Infinity Cube

[Kim]

When I first got my new Titanium welder, I ordered several sets of coupons to practice on (from Weld Metals Online).  I also ordered a few ‘cube’ kits and an ‘infinity cube’ kit.  I’ve done a lot of welding on coupons – so much that I got totally bored with it and decided to go ahead and do my BIG project (the 2x72 belt grinder) as part of my practice.

But I hadn’t done the infinity cube.  So today, I set out to do that.

To start with, I taped all the pieces together and labeled them to increase the chances that I would get things welded together mostly in the right orientation. (Note: there are extra parts shown here that are just used as packing to keep the taped parts together).


After this, I gave a little bevel on some of the sides for welding butt joints.  This turned out to be the first project where I used my new belt grinder!  It worked a treat

Here I’m fitting together four of the parts into subassemblies:


And here’s a set of subassemblies, ready to be assembled together.


The next step – putting these sub-assemblies together, was harder than the first part, but I mostly got there.


With three larger sub-assemblies, I then positioned the three remaining joints as best as I could and welded them together.  I tried to spread out the inevitable offset equally between the 3 joints but didn’t do a very good job of that.  Two of the final joints had pretty good-sized gaps, but I was able to fill them with weld and only the most observant will notice it (or so I tell myself ).


Anyway, that ends my scheduled welding training.  Now, back to the Pennsy!

Kim

[propforward]

Very nice - I was looking at one of those kits at one time - a fun welding exercise for sure.

[crueby]

Never seen one of those, looks like a 1-2-3 block designed by M C Escher!

[Kim]

Thanks Stuart and Chris!

Yeah, it was a very fun little project!  And it makes a cool-looking little item to have sitting around the shop!

 I'd never seen one before either, Chris. But when I saw it, I thought "That would be a fun little welding exercise" and it sure was!

Kim

[bent]

That is another project I've kept in back of mind for awhile now.  Our neighbor at work is a motorcycle dealer, a lot of their Italian and Japanese bikes come over on crates made from square and rectangular tubing...so, a ready source of raw material.

Your welds look fine to me.  And I'm not brave enough to show some of my welding experiments lately. 

[Kim]

Thanks Bent! 
Kim

[Lew Hartswick]

OK now the next step is a bit more complex . :-)   Here is one someone showed me some time ago and the wooden one I did in the woodshop to check it out.  the wood joints are doweled.
   ...Lew...

[Kim]

Wow! That's really nice, Lew!

So, is the metal one carved out of a single block?  Or did you fab it together?

Kim

[Grateful Ted]

These are very cool.
If I saw this on a shelf or coffee table, it would be very hard to not pick it up & examine it closely.

[mklotz]

OK now the next step is a bit more complex . :-)   Here is one someone showed me some time ago and the wooden one I did in the woodshop to check it out.  the wood joints are doweled.
   ...Lew...

So, Lew, are you going to give us the dimensions for the non-identical L's and how many of each to cut ?  I'd like to throw a quick one together just butt gluing square stock.  If I like the result enough, I'll make one with mitred joints.

[bent]

That one looks fun too...yikes, more stuff for my retirement projects list LOL

[Lew Hartswick]

I used dowel joints on the wood one. (the metal one was just a picture that was posted by the person when the subject of those impossible things was being discussed on a forum) The lengths ----   Humm somewhere I should have that but it may take a while to find.  I'll have to see if I have a pix of the fixture I built to do the dowel holes on the drill press also.
   ...lew...

[Lew Hartswick]

OK dug out the pix compressed them and measured the parts.
The stock is 1" square, quantities and lengths; 3 ea 2.5" long, 6 ea 3" long, 3 ea 3.5" long
Good luck Marv be sure to post a pix.
   ...lew...

[mklotz]

Thanks, Lew, much appreciated.

[Brendon M]

This likes like a fun project and also a great welding exercise! However I'd probably go crazy cutting the tubes; so many mitre cuts!

[bent]

If one had a tube bender and an orbital welder...

[EricB]

OK now the next step is a bit more complex . :-)   Here is one someone showed me some time ago and the wooden one I did in the woodshop to check it out.  the wood joints are doweled.
   ...Lew...

This would be an interesting puzzle to machine in one piece. I might just give it a try.

Eric

[Robert Hornby]

Hi again all. I have been offline for quite a while and now I wish to have a go at the infinity cube in wood with mitered joints. I could draw it all up but I am being lazy and requesting if there are any drawings available. I would be forever grateful.
Bob

[cnr6400]

Good to see you again Bob! 

[Robert Hornby]

Thanks cnr6400, I have been away from the workshop for a while but now keen to get on with something other than an engine. So still looking for plans for the the Infinity Cube.

[Kim]

I just did a Google search for "Infinity Cube Plans" and came up with a bunch of hits.  Here's one:
https://grabcad.com/library/infinity-cube-infinity-cube-square-hollow-20x20-1

Don't know that it's the best one, but there seemed to be a lot of options out there.

Kim

[Alston]

OK now the next step is a bit more complex . :-)   Here is one someone showed me some time ago and the wooden one I did in the woodshop to check it out.  the wood joints are doweled.
   ...Lew...

This would be an interesting puzzle to machine in one piece. I might just give it a try.

Eric

I was wondering this but I’m not sure it can be milled from one piece?
It could be done from three pieces though I think. Even bolted together with cap head socket screws it would still be a good conversation piece. I’ll have to give it some thought, a 2 - 3” cube would be good.

[mklotz]

OK dug out the pix compressed them and measured the parts.
The stock is 1" square, quantities and lengths; 3 ea 2.5" long, 6 ea 3" long, 3 ea 3.5" long
Good luck Marv be sure to post a pix.
   ...lew...

My den (known to my family as the Den of Antiquity) has very little display space left so I decided to make a miniature trefoil with mitered rather than butt joints.  My stock is 1/4" and the whole structure would fit in a 1.5" cube.

I started out using wood glue because, despite my distaste for the brown stuff, has worked well in the past for me.  But constructing jigs to hold everything in place for the long time it takes for the glue to dry thoroughly so it can be built upon exhausted my patience.  I switched to super glue and just held the pieces until the glue dried.  If anyone wants to attempt one of these, super glue is the way to go.

[Kim]

Very cool, Marv!

Kim

[crueby]

Thats a tiny cube, well done!  It would be an interesting candidate to try out the fancier Japanese style joinery on, like shown partway down the page here:
https://hillbillydaiku.com/2015/04/23/article-series-on-japanese-joinery/

[Roger B]

Excellent but they still make my eyes go funny 

[crueby]

Excellent but they still make my eyes go funny 

Go look at the drawings  of M C Escher, they will  make  you fall  out of your  chair!

[mklotz]

Visits to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) convinced me that modern art is formulaic and thus available to the artistically challenged - a skill lack in which I excel.

To prove my point, I took all the leftover bits and mistakes from my recent trefoil and cube efforts and randomly stuck them together with super glue.  The result, shown below, began to look more and more like stuff I've seen in the museums.

Now to be authentic, it must have a title.  The formula is a ponderous and obscure adjective followed by a noun that sounds sort of familiar but the real meaning of which is known only to a few.  I decided to call mine Coruscated Antiphon, the initials inspired by the Cyano Acrylate super glue used to make it.  It's meaningless but has that "ring" of artistic emotion that sells so well.

Now, if I can only establish a following among the clueless rich...this original, one-of-a-kind early work could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

[internal_fire]

Now, if I can only establish a following among the clueless rich...this original, one-of-a-kind early work could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Only if you make it available as an NFT. 

(Is that fad still alive?)

Gene

[crueby]

Along with the  cryptic  name it needs a description of  how it expresses something  incomprehensible  about the angst felt by the artist when drinking coffee,  or some other silliness!  And paint half of it bright yellow!   

[cnr6400]

If you mention Anti Phon be sure to also mention Uncle Phon (he/him) for the correctness police - they're everywhere at art shows. 

[crueby]

Next challenge for you: a metal or wood version of the old ivory puzzle balls:
https://wonder-cabinet.sites.gettysburg.edu/2017/cabinet/carved-ivory-puzzle-balls/
I've got a couple of antique ones, quite amazing works of art. Each interior sphere on these has been cut away from the other spheres, and can be rotated independantly. There are plans out on the net for plainer ones milled from metal cubes.

[mklotz]

Well, puzzle balls are beyond me but I did make this cube "thing".

All six faces of the cube are identical to the one pictured.  The only real skill involved was in doing the math to determine the width and depth of each boring done on the lathe.

[Admiral_dk]

I haven't seen your version before Marv - but I like it.

... but I have seen the other version where you end up with 3-4 Squares inside each other - this was in a YouTube video I saw about a decade (or two) ago, on how to make one. They are popular among thos who Turn Wood.

Per

[EricB]

OK now the next step is a bit more complex . :-)   Here is one someone showed me some time ago and the wooden one I did in the woodshop to check it out.  the wood joints are doweled.
   ...Lew...

This would be an interesting puzzle to machine in one piece. I might just give it a try.

Eric

I was wondering this but I’m not sure it can be milled from one piece?
It could be done from three pieces though I think. Even bolted together with cap head socket screws it would still be a good conversation piece. I’ll have to give it some thought, a 2 - 3” cube would be good.

Well I gave it a try. It's not pretty but it is milled from one piece!

[Kim]

That is pretty cool! 

Kim

[springcrocus]

Eric, that is very clever.   

 Regards, Steve

[Robert Hornby]

I love that Eric, well done. It makes my effort look pretty tame.
Bob