Today is the release date for the Snub Star. This blog post is being published just before the launch, but we anticipate that by the time many people see this entry, the Snub Star will already be sold out.
Polyhedral puzzles with a high number of pieces require a great deal of time and effort to produce. The Snub Star consists of 60 pieces, and the work and time needed to create a single puzzle far exceeds that of making ten typical 6 piece burrs. Furthermore, due to its large size, it occupies considerable space during manufacturing. Consequently, no matter how hard we try, the production quantity is inevitably limited. In the early days of our business, it was common for polyhedral puzzles to remain in stock for months after release. However, in recent years, it has become impossible to produce enough to reach everyone who expresses interest in owning one. If anyone reading this blog is interested in creating and selling the Magnus 60 or Snub Star themselves, please contact us. After consultation, if both parties' conditions are met and an agreement is reached, we will provide the data necessary for licensed production of these puzzles.
The Snub Star is crafted from stock pieces with a design length of 222mm. We start by preparing stock timber of about 50cm to 1 meter. Even with a 1 meter length, only four pieces can be obtained. If there are imperfections like knots or chips in the timber, the yield becomes even lower. Discarding the leftover material, pieces shorter than 222mm after cutting out the basic shapes, would be very wasteful. So, to reuse this surplus material, Juno designed the Trick Opening 6BP. From the remnants left after cutting pieces for the Snub Star, there was enough material to make several dozen Trick Opening 6BP puzzles.
The notches on the Snub Star pieces are all combinations of multiple angles. The jig is tilted and rotated, and the dado blade is also tilted to cut the notches. With pieces processed this way, it is difficult to verify if the notches are at the correct location, with the precise angle and depth. Even when using calipers, hooking the tips onto pointed or angled surfaces or edges makes it uncertain whether the measurement is accurate. As a workaround for this problem, a mirror image piece created with a 3D printer proved effective. Matching the processed piece against its mirror image makes any imperfection immediately obvious. Despite these refinements, accurately carving the total of 180 notches across the 60 pieces requires intense concentration.
This project presented many challenges, so we felt immense relief when the manufacturing was finished. We believe the completed puzzle is something that will satisfy the collectors' desire to own it. We hope that those who receive this puzzle will be pleased with it.
Happy Puzzling!
