Tetrahedral Puzzle

by BevCanTech in Workshop > Woodworking

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Tetrahedral Puzzle

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This tetrahedral is made of 6 sticks which interlock together. The challenge is reassembling them together after they have been taken apart.
I made it awhile ago and was inspired by "scissor grabbers" used to lift stone blocks, reasoning if sidewards pressure created by the weight of the stone block can lock the lifter to it, a similar principle could be used to lock 6 sticks together to make a tetrahedral. As it can be made using different diameter and length sticks, a general overview of its construction is given.

Supplies

6 sticks (lengths of dowel)

The Joints

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The joints are quite simple: a cross scissor join of two 2 of the dowels which lock in the third by side pressure. The same style of joint is used for each of the four corners.

Dowel Cuts

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The six pieces of dowel are cut so 4 lengths have scissor joins at their ends while 2 are grabed by them. I used 6 pieces of dowel, each 30 cm long but any reasonable length pieces will do.

The Scissor Joins

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The cuts for the scissor joins are a simple half miters, so two dowel can cross each other with a small amount of 'play'.

How They Fit Together

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Once a scissor join has been made between two sticks a small bit is cut out from the bottom of the 'V' formed so it can grab a third stick. This third stick has been shaped to allow it to be grabbed.

Four Dowels for the Scissor Joins

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As can be seen, when making the scissor cuts to 4 of the dowels, one of the ends the cuts have the same orientation while at the other end the cuts are at a 90 degrees from the first. Two dowels have the side cut on the same side, while the other 2 have them cut on the other side.
The two dowels the scissor joins grab onto are made with miter cuts.

How the Corners Bind Together

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A scissor join grabs one of the ends of the two sticks cut to be grabed. By applyiing gental pressure to the scissor join the thrid stick is locked in. Then it's just a matter of doing the same at the other three corners to assemble the tetrahedral.