02-Jul-2025
Today, I started by continuing work on the Knock Box-square type. As a follow-up to the internal structure I was assembling until yesterday, I began the morning by attaching a small internal stopper. With that, the internal construction of the box was completed.
This stopper controls the movement of a panel that interacts with the internal magnet. Depending on its position, the difficulty of unlocking the mechanism can change. In other words, it determines how far the magnet panel can move. If the stopper is too short, the mechanism can lock again with just a small movement of the box, making it hard to move on to the next step.
So this time, I gave it a bit more space and set the stopper to about 15mm, which is a standard length. Even so, if you tilt the box, the mechanism will likely reset and return to its original state.
After that, I started working on the outer panels. First, I attached the bottom panel, which is completely fixed in place. Normally, with puzzle boxes that have up to 14 steps, the bottom panel is secured at four points—two on the side panels and two on the axis panels.
However, due to the structure of this box, the bottom panel can only be fixed to two side panels. This makes it more prone to warping, so I used a slightly thicker piece of wood than usual. Since this panel is also made from natural wood, I can’t move on to the next step right away after attaching it. Instead, I will fix it in place and leave it to dry overnight. If possible, I plan to attach the top panel tomorrow.
Later in the day, I worked on assembling the frame for the 2.5-sun box that I started in parallel. That process went smoothly, just as it usually does, and I also installed one of the internal parts. Since this is a 5-step puzzle box, the mechanism is simple and only requires one internal part.
While assembling it, I was also thinking of giving this box a few unique design touches 😄
