How to make a simple and unique wooden puzzle from scratch.
I first came across this puzzle a few years ago at my uncle’s estate sale; apparently it was his father’s. I’m not sure if he made it himself or just came across it but I thought it was quite unique. I’ve made them out of hardwood and softwood. They also make great gifts for the young and old.
As you can see from the blueprint we are working with 1 x 1 x 4 inch wood stock. If you would like to adjust the blueprints you can make it any size you like. You can use hard or soft wood, I myself had a piece of mahogany kicking around. I sawed it down to inch by inch stock (1″ x 1″).
Now you can cut your inch by inch (1″ x 1″) to 4″ lengths. You should mark the cuts that you’ll make for each puzzle piece you’ll be cutting; it’s a little more accurate.
I myself used a table saw set at 1/2″ inch height and I eyed up the lines to get an accurate cut. You can use a band saw as that will work well too. After each piece is cut you could clean up the cut with a file.
After your pieces are cut and cleaned up, sand for smoothness.
Time for paint, stain, oil or boiled linseed for your desired look. I used the Tung N Teak oil on this project. Of course, I put about 3 coats on and let dry in between, buffed down with steel wool and one more coat, let dry for 20 minutes and hand rubbed.
THE SOLUTION:
As you can see by the numbered layout, put 6 and 5 together as in the picture, then insert 4 as shown.
Next step, add 2 as shown, then insert 3, then slide in 1, the piece that is not cut; I call it the KEY.
Hope you enjoy building your own cross puzzle as I did. It gave me many pleasurable years of messing with my friends’ minds.
I myself had a piece of mahogany, but you could also use oak, cherry, or soft woods like spruce, pine or cedar. I used Danish oil since I used hard wood for this project.
