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[Scott Peterson]

So, I jumped in and made a Matchbox also - thanks Peter for the plans. 

However, when it came time to cut the grooves across the edges I used a little different method.  I'll describe it here and maybe some of you guys can use it for yourselves - pretty simple.

  I tilted the blade in the tablesaw over about 45 deg, and then lowered the
blade down into the table until only 1/2 of the ATB teeth would barely make
contact with the wood.  This way, I get a tiny V-notch with the ATB teeth
which point to the right.  The teeth that point to the left are below the
table (on my saw which tilts left).  It worked out pretty well and one of
the photos shows the tiny V-notch.

  I made mine a little bigger - 18T across with T = 5.5 mm due to the luan plywood that I used on the internal plys.  The outside is made from Jatoba for this one.  I'm planning to use these for coin banks for the kids - but I can't seem to bring myself to cutting the coin slot in it now...

[Peter Wiltshire]

Fantastic Scott,  I know how you feel about cutting the coin slot.  When i get close to finishing a project I get more careful with every cut.  I would hate to see something go wrong in the final cut.

I'm working on a project now that I started on the miter saw, when I got the table saw I started remaking the pieces one by one, that's a total of 48 pieces and 90 percent of them are crazy angled cuts.

When I saw the accuracy I was getting on the table saw I just couldn't resist remaking the pieces.  I think as I move forward I will be glad I took the time to re-cut all those pieces.

Now if I could just figure out how to finish this thing...

[Kevin W]

That is a great way of doing it Scott,  I would have never thought of that.  The final result looks perfect also.  Could I ask you what "ATB teeth" are though?  Is this the same reason why it is best to always have your keeper piece on the right side of the blade?  I am currently working on my second attempt at a Pennyhedron jig and learned this the hard way.   

[Eric Fuller]

ATB means alternate tooth bevel...basically how the teeth alternate between left and right bevels.  That doesn't have anything to do with what you're talking about on the pennyhedron thing.  That's more to do with cutting at an angle.  On anything other than a 90 degree cut, one side will cut through before the other.  Many times the remaining side will chip off...which is why you want your "keeper" part to be cut with the grain instead of against it.

EDIT: Here's some useful information on blade geometry:

http://www.rockler.com/articles/display_article.cfm?story_id=85&cookietest=1

[Scott Peterson]

Thanks Kevin.  Do you have the FWW article by Stewart Coffin that outlines making the Pennyhedron? 

I make the Pennyhedron using 2 different jigs I made - one matches the crosscut jig described in Coffin's article and the second is one I created for better and safer final cutting to make all edges beveled at 30 deg.

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I will forward the article.  I will also try to take some photos of the second jig and those along too.  There seems to be a renewed interest in the Pennyhedron lately - I already owe 3 people photos of my jigs!  We'll be away for the weekend, but I will try to take some photos when we return.

[Peter Wiltshire]

Well it's been a while since I posted here and thought it's time for an update.  With IPP not far off I have been busy making puzzles and testing out the new cross cut jig I built.  I revisited the Lacewood box and made some more of them.  The original box I cut on a compound miter saw, and I am very happy with the increased accuracy that the table saw and cross cut jig brought to them.  I also used Scott Peterson's suggestion of using the table saw blade at 45 degrees and dropped into the table to put the detail work on the boxes.  It was much more precise than my hack saw blade method  Thanks Scott!

I also have admired the "2 in 2 with Frame puzzle" designed by M. Uyematsu, and happened on the plans for it on Ishino's "Puzzles would be Played" website.  I made the puzzle out of walnut and maple.  They turned out better than I was expecting and the solution has a small trick to it which makes them fun to solve.

A quick word about Ishino's "Puzzles Would Be Played" website, this site is absolutely fantastic and a wealth of great designs.  If Ishino happens to read this; thank you very much for your work on putting this site together.  It's great to be able to make a copy of these wonderful puzzles for personal collections.  I also am not planning on selling the 2 in 2 with frame, because it is not my design, but I appreciate the chance to try out my wood working skills and make the design!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

[Brian.Pletcher]

Wow, those pictures look great Peter! Nice work! I really like the look of the 1-in-2 with the miter joints on the frame. I'm pretty new to puzzle making (and woodworking): how do you get that nice bevel? do you use a file or a router?

[Peter Wiltshire]

Thanks for the kind words Brian!  I am also fairly new to puzzle making!  I have learned a ton of tips on this forum (Thanks Guys!) and have reccently purchased myself a table saw.  The 2in2 with frame is a great beginner puzzle,  The puzzle turned out nicer than I thought it would.  The beveling was very simple, I just used sand paper and took off all the sharp corners.  The puzzle also is simple to cut all cuts are 90 or 45 degrees.  I'm having a blast with the new saw, and I'm hooked on puzzle making now 

[Scott Peterson]

Great job on the puzzles, Peter!  Glad the v-notch work so well for you - yours look better by far than the ones I made.  I did end up making the coin banks a while back for the kids, but not sure if I ever took any photos...

I really like the 2-in-2 puzzles - great contrast in woods, and the joints on the frames came out perfect too.  I also like to bevel off the edges of cubes by hand with a sanding block.  It gives the puzzle a hand crafted look and feel for me, and it works better than using a router bit too.  The router tends to tear off the grain on exit when cutting across the grain, which is unavoidable most times.  When I do need to use the router for a bevel or round-over, I make sure to do the cross grain cuts first, then follow up with the with-the-grain cut to remove the frayed exit from the crosscut sides...

Anyhow - great job on the puzzles, thanks for the photos.  This inspires me to work more on puzzles!  And, I finally have the shop set-up and most of the move-in house tasks taken care of!