Homemade Wooden Marble Maze

I am a junior at Illiana Christian High School.

I wanted to make something that I have seen before, but it's something that is simple. So I decided to make a marble maze. One feature that I like about this is that after playing and completing the maze you can create a new one and put it in place of the other.

I have included the Fusion file I made for those who would like to mess with the original sizes and create their own maze.

This is my list of everything I used to create this marble maze.

• Fusion 360
• CNC Router
• A drill
• A Straight Edge
• Wood Glue
• Table/Hand Saw
• corner clamps
• a .5in marble
• 1/4 in. flat-end mill
• 3/8 in. drill bit
• 1/8 in. drill bit
• 3 ft 1/4 in. dowel rod
• 1 ft 0.4 in. dowel rod
• 3ft of string
• 2 small springs
• 3/8 in. x 4-7/8 in. Screw Eye

For the wood of choice, you could either use a 50in.x14in.x0.75in. board and split it into a 30inx14inx.75in and a 20inx14inx.75in board or a 30inx14inx.75in and a 20in.x14in.x0.75in. without needing to have the step of separating the board.

With a board that is 30in.x14in.x0.75in. mark out 4 blocks to cut out, 2 that are 13.5in.x3.5in. and 2 that are 12.25in.x3.5in., double check that there are 2 blocks that are 12.25in. in length and 2 blocks that are 13.5in. in length.

Next, take a drill and make 6 holes and place them according to the dimensions. There should be 2 holes in the 2 blocks that are 12.25in. in length and 1 hole in the 2 blocks that a 13.5in. in length.

These blocks will serve as the main frame that will support the moving axes.

Now, it is time to create the file that will tell the CNC machine what to do using Fusion 360.

First, download the attached file and upload it to Fusion 360.

Then, go under bodies to find the body labeled "stock" and check the dimensions so that they are accurate to what you are using to cut out.

Next, click design in the top left corner to open a drop-down menu and select Manufacture.

Create a new setup and select stock and choose from solid. Then, select the body that is called "stock". Press the part that says setup in the popup box and go to Work Coordinate System and use the origin "Box Point" to set up your origin.

Make sure that your z-axis is pointing up from the box if you don't the rest of the operations will not cut the correct part.

Now, create a face mill and go and select the correct tool you plan to use for your operations. Then, select the bottom outside edge of the maze, and go to the tab that will say "Heights" when hovering over it, scroll down to the section that says bottom height and change it from "stock top" to "selection" and select the top edge of the maze and press "ok".

Repeat this for the other pieces.

Then, create a 2D pocket and select the plane of the maze that the marble will travel on, and press "ok".

Then, under 2D create a bore, select all the holes you plan to use, and press "ok".

Next, create a 2D contour and select the bottom edges of each part to cut out the parts.

Finally exporting this code

Make sure everything looks correct and right-click the setup and press post-processing.

Name and select the location you want to export it to your desired location to send to your CNC machine.

Attach your wood to the CNC and set the origin, and start it.

After it is finished, remove the parts and sand off the extra material.

When gluing, start from the innermost frame and work your way out to make sure that it all fits within each other.

The innermost frame is made of 4 pieces that have a lip, glue those together, and reference the picture if it is hard to tell which direction parts are placed.

Then, glue the middle frame together, it is important that the holes line up with each other. (The partial hole is opposite each other and the full holes are opposite each other)

Then, glue the outer frame together by making sure the shorter pieces are glued from the ends and the dowels fit straight through them.

Cut the 0.4in. dowel rod into 4 0.75in. pieces

Make sure 2 of the rods will fit into the outer frame. Then, line up the through holes in the middle frame and the holes in the outer frame and put one dowel rod in on either side, and push it in so the dowel is flush with the middle frame.

Next, line up the inner frame holes with the half holes on the middle frame and insert the dowels into those holes.

If the dowels don't want to stay in place you may need to use some wood glue to hold them in place.

Take the 3ft 1/4in Dowell rod and cut it into two 16in. segments.

If you have something that you would prefer to use as a knob that would fit on the ends of the 1/4in rod then go ahead and use it but if you don't I have provided a file to 3d print, a suggestion is to print it with a 15% infill with a layer height of .15mm

To make the handles fit you would need to sand one end on both of the 1/4in rods down to around a diameter of .15in.

Then you can hammer or squeezes the knobs onto the end of the rod to be used as handles.

If the handle slide on the rod, try gluing the knobs to the rod.

For attaching the handles to the frame to control the pitch first you will need to predrill 4 holes

Then, screw in 4 screw eyes into those holes.

Then, cut the string into 2 pieces, one should be 14in. and the other 16in. tie the 14in. string to one spring and the 16in. string to the other spring, and tie the 14in. string to one of the inner screws, spin the string around the pole perpendicular to the string, and attach the spring to the screw on the inner frame.

Do the same thing but with the 16" string.

There may be some sawdust still stuck on parts so they may need some vacuuming. It would be a good idea to sand the edges so there are no splitters sticking out.

It is up to you if you want to stain the final product or paint parts in different colors, but I am going to leave it how it is with a raw wood look.

Have fun playing with it.

If you have any issues leave a comment.