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 A
CUBE WITH A SECRET
This puzzle
resold at The John Ergatoudis Collection Puzzle Auction (private
auction) 20th October 2006 for USD415.00. Original selling price
AUD350.00 (approx USD260.00 at the time)
Not just a
common cube puzzle; Brian overlooked this puzzle several times
when looking though the Russian puzzle book by V.P.Zhukov published
in 1993. He thought it was just another variation of the standard
cube also commonly made as either a barrell or sphere.
In fact Yevgeny Chebotarev had invented an intruiging 16 piece
puzzle which he first published in 'Science and Life' in Russia
in 1983, although he made modifications after that.
The original cube had a 'secret' ... a small compartment to store
a small souvenir or piece of jewelery. To get to this cube's
secrets you must negotiate the unusual lock. The lock has no
magnets or gravity pins but there are a number of very tricky
moves to find. This photo (click here) showing one of the pieces
will give you an idea just how complex these moves are and how
different this puzzle is from the standard cube puzzle.
Brian made changes to some of the pieces to give the puzzle it's
embossed style and to increase the number of moves in the lock;
his version also has four separate hidden compartments as well
as another 'secret'.
When Brian was corresponding with Yevgeny to get the plans to
make this puzzle Yevgeny originally sent a different version
to the one in the book. When asked about this he said no-one
ever wants to make the original as it's much too difficult to
manufacture; too much of a challenge for Brian to refuse.
The puzzle is crafted from Jarrah with contrasting pieces of
Queensland Silver Ash. The giant Jarrah tree, sometimes commonly
referred to as West Australian Mahogany is part of the Eucalyptus
family and the only Jarrah forests in the world are found in
Western Australia, south of Perth.
Size: 140mm x 140mm x 140mm
 CRISS CROSS
Original selling
price AUD220.00
This puzzle is a combination of six pieces, each being a unique
shape made by joining three rods together on perpendicular axes.
Bill Cutler's GENDA program reports three solutions, none of
which it can disassemble. It is however possible to disassemble
one of them with a rotational move that the computer has not
yet mastered. The other two are as the computer found; impossible
to get apart. This gives the puzzle a unique solution albeit
very difficult to find.
Whilst the
outward appearance of this puzzle may seem the same as the Sticks
Cube invented by Oscar van Deventer in 1982 the pieces of this
design by Goh Pit Khiam are different and none of them have three
mutually touching joints. For added strength Brian has drilled
and dowelled each join then glued with epoxy resin.
This puzzle is so rare that even the designer only has a prototype
made from plastic cubes.
The puzzle
is crafted from Cooktown Ironwood. This is a very heavy and dense
timber, 20% harder and more dense than Ebony, even slightly more
dense than African Blackwood, so dense it sinks in water. This
timber is grown only in a thin band across the very northern
tip of Australia known as Cape York Penninsula.
Because the
colour of this timber can vary considerably the two extremes
of colour are shown in a photo link below. Different shades of
timber have been allocated numbers at random although we have
put considerable effort into matching colour within each puzzle.
Size: 140mm x 140mm x 140mm
 18 PIECE II
Original selling
price AUD220.00
One of many burrs Bill Cutler designed in the 1960's and 1970's
this burr is one he calls "an 'off center' burr". Bill
says, "in 'off-center' burrs any two rods that intersect
do so half-way through the widths of their rods as opposed to
the 'altekruse' burrs in which pieces intersect each other with
their full widths". This puzzle has 12 identical pieces
and is therefore not one of Bill's most difficult burrs. However,
the shape of this puzzle is aesthetically pleasing and the pieces
interlock in an interesting way.
If you were not one of the lucky people to get one of only 35
of these puzzles made for Bill Cutler by Jerry McFarland between
1994 & 2001 now's your chance to own one.
The puzzle is crafted from Black Wattle.
Size: 150mm x 150mm x 150mm (18 pieces each 30mm x 30mm x 150mm)
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