the corner.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-16-DSC_2204.jpg)

To open up that last little bit of the notch I used a chisel and cut down from all three sides to remove that little piece.  This worked just fine for me, using the aluminum, but if you were using steel, you’d probably have to come up with a different method to clean up that corner.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-17-DSC_2220.jpg)

Next, I did…. Piece A!  Did I trick you?  I actually started with this piece, but as I was working on this one, it became clear that I'd screwed up my calculations.  So I had to re-do them, and consequently, had to re-do Piece A. And here it is, with the first notch removed.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-18-DSC_2206.jpg)

The second notch on piece A is on the same side, but is a 1/2 unit notch, as you can see.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-19-DSC_2209.jpg)

And finally, Piece E.  It required a wide, 2 unit notch to be removed from one side:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-20-DSC_2212.jpg)

And a single unit notch to be made in the center on another side.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-21-DSC_2214.jpg)

And here is my original picture with all 6 completed pieces.
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-22-DSC_2223.jpg)

I actually had to go back and widen my notches a bit. I wanted to make this one a little tighter than my first puzzle, so I tried make each notch only 1.5-2 thousandths extra in width.  But that was just not enough freedom to make the whole thing fit together.  I ended up going back and taking a few more thou more off of each edge.  This freed it up enough that things worked very nicely. Maybe its a little too lose however, but it works, and I'm happy. :embarassed:

Here are the completed beauty shots:
(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-23-DSC_2231.jpg)

(http://lister-engine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/003a-6-PieceBurr-24-DSC_2236.jpg)

If (when?) I do another one, I’m going to be more careful on my notch positioning and see if I can make the tighter tolerances work.  The gaps I have now had to be this wide to make it work, but now it’s just a little loser than I’d like.  I’m sure if I improve my accuracy all around I can improve on that.

But all in all, I’m pretty tickled with how they turned out.  And these puzzles were a very fun little diversion!

Thanks,
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Gas_mantle on January 08, 2017, 06:45:23 PM
Looks great Kim.

Making one would be a useful exercise in milling that I could do with  ;)

Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on January 08, 2017, 07:04:35 PM
That's great Kim. I have ordered and received lengths of 3/8" brass, copper, stainless and aluminum to try and make your original 12 piece one with. One of the online metal suppliers had a free shipping day so I got more than enough for the project for $18.00 and change. I will cut them to length at work this week with each piece being 1 7/8" long...smaller than yours but should  make a nice desk ornament :)

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on January 09, 2017, 02:21:46 AM
Making one would be a useful exercise in milling that I could do with  ;)
Yes, it is a good exercise in turning those knobs! :)


I have ordered and received lengths of 3/8" brass, copper, stainless and aluminum to try and make your original 12 piece one with. One of the online metal suppliers had a free shipping day so I got more than enough for the project for $18.00 and change. I will cut them to length at work this week with each piece being 1 7/8" long...smaller than yours but should  make a nice desk ornament :)

Bill
Good luck Bill!  Make sure and let us know how it goes.  I think the 3/8" size will be very nice.  I'm thinking if I make another (I'm considering an 18-piece Burr someday) I might scale down to 3/8".  Not only is it less material to start with, but there's a lot less material to remove too!

Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on January 09, 2017, 03:24:56 AM
I think your joints look great Kim, a lot tighter that the wood examples I have seen. I am thinking too tight and the difficulty of taking apart and putting back together may increase substantially. I will see when I get a start on mine. Looking at some of your sources...there are literally hundreds of these things. Makes you wonder who figured them all out  :headscratch:

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 06, 2017, 07:28:48 PM
OK guys, I'm hooked. BUT before I make all those pieces, I want to know HOW to put them together. So someone please post the instruction
for assembling .  I think the 12 piece with all alike parts is the thing to start with. If it goes well ( Think I'll do it in wood at home ) it may be just the thing to get the better students at school to do on the mill. I've been looking for a couple of puzzles or gadgets for them to work on.
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on March 06, 2017, 08:31:39 PM
Lew,
If you google "12 piece burr puzzle solutions" you'll come up with a lot of info.  But here's one:

http://otherpeoplestrash.com/gallery/toys-puzzles/puzzle-solutions/ (http://otherpeoplestrash.com/gallery/toys-puzzles/puzzle-solutions/)

I think I had a different link in my build thread that included the basic plans too...
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 07, 2017, 02:34:46 AM
A few hours later the parts (wood ones) are cut but a bit tight here and there. I looked at the link above and the first two or three steps look ok  but then it seems to jump and a different view. So when I get the fitting better I may have to find a different assembly view.
In any event with the fixturing I have for my radial arm saw the cutting went pretty quick. :-)
 more tomorrow, it's almost bed time.
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on March 07, 2017, 03:38:18 AM
Yeah, I looked at those instructions a little more closely and they seemed to rotate the whole thing 180 degrees between step 2 and 3.  Go figure.

OK, found a better one for you: http://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/wooden-burr-puzzles (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/wooden-burr-puzzles)
Look about half to 2/3 of the way down the page and you'll find the 12 piece.  These instructions are better, and they show more clearly where you have to do 'slide' operations :)

Good luck Lew.  Can't wait to see pictures!
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 07, 2017, 09:07:15 PM
Thanks Kim. I finished the wood ones and they are a little loose but after much head scratching over the assy. pix finally got it together .
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/100_4409_zpsvtdoe2mw.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/100_4410_zps1rbwloua.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/100_4411_zps2qxrfvgz.jpg)

In the meanwhile spent a couple hours down at school on the bandsaw and mill to make a few .375 x .375 pieces of aluminum with the
idea of making a more suitable one for display :-) had a chunk of 3/8 material that was about .380 thick so could clean up to .375, band sawed    some strips and milled away. :-)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/100_4408_zpslwjbuqll.jpg)

I'll have to do some fixturing to do the notches, later this week or whenever.
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: zeeprogrammer on March 07, 2017, 10:51:24 PM
Cool stuff.

I love this hobby. Get to make nifty things. Get to make!
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 09, 2017, 09:36:14 PM
First had to make a set of soft jaws for the Kurt .
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/SJ1%20Material_zpsqdzknjwt.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/SJ2%20drilled%20and%20csk_zpstlu8ynl7.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/SJ3%20first%20one%20installed_zpsa0mro26h.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/SJ4%20both%20installed_zpsjlp0ygmz.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/SJ5%20end%20view_zpsoqowp3qy.jpg)

Then took one piece and did some shallow milling in the test cuts of the soft jaws to see  if the dimensions worked out and determine the
DRO settings.
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/1%20Soft%20jaws%20test%20milling_zpsxkedvtnj.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/2%20Test%20part%20in%20soft%20jaws_zpsz8pwvovw.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee238/LewHartswick/3%20Test%20part_zpsrl2lgczw.jpg)
So far looks OK
I now have to wait till I have a single block of time to do all the parts at one set-up.
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 11, 2017, 02:10:15 AM
A few hours this morning and a bit of touchup with a Swiss file and - There you go !!
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: b.lindsey on March 11, 2017, 02:23:36 AM
That looks great Lew, I need to get mine finished up...to many projects....too little time though it seems.

Bill
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on March 11, 2017, 05:44:44 AM
Nicely done Lew, that looks great!  And apparently you figured out how to make it all go together! :)

You guys and your little 3/8" puzzles.  They look so cute!  I might have to do some that size  ;)
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 11, 2017, 03:01:30 PM
Nicely done Lew, that looks great!  And apparently you figured out how to make it all go together! :)

You guys and your little 3/8" puzzles.  They look so cute!  I might have to do some that size  ;)
Kim
:-)  Do one with 1/4" material. :-)  Show us how it's done.
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Kim on March 11, 2017, 05:00:05 PM
Hmm... how small could you go?  1/8"?  1/16"?  Seems like the issue would be assembling the puzzle more than making the pieces :)  It would be hard to assemble one of these with tweezers! :o

But I'd be happy to see someone do it!
Kim
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: zeeprogrammer on March 11, 2017, 05:58:02 PM
Nice. And some grand-child, great grand-child, great great...will enjoy it.
Maybe mark you name on an inner piece?
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: Lew Hartswick on March 12, 2017, 02:27:53 PM
Nice. And some grand-child, great grand-child, great great...will enjoy it.
Maybe mark you name on an inner piece?
"Inner piece" :-)  They are all identical . :-) 
   ...lew...
Title: Re: 12-Piece Burr Puzzle
Post by: zeeprogrammer on March 12, 2017, 02:39:13 PM
Nice. And some grand-child, great grand-child, great great...will enjoy it.
Maybe mark you name on an inner piece?
"Inner piece" :-)  They are all identical . :-) 
   ...lew...

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