Wooden Burr Puzzles
Intro: Wooden Burr Puzzles
For a full writeup go here: http://francisshanahan.com/index.php/2008/math-woodwork-homemade-wooden-burr-puzzles/
I came across IBM's website on burr puzzles [LINK] and decided to make one.
"Burr puzzles are interlocking puzzles known in Europe and Asia since at least the 18th century. Traditionally they are made from wood....and require special wood so that the pieces do not change shape too much in changing temperature and humidity."
To make these, I ripped a thin piece of oak to 3/4" square using my table saw. The pieces are 2 1/4" long so your piece needs to be about 18" long to get 6 pieces. I actually cut 7 in case I screwed up. I later made another with Cherry and found it a much easier wood to work with.
I first picked "David Winkler's favorite level 5 burr" [LINKLINK]. This is a "notchable" burr meaning you can construct it entirely by notching the pieces. I used a bit of red-oak I had laying around. This burr is 6 units long, 2 wide. The unit size in my case is 3/8" which I found a good size. The design in this case is a "5.4" meaning there are 5 moves required to remove the first piece, then 4 to remove the 2nd.
Just print out the pieces you want to cut and bring that sheet to the workshop. For notched pieces your best tool is a bandsaw and some sandpaper for fit.
Each "notch" is 3/8" of an inch. There are six notches per piece.
The IBM site has other "general" pieces which have notches that only go half-way, for these I used a mortising chisel or hand chisel.
These pieces are small. The slower you go, the better they'll fit. Take your time, have fun and watch your fingers.
I came across IBM's website on burr puzzles [LINK] and decided to make one.
"Burr puzzles are interlocking puzzles known in Europe and Asia since at least the 18th century. Traditionally they are made from wood....and require special wood so that the pieces do not change shape too much in changing temperature and humidity."
To make these, I ripped a thin piece of oak to 3/4" square using my table saw. The pieces are 2 1/4" long so your piece needs to be about 18" long to get 6 pieces. I actually cut 7 in case I screwed up. I later made another with Cherry and found it a much easier wood to work with.
I first picked "David Winkler's favorite level 5 burr" [LINKLINK]. This is a "notchable" burr meaning you can construct it entirely by notching the pieces. I used a bit of red-oak I had laying around. This burr is 6 units long, 2 wide. The unit size in my case is 3/8" which I found a good size. The design in this case is a "5.4" meaning there are 5 moves required to remove the first piece, then 4 to remove the 2nd.
Just print out the pieces you want to cut and bring that sheet to the workshop. For notched pieces your best tool is a bandsaw and some sandpaper for fit.
Each "notch" is 3/8" of an inch. There are six notches per piece.
The IBM site has other "general" pieces which have notches that only go half-way, for these I used a mortising chisel or hand chisel.
These pieces are small. The slower you go, the better they'll fit. Take your time, have fun and watch your fingers.
7 Comments
eelapalo 2 months ago
Hello, I'm studying to be a machinist, and we were given an assignment to do a burr puzzle. No trainer remembered his name or even the solution to this. Every year, many of these are made, but not all of them are put together. I searched for comparisons and finally found this right burr puzzle name.. The problem is just that I can't find a solution instruction for this anywhere. The old sites where help would be don't work anymore, so would it be possible for you to show or tell this pile of help? Twice I have come close to a solution, but then the pieces have fallen and I have had to start again.
Caboose98 13 years ago
FrancisShanahan 10 years ago
RocketPenguin 14 years ago
heavy.metal.nguyen 15 years ago
FrancisShanahan 15 years ago
heavy.metal.nguyen 15 years ago