Several weeks back I started a Soma cube puzzle after reading up on wooden puzzles for an up and coming project. Two weekends ago I completed the cube including a stand for it.

The thing about the stand is it was to be a base for the cube to sit on but while designing on the fly I goofed up on the rabbet and decided to make what you see here. I like this stand better as it holds the entire cube in place for easy transport. The corner posts started out being glued only but that turned out to be fragile for the stand. I was able to reinforce the posts by using one of my newest tools I received for Christmas, a Porter Cable Air Pin Nailer. Talk about a great tool to have for small projects, jig building, or temporary attaching items. I used 1/2″ pins on this base and you can barely see them which is the biggest advantage of the pin nails. The base with two pins in each post is very durable now and I have a new tool I can easily see using on tons of other projects.

So why all this puzzle researching? Well one of the things I enjoy the most building are decorative boxes and as with any project I try to toss in something special no matter how small it might be. One box I have decided to create for myself is one to keep on my dresser to store various junk currently scattered on my dresser top. I plan to use a little of all elements including veneering and inlay but wanted something more. The idea of a hidden compartment came to mind and off I was on a journey to find woodworking information related to building pieces with hidden compartments, trick features, or other puzzle aspects. I am amazed at the lack of good information, but hey it would not be a secret then would it.

One of the first stops was at Quagmire Puzzle Boxes and have to say Randal Gatewood does some fascinating work. He had some information about crafting puzzle boxes but not much detail. One thing he did have was a book list so the research continued. I turned to Amazon and other resources to acquire these references while still searching the Internet. One of the best books on his list was Puzzles Old & New How To Make And Solve Them by Jerry Slocum and Jack Botermans and if you can find a reasonably priced copy and you ever think you might make puzzles, grab it. This book is great and really builds the foundation along with another book titled Puzzles In Wood by E.M. Wyatt.

The more I researched and searched the more I discovered this was a vast topic with mystery and more facets then an initial blog post could ever cover. Was I finding what I was looking for on this project? Yes, and then some as the world of puzzles, trick boxes and furniture opened up around me. I built a prototype mechanism for utilizing box splines to open hidden compartments, but it needs refinement before it is project (or web) ready. My journey is far far from over in this unique aspect of woodworking but just starting as the solid ideas for two unique decorative boxes formed, one still being my personal box with a hidden compartment. I find I enjoy this area and presents me the potential to continue to design, develop, build, and finish pieces that go beyond the standards all from a single initial thought.

Stay tuned for future posts as I begin to build some unique box projects and other wooden puzzles. In the mean time if you would like to try something consider a Japanese Puzzle Box. I have tons of respect for Japanese Woodworking; not only are these boxes a treat to open, they are beautiful for their use of Yosegi-Zaiku marquetry and veneer. You don’t need to go to quite this extreme but you can start with plans from Bruce Viney. He details out creating various puzzle boxes including a Japanese Puzzle box with 25 movements which he is right on to how these boxes work.