December 2020 Update Preview

This long-discontinued Pelikan release was the subject of particular obsession on the Mechanical Puzzle Discord. I somehow got roped into making it; I'm still not sure how. Those guys are persuasive.

TV Puzzle is an interesting hybrid packing and take-apart puzzle. My interpretation stayed true to Jakub's original design with a couple of changes - we fully lacquered and changed grain direction for all pieces to make the solution more difficult. The result is trickier than I expected and a lot of fun!

60 copies are available. Each puzzle is signed and dated. This puzzle is shipped assembled.

This is the second and final release of Blah Box for the foreseeable future. Pursuant to our demand balancing efforts, a 7% price increase was applied over the first release.

Blah Box is the result of the accumulation of ideas I had while trying to design a simple mechanism for the box containing the DDD Burr Puzzle. I wanted to make a simple trick opening mechanism for DDD, but in the end, discarded the idea because it would overly increase the price of the puzzle. I came out of the design session with some solid ideas, which, when combined, turned into a rather interesting box on their own. I was feeling rather "Blah" about my failure with DDD and decided to name this new box after that feeling.

No external tools are allowed. No bumping, spinning, or force is necessary or allowed.

34 copies available for this release, each signed and dated. 15 copies in Black Limba and Maple, 12 copies in Zebrawood and Maple, 8 copies in Iroko and Holly.

I have many other designs on the drawing board, so this will be the last batch for a while. As Topless Box was historically underpriced relative to manufacturing cost, a 35% increase makes this release viable.

Topless Box was my contribution to the legendary Apothecary Box. Topless is an unusual challenge; with two lids and no top, how can it be opened? The solution is tricky and will surprise you. Initially released in 2012, we found strong demand with our re-release last year and decided to make one more batch for newer collectors who have been unable to find a copy.

This batch was constructed from a nice striped Sapele plank, which shows a lot of shimmer via chatoyance in the grain structure. A slight modification to this release should result in more dimensional stability by using the same Birdseye Maple on the inside and outside of the lid panels.

Reviews: Neil's Blog and Video, Puzzle Pusher, Puzzle Paradox, Jerry's Collection, 

50 copies will be available with our December 16th release and the remainder in January.

The increased price of this final release is an accurate reflection of our costs. We have no plans to re-release this puzzle in the future.

Daedalus by Gregory Benedetti is an utterly unique masterpiece of design. Brilliantly creative and brutally tricky, Daedalus hides its secrets well. The beautiful exterior gives no clue to the sheer pandemonium hiding inside. What appears to be a simple cube is an interlocking maze that continually changes its state with rotations, dead ends, and deception. Simple disassembly is a challenge; reassembly is genuinely an accomplishment.

Daedalus is difficult to make. Each puzzle contains pieces from a single plank organized by grain and color and tracked throughout the crafting process, a substantial handling and organization challenge. Select frame cubes are milled 0.003" oversized in only one dimension, an imperceptible value followed throughout the production process. The 27 unique cubes receive 324 bevels, 33 stopped notches, and 18 flat-bottomed holes pressed with pins. All operations are done by hand within 0.003" accuracy.

87 total copies available in this final release. 29 copies in Jatoba, 27 copies in Chechen, 19 copies in Rosewood, and 13 copies in Dark Chechen.  Each puzzle is signed and dated. This puzzle is shipped assembled.

Kepler is Felix Ure's third design and his first packing puzzle. Typical of Felix's work, the solution is elegant and surprising. Felix describes Kepler as:

"The aim is to put all 11 balls inside the enclosure, then insert the lid. A pocket-sized packing puzzle that seems very simple, until it isn't."

The puzzle is not solved until all eleven balls are in the container with the lid flush against the opening.

Precision machined from solid aluminum and brass, Kepler weighs 155g (.34 lbs) and measures 55mm x 31mm x 33mm, in the solved state. The brass is left unfinished, leaving it to slowly patinate and darken with use. Felix rates the difficulty as 6/10.

Handling Metal Puzzles
While all metals tarnish over time, residual oil and salt from handling speeds up the process and leaves fingerprints. We include a metal Cleansing cloth with all metal puzzles sold on Cubicdissection. Metal Puzzle Polishing Kits which contain a larger cleansing cloth and microfiber polishing towel are also available.

This is the final release of Where's My Hammer for the foreseeable future. Pursuant to our demand balancing efforts, a 14% price increase was applied over the prior release.

Dee's widely acclaimed "Where's My Hammer?" Sequential Discovery Puzzle Box was his first offering on Cubicdissection. WMH is incredibly well crafted and packs a ton of puzzling value into a unique and attractive package. Multiple discoveries, unique mechanisms, and very unusual construction make this a must-have for serious collectors.

While demand for WMH remains strong, Dee has since released his excellent Space Case box and is moving on to further designs. This will be his last release of Where's My Hammer for the foreseeable future. 

This has a Black Walnut box with tiles made from Sapele, Cherry, Zebrawood, Leopardwood, Wenge, Genuine Mahogany, Bocote, and Morado. 44 copies available, each signed and dated. Ships assembled.

Reviews: Boxes and Booze description, PuzzleMad blog review, FiveSinatras review (space case and WMH).

Priced at $5, our Polishing Kit will keep your metal puzzles in top display condition! Each kit contains one Cleansing cloth and one Polishing cloth.

The Polishing cloth is a 12" x 12" microfiber towel in Cubidissection Orange. The Cleansing cloth measures 3.75" x 5" and contains safe, non-staining chemical agents to remove tarnish and discoloration without scratching. To use, simply rub with medium pressure. Cloths are reusable until completely darkened.

The cleansing cloth is made in Japan. Product safety data is available here.