Introduction: Wooden Cube Puzzle

By My YouTube Channel
About: I enjoy simple DIY projects and enjoy sharing them with others. I'm 33 and I am a sheet metal worker by trade. I really enjoy remodeling and making things. I'm married and have two wonderful children.

This DIY was inspired by a Reddit post I saw awhile back. There were no instructions on how this person made this puzzle, just three pictures to go by so I figured I'd spend some time in the garage and try to figure it out. Making the puzzle took about 4 hours and another 2 hours trying to put it together. At first I was sure that I made the pieces incorrectly but after a few more attempts, I figured it out.

This was made from a leftover piece of wood I had in the garage which just happened to be cherry.

Tools Used:

  • Table Saw
  • Miter Saw
  • Scroll Saw
  • Multi-Tool (for sanding)
  • Tape Measure

Materials Used:

  • Scrap Wood
  • Super Glue
  • Cutting Board Oil (optional)

Here's the video for this Instructable: https://youtu.be/jkjn5kGvef0

Step 1: Step 1: Table Saw

So I started out by squaring up two sides of the pallet board which happened to be approximately 29 inches long. After that I set the fence on the saw to 1 1/4 inches and made two strips out of the scrap wood

Step 2: Step 2: Miter Saw

I made a mark on one of the strips at 1 1/4 inches. This is pretty crucial that you get the cut exactly the same size as you ripped the board down on the table saw so that this can be a perfect cube. I also set up a backstop on the miter saw so that every piece was the same. This also makes cutting a lot faster as you will need 27 cubes.

Step 3: Step 3: Scroll Saw

I also set up a fence on my miter saw after running a couple test pieces through. I just added a slight bevel on all sides of the cube. The table was also tilted at a 45 degree angle. Every corner on every cube needs to be beveled. This actually goes a lot faster than one would think. The picture above is what we're looking for.

Step 4: Step 4: Sand Edges

Running the cubes through the scroll saw will leave some burrs on your piece. I found the easiest was to remove these is with using a multi-tool like the one above. I also tried using an orbital sander and this worked well too, it was just easier to hold the multi-tool.

Step 5: Step 5: Glue Pieces Together

Using super glue worked very well for me. I put a small dab in the middle of one block and pushed it into the other block. Using my hands and holding the blocks down and against the 90 degree fence I set up I held these blocks for about 30 seconds each.

The next step has a bunch of pictures of what the pieces should look like. They are positioned in such a way that you should be able to see where each block goes on each piece. For pieces that have blocks in the middle, I simply used another block as a spacer and then removed it after the glue up was done.

Step 6: Step 6: the Pieces

So here are the pieces. There are only five of them and they are pictured in a way that you can see how they are to be constructed. The last two pictures are just all of the pieces laid out in case you need a different angled view.

Step 7: Step 7: Finish

Although these pieces have no finish on them, the beginning pictures do. You can finish these in any manner that you like. I used some cutting board oil to give the puzzle that "wet" look. I hope everyone enjoyed this Instructable! Have fun with it!

For a video on this and other DIY videos, check out my YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/adamfleisch