How Do You Make A Chinese Puzzle?
The ingenious puzzle of the Chinese type is probably older than many of us could guess, but it is a puzzle that can be made by any woodworker. The complete article may be called, in form, a six-pointed pyramid. • Prepare the pieces required. In making these twenty-one pieces, what should be borne in mind is that the different parts fit closely into each other. Consequently the slots, in width, must be cut so as to grip the thickness of the wood; in depth they must be exactly half this thickness: • Figure A Six pieces, 3 1/2 inches long, with a half slot cut in the centre as shown. This slot must be exactly the width of the wood’s thickness, and cut exactly half way through, so that, if two pieces are placed across by means of the halved joint, their surfaces will be flush. The slot must also be exactly in the centre. • Figure B Six pieces, size 2 1/2 ins. long, with a half-cut centre slot similar to the previous slot. • Figure C Six required, these being 1 1/2 ins. in length, and with
