I am sure you like read about this puzzle but first I like write a small explication about “Steampunk”. “Steampunk” is a new art style became popular after 1980’s. Some books define “Futurustic Victorian Style”. This art style is inspired from the books of Jules Verne and H.G.Wells. I meet first with this style by some Jules Verne movies and famous classic movie “Time machine”. Another movie “ Wild Wild West” is a very good example for this style.
In this style, art works ( drawings, stories, objects etc.) must look like made in steam age but also must look futuristic like a time machine. For this reason this style use mostly wood, brass and copper. Objects designed with this style are like movie decors. They must look realistic but technically may be impossible. With a google image search for “steampunk box”, “steampunk” etc. you can see nice art works and you can find a lot of online resources. If you like this style and read more also there are great books in online book stores.
This is my first attempt for a “Steampunk Puzzle”. This is not a puzzle box. The basic idea is from the book “ Puzzles old and new” by Hoffmann. The small coin on the photo is a pieces of this puzzle. You put this coin inside the brass pipe from the thin slot that you can see on the front side and you try take it out. The mechanism described in the book of Hoffmann is mostly a magic trick. For this reason I changed all mechanism and I designed my own mechanism. I used a brass pipe 50 mm diameter, mahogany and beech. Looks like a real valve but if you make a technical inspection there are a lot of impossible things. You can find also technical mistakes of this valve as another puzzle.
“Steampunk” is a new taste for puzzle enthusiasts. But wood, brass, copper, Victorian style are ingredients that we like. I am sure you will find or create good recipes for your taste from this kitchen. If you want make your own puzzle you can preview or download this free PDF file from here (1.1 MB on secure server box.com) including dimensions and craft tips.
DIY Puzzles 