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Classic Puzzle Cube,
12 Pieces Puzzle
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What is the Classic Puzzle Cube?
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The "classic puzzle cube" is a wooden
cube made from eight small cubes and bands of darker wood between them.
It is also called "the take apart cube" or "the classic 12 pieces puzzle".
It dates from the 19th century. |
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If you take the cube apart, you get two halves at first. They are formed
by two cubes, which are fixed at a bar. There are ten more bars, which
are stuck into each other and form the bands.
The problem is assembling a cube with all the 12 pieces. |
Solution in Three Steps top
1st step: Build an H-shape as the first layer.
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Set the dark-blue bar (2) into the groove of a half cube (1).
Add the light blue bars (3). |
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Set the other dark-blue bar (1) into the second half cube. Turn over
the half cube (2) and put it upon the first half cube (3). |
The four blue bars form an H inside the cube.
2nd step: Bracing the two half cubes
Look from the side into the cube. You recognize two connecting dark grey/dark
blue pieces in the center (1). Move in the two green bars from the right
and the left (2) and put it around the connecting pieces (3).
Make sure in the following step that the green bars do not separate,
if the cube will be turned.
3rd step: Put in the two T-pieces
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Make two T-pieces of the four remaining bars. They will be put in from
the top and from the bottom. |
Turn over the cube 90 degrees, so that the right cube face is underneath
(result in 1). Look down into the cube. You recognize two holes (2, white).
Increase the upper hole for the red/pink T-piece. Push away the dark
blue bar together with the light blue ones above (3). - Then put the T-piece
into the cube from above, the red bar at first (4). Return to the cube
shape (5).
Now the cube looks like the drawing (1). Turn over the cube, front side
front (2), and put in the second red/yellow T-piece from above (3).
The cube is ready (4) ; -).
Building of the Puzzle Cube
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You can also make the cube yourself.
You can take the measurements of the halves and the bars from the drawing.
The usual unit of the cubelet edges is 0.5cm, and thus the cube puzzle
has an edge length of 5cm. Make all bars double except the two bars on
the right. Extend the valleys of the bars if necessary. Find more in book
(1).
The numbers in the drawing indicate the number of the cubelets. If
you add 308+308+50+50+52+52+28+28+28+28+32+36, then you get 1000. Therefore
the puzzle cube isn't hollow.
Purchase of the Puzzle Cube top
The puzzle cube is popular in Germany, because it is in the catalogue
of the wide-spread VEDES toy shops.
There is also a puzzle in a ball form or barrel form, or with corners
cut off.
The price is between 5€ (~5$) and 10€ (~10$) in 2004.
References top
(1) Rüdiger Thiele, Konrad Haase: Der verzauberte Raum, Leipzig
1991
(2) Pieter van Delft /Jack Botermans: Denkspiele der Welt, München
1980 (1998 neu aufgelegt) [ISBN 3-685-1998) Seite 66
(3) R.Thiele, K.Haase: Teufelsspiele, Leipzig, 1991 [ISBN 3-332-00116-7],
Seite 40f.
Gail from Oregon, thank you for supporting me in my translation.
Feedback: Email address on my main page
This
page is also available in German.
URL of
my Homepage:
http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/
©
2001 Jürgen Köller
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