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3 Puzzling Projects

Cube in a Cube Wiffle Ball Wooden Books

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Curious Projects

Cube in a Cube Wiffle Ball Wooden Books

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3-5 Cube in a Cube

6-8 Wiffle Ball

9-10 Wooden Books

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Curious Projects

Cube in a Cube Kids play with it like a toy, but it drives adults nuts. They think it’s a puzzle. They’re sure there’s some

way to get the little cube out of the big cube. You can’t.

by Jock Holmen

Crosscut a 3" x 3" x 14" blank into four cubes. Solid wood is best, so it doesn’t look like you put the little cube in the big cube by gluing parts together. Three inch table-leg stock works well, but you can make the cubes from 2-1/2" or smaller stock if you want.

Mark centerlines on one face. Mark one corner of every face with a small X. You’ll be drilling each hole more than one time. The X’s will help register the cube in the same orientation on the drill press.

Set your drill press to run at its slowest speed. Arrange the belts so the smallest diameter drive pulley turns the idler pulley. Connect the idler to the largest diameter spindle pulley.

Set up your drill press with a 2" Forstner bit. (Use a smaller bit with a smaller block.) Position a fence and stop block so the bit drills exactly in the cube’s center. Drill one hole about 1/16" deep.

Registration mark

Fence

Drive pulley

Idler pulleySpindle pulley

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Registration mark

Stop block

Cube in a Cube

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Curious Projects

Set the bit’s depth of cut. Draw a line from the point where a diagonal intersects the hole you made. Adjust the drill press so the bit stops about 1/16" above this line. This method works for any size cube and any size hole. (I’ve drawn the inner cube so you can see how this works.)

Drill holes in the end-grain sides first. Then drill the other four faces. Always place the X’s in the same corner relative to the fence and stop block.

Drilling all six faces produces a cube in a cube. The inner cube is attached to the outer cube by a thin section of wood. The reason for drilling the end-grain faces first is to avoid breaking these weak attachment points. End-grain drilling requires more downward pressure than face-grain drilling.

Set the drill bit 1/32" deeper and repeat drilling all the holes. Again, drill the end-grain faces first. Use light pressure to avoid breaking the attachment points. Depth of

cut

Inner cube

Attachment point

Inner cubeOuter

cube

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6As you drill, check the thickness of the attachment points. Your goal is to make them as small as possible, to the point where the inner cube almost releases itself. This may require drilling some holes a tiny bit deeper. Draw check marks to show how many times you’ve drilled each hole.

Release the inner cube by cutting the attachment points with a thin knife, going with the grain. After cutting all eight corners, the inner cube will drop free. But it won’t come out!

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Cube in a Cube continued

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Curious Projects

Cube in a Cube continued

Sand the corners of the inner cube. Raise the inner cube above the hole by pos itioning it at a diagonal. Prop up the cube with a wedge or your fingers.

Sand burn marks or rough grain with a fine-grit drum-sanding attachment. Rub the drum with a crepe-rubber belt cleaner now and then to keep the drum working efficiently.

Wedge

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Smoothing the faces of the inner cube is tough, because they’re hard to get to. I usually just leave them alone, but if you must do some clean-up work, use a file to start, then switch to sandpaper.

Dip the cube in oil to finish it. Rub thoroughly with a rag to remove the excess oil, and you’re ready to play!

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“I’m a carver. I’ve always admired whittled curiosities like balls trapped inside a cage, but never

wanted to spend the time to make them. I figured there must be some way to make a similar object with a drill press.”

— Jock Holmen

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Curious Projects

Wiffle Ball

Wiffle Ball People ask, “How in the world did you make that weird wiffle thing?” The truth is, it’s really quite simple:

it’s just a hollow cube with the corners cut off. Can you figure it out?

by Jock Holmen and Tom Caspar

Precise cuts, safely done, are essential to making the wiffle ball. To begin, build a small crosscut sled with a fence wide enough to support a toggle clamp.

Fasten two pieces of 1/4" tempered hardboard to the sled’s bottom, centered over its slot. Butt the pieces together, then raise the blade and saw through the joint.

Saw twelve squares from two 1/4" x 3-1/2" x 24" blanks. Six are test pieces; the other six make one wiffle ball. Put a screw in the hold-down block as a fingerhold, to help you position the block. Add a plastic shield to deflect sawdust

Remove the sled and tilt the blade to 45˚. For the best results, use a 60-tooth crosscut blade for every cut on this project.

Stop block

Hold-down block

Blank

Shield

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Curious Projects

Wiffle Ball continued

Remove both pieces of hardboard from the sled. Turn around the left piece and re-fasten it to the sled. Cut an angled slot all the way across it. Toss the waste piece.

On many contractor’s saws, the blade moves out of square when it’s tilted. Hold a wiffle piece against the blade and fence. Tape a shim to the fence if there’s a gap at one corner. Ideally, you’d re-align your saw to make it cut square, but this quick fix works well for this project.

Miter all four sides of a test piece. Start with an end-grain side, then turn it counterclockwise as you go. Just cut the square’s edges; don’t make it much smaller. Re-position the toggle clamp and plastic shield for these cuts.

After the miter cuts, your piece must still be perfectly square. Adjust the shim if your piece isn’t square, then cut four more test pieces.

Check the angle of the miters by holding the four test pieces together. You may have to adjust the blade’s tilt to make these joints tight. Once you’re set, miter all six “real” pieces.

Drill a 2-1/8" dia. hole in the center of each piece using a Forstner bit. This jig locks in the piece on three sides to ensure that it doesn’t shift. Toggles keep your fingers out of the way.

Shim

Stop block

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Curious Projects

Wiffle Ball continued

Tape four pieces together. Butt them against a straightedge to align their edges. Add the remaining two pieces to make a T.

Turn over the assembly and spread glue on all the joints.

Fold the pieces into a cube. Put lots of short pieces of tape on the cube to hold the joints tight. Let the glue dry overnight, then remove the tape.

Add the right-hand hardboard piece and two support boards to the sled. Support piece A is 1-1/8" thick by 2-1/8" wide; piece B is 1-3/4" thick by 2-3/8" wide. Cut 45˚ miters on both pieces.

Mark a centerline on the cube, then adjust the support boards side-to-side until the centerline falls exactly on the left side of the sled’s saw kerf. The cube should also fit tight against both support boards.

Cut all eight corners to transform the cube into a wiffle ball. Set the blade 3/8" above the sled, then rotate the cube three times, making three cuts, to remove each corner. Finish the ball by dunking it in Danish oil and spraying it with lacquer.

B

Centerline

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Curious Projects

Wooden Books

Wooden Booksby Jock Holmen

IF yOu CAN’T STAND ThROWINg AWAy good wood, you’ve probably got a stack of short boards that are just waiting to become–who knows what? I’ve turned my stack into a library of wood samples, which can be shelved just like real books.

My wooden books are ideal for showing customers and friends what different kinds of wood look like, and how a wood’s figure varies depending on how boards are cut. Having made the books years ago, I also now have a record of how a wood’s natural color changes with time and exposure.

To make a book, start by milling a blank foursquare. If you’re using rough lumber, start with a blank that’s at least 12" long, for safety when jointing and planing. The blank can be any thickness, but I’ve found that books 1" thick or more look best. For your first book, a milled 2x6 is just right.

Begin by rounding over one long side of the blank (Photo 1). For books that are 3/4" to 1-1/4" thick, use a 1/4" radius bit; for books 1-1/2" to 2" thick, use a 1/2" bit; for thicker books, use a 1" bit.

Rip the spine from the body of the book (Photo 2). Make the cut 1/16" below the base of the roundover. Mark the two pieces so you can correctly re-assemble them later.

Round over one side of a squared-up blank, to duplicate the look of a book’s spine.

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Saw the book’s outer pages (Photo 3). An ATB (Alternate Top Bevel) style blade gives the best look. I recommend that you use a zero-clearance fence for maximum support. Raise the blade to make a cut 3/16" deep and position the fence 1/8" from the blade. To minimize tearout, make the first cut with the book upright, leading with the spine side. Next, make a second cut on the long side. Then stand the book upright again, and make a third cut on the remaining short side . Turn the book around, and repeat these three cuts.

To cut the inner pages, raise or lower the blade a bit, move the fence 1/64" less than the blade’s kerf, and repeat these cuts in the same order. Continue to make a series of similar cuts, changing the blade’s height and the fence’s position by different amounts each time, until all the pages are formed.

Make a reveal between the spine and body by chamfering the mating edges of both parts (Photo 4). Spread glue on the joint (use a small amount so there’s no squeeze-out to clean up) and bind the book with rubber bands (Photo 5). Apply a finish–or not–and it’s ready for the shelf.

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Curious Projects

Wooden Books continued

Simulate a book’s pages by sawing three sides of the blank. Vary the height and width of the cuts.

Chamfer the edges of the spine and body with a block plane.

glue the spine back to the body. Use rubber bands as clamps to avoid marring the book.

Chamfers

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Caution: Use a push pad to support the work and to keep your fingers away from the blade.

Rip the blank to separate the spine from the body of the book.2

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3 puzzling projects - amazon web services€¦ · 3 puzzling projects cube in a cube wiffle ball...

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