Sunday 30 September 2018

Rex and Ali Surprise Me...Again!

Aguinaldo
We are very lucky that we have a blog post today! Having spent a week on leave, visited the outlaws in Edinburgh and then a very nice trip into central Scotland for some relaxation, I have done very little puzzling for quite a while and certainly not solved anything for ages. I am starting to run out of things to blog about! 😢  I did take my Haleslock 5 with me and spent some hours on it but I am MUCH less bright than the other puzzlers who all seem to be managing to open theirs - I am getting absolutely nowhere! There are some interesting noises inside but I cannot make them do anything other than rattle. I'll keep trying but Einstein's "truth" remains true!

Rex's Halfminx
I have known Rex Rossano Perez for quite a few years now. As a young lad in the Philipines, he began as a cuber and then moved on to making his own puzzle mods and was active on the Twisty Puzzle forum. When he showed off the Halfminx, his modification of the Megaminx, back in 2013, I contacted him hoping to buy one and because of his young age, he had no access to PayPal and a rather elaborate sequence occurred where I purchased some puzzles from MrPuzzle and had them shipped to him as payment. It worked well then and whilst financially the puzzles I bought him were valued higher than the cost of the Halfminx, I actually felt I got a better deal. That Halfminx was great quality and kept me busy for a year before I finally managed to solve it. Over the intervening years, I saw Rex complete his school education and then go on to train and, I'm pleased to say, recently qualify as a radiographer - he has occasionally shown off an X-ray of a puzzle (although none as useful as my X-rays of the Lotus and other Strijbos puzzles). Over the last year, he seems to have had access to a laser cutter and has been showing off on Facebook some of his new designs. I seldom buy plastic puzzles (you all know that I have a fetish for wood) but at the last MPP Ali showed off a few of Rex's latest puzzles. Out of curiosity, I had a little play and was very pleasantly surprised! These puzzles are terrific - the look, the feel and the puzzling pleasure is really REALLY high. One of the designs that I played with was the Aguinaldo pictured at the top.

During my idle exploration at the MPP, I was just fiddling having decided that I was going to buy a few. I had no intention of spoiling my own puzzle pleasure by fully solving at the MPP. Ali and I were chatting when, totally out of the blue, a little piece dropped out of the puzzle. I had no idea where it had come from and did not know whether I had broken Ali's toy. I certainly had not released the coin (obviously that is the aim) - Ali and I exchanged glances...he had never seen that piece before either! After a little more exploration, I worked out how to put it back and worked the puzzle back to the start position. After that, I did little more other than to admire the others. It transpired that after the MPP, Ali contacted Rex to discuss the solution to the puzzle and both of them were surprised at each other! Rex asked Ali whether he had found the little white piece and was surprised back when Ali reported that he had solved the puzzle without finding it but that I had managed it.

In the meantime, I had been contacted by Rex to say that another batch of puzzles was going to go up on Paradise and did I want to buy a copy before he put them up for sale and they sold out? I must have hesitated for a nanosecond and then bit his mouse off! Yes yes yes! Of course I would buy them! I asked about Aguinaldo but Rex said that they were not being made due to difficulty getting the coin. I didn't think about it again but was very surprised when a copy of Aguinaldo was in the package I purchased. It would appear that Ali and Rex conspired to send me a gift. Thank you guys - I REALLY do appreciate it!

After opening the package of puzzles when they arrived yesterday, I could not resist starting straight on with the Aguinaldo. This one is a blind maze puzzle with a clever but simple mechanism to navigate the pathway. I don't recall the maze on Ali's being so long but I gradually worked my way to the end and the coin came close to coming out but just not quite enough room for it to drop. Then I explored a bit further and that extra piece dropped out on me - I still wasn't sure where it came from but suddenly I was able to go further and the coin fell out on the table. (I knew better than to do these in my customary position with a cat on my lap).

Aguinaldo completely solved - not half solved like Ali did!
The puzzle is not terribly hard but certainly is fun and clever. I returned everything to the beginning and did it again a few times (placing the extra piece was just a matter of placing it inside at the correct time but I had no idea what was going on inside. In the end, once I felt I knew the puzzle, I undid the nuts and bolts and took a couple of layers off and enjoyed a view of the maze. AHA! Now that really is clever! Ali had actually not fully solved his puzzle - he had managed the coin release at an earlier stage than intended and had not gone far enough to get the small white square - I am sure that he has enjoyed a second Aha! moment now that he knows there is more to do! This puzzle is rather like a worry bead just now - I keep playing with it.

Thanks Ali and Rex, for the great puzzle, the fun at both MPP and afterwards getting such a nice surprise. I now don't actually know whether to believe that Aguinaldo will not be available again or whether it was a ruse to keep me away. Rex puts his designs up for sale periodically on Puzzle Paradise so keep an eye out in the future or contact him via Facebook. I certainly will be looking for more. I'll keep the other 2 for a future blog post as I seem to be running out of solved toys just now.


Sunday 23 September 2018

One Dimensional Thinking Courtesy of Diniar

Or should that be one direction(al)?

Sewing Box 'Front'
Sewing box 'Back'
No, I’ve not become even crazier than I previously was! No, I’m not listening to boy-bands and this definitely IS puzzle related! I’m very lucky that Diniar Namdarian contacts me periodically to offer me the opportunity to buy his latest inventions. He does so with a warning that posting about them is Verboten until after they’ve been either exchanged and/or judged at the IPP design competition. This year I received 3 puzzles from him that I can only now write about and only 2 have I solved.

The sewing box pictured above was one of these which was entered in the design competition (and I think was exchanged too). The name comes from the similarity with a single cotton reel as well as the fact that it contains multiple different colours of cotton reel. It is a very nice tactile puzzle - the box is 67mm diameter and 67mm tall. Inside there are 6 lovely brightly coloured cotton reels (and a 7th in the centre if you peek into the interior) which fit nicely inside and are each 20mm in diameter. The lid and the base are rigid and will not unscrew (don't try it as it might snap if you use too much force) but the cotton reels inside will rotate around inside freely - that is, they can all move en mass around the centre of the puzzle and individually they can pirouette 360º. The cotton reels clearly consist of at least 2 pieces each with a very odd looking staggered cut at different heights through them. The different height cuts can be clearly seen in the pictures above.

The aim here is to take it apart and of course, to reassemble it afterwards. It doesn't look that difficult, does it? It looks like it might just unscrew and release its' contents. Maybe the trick would be to unscrew it in the reverse direction? Think again - this will not work! The complexity of the construction makes for a lot of movement variables and hence it needs some thought© - this puzzle will not reveal its' solution with random fiddling - you need to properly work it out. A few of us received copies earlier this year (none of us going to the IPP) and Diniar was keen to hear our thoughts about the solution and how long it took. I played with it for about 15 minutes when I had a brainwave and decided to try out something "one-dimensional". It took me another 5 minutes of fiddling with all the individual components before my Aha! moment paid off:

They would appear not to be cotton reels.
No clues here...move along now!
The reassembly is a little easier than the disassembly but again requires thought to determine which pieces go where and in what orientation. it is also a bit of a dexterity puzzle to manage to get them all together without one or more pieces falling out in the attempt. Definitely quite fun! I cannot really work out whether this is a really complex puzzle which I managed quickly (I was the fastest amongst the early group), or maybe this is a really simple puzzle which I managed as would be expected. It will not be solved by luck or force - you need to focus on your inner Allard and THINK© - It is a really clever idea. Well done to Diniar for producing something so bright and attractive and such a nice challenge.

Gyrotwisty
The next puzzle from Diniar which I received just a few weeks before the IPP is the Gyrotwisty. It looks like an oddly damaged tennis ball (although it is actually slightly larger at 80mm diameter and 65mm tall. It consists of an outer shell which is split into a top and bottom half via a rather complex curvilinear cut around the equator and an inner ball which can rotate freely within the shell. If you rotate the inner ball then it becomes apparent that this is also split into two pieces by another complex yet totally different curvilinear cut. It is oddly rather tactile and soothing to play with. It is vaguely reminiscent of the Cast Marble puzzle but obviously totally different in solution.

Again the aim is to separate the puzzle into its' component pieces and then (again) reassemble it. This one took me a few days to work out. The initial thought yet again is to unscrew the outer layer at least but after trying that I have to admit with shame that just by looking at the picture above it is quite obvious that unscrewing is impossible. Having realised that my complex 3-dimensional approach wasn't going to work, I dropped a dimension and carried on for a day or so. Nope! Yet again, this requires thought©. Before the thinking can occur, one needs more exploring - which is rather tough because only a small section of the inner sphere is visible through the holes in the top and bottom of the shell. There is also just a teeny tiny bit of movement of the pieces against each other to allow further thought. After another few days of swearing at the puzzle and Diniar, I developed a coherent visualisation of the shape and then could formulate a plan - I was down to one dimension yet again. I lined everything up, thought my one-dimensional thought and pop! I had this:

It's beautifully made and very clever!
Only after taking it apart and looking at the pieces did I realise just how clever this is: all 4 components are different shapes and fit together in a certain way without perfect overlap of the edges. It takes the perfect and (again) rather dextrous reassembly to show you that this puzzle works perfectly if done right!

At the last MPP, James Dalgetty, who had received a copy during the exchange asked me whether I knew how it worked. He had apparently managed to dismantle it with force but recognised that this was not correct and wanted to see the correct solution. It had been a while since I had done it but I was still able to roughly remember what to do and it popped open in my hands - I think he liked the true solution. It is really rather lovely and makes for a great (and rather large) worry bead for you.

Both of these puzzles are available from Diniar for a very reasonable price - his email address is linked on the design competition page if you would like to contact him.


Sunday 16 September 2018

Allard Bites Off More Than I Can Chew!

Allard's Exchange Puzzle - The B. Dorstrum Puzzle
At the last MPP just after shaking hands with all the guys who I have not seen for a while, Allard sidled up to me and magnanimously handed me a very nice presentation box. Inside was a beautifully displayed new old puzzle which he had given away to 70 or so other puzzlers in San Diego last month. I say that it is a "new old" puzzle because it actually dates back to 1908 and has been rediscovered by the highly talented Michel van Ipenburg who seems to be making a habit of resurrecting old designs. Michel had worked with the equally talented Robrecht Louage to bring the B. Dorstrum puzzle back to reality.

Rather than just pack it up in a little ziplock bag, Allard has made a really lovely presentation box complete with a sealed leaflet:

Top face
Back/Other face
Notice that on one side Allard has his inscription and on the other is the RL of Robrecht and MVI for Michel.

Yep! DON'T open the Patent application!
Having spent a few days side-tracked by Shane's latest toys, I had completely forgotten about Allard's treat. After I got stuck completely on Haleslock #5 (and I'm still stuck!) I decided to move on to the B Dorstrum puzzle.

It is beautifully manufactured from Trespa which appears to be a high-pressure laminate suitable for cladding buildings in as well as making surfaces of various kinds for interior use. Robrecht has used this stuff for years and years now and all his creations are fabulous to play with. It consists of a rectangular ring held captive by 3 layers of asterisks (* shapes) which, initially at least seem to rotate around a central pin. The aim is to remove the ring and (of course) then to put it back again. Again, my early idle viewing revealed the obvious notches cut into the arms of the asterisk and I thought that this would be a nice little maze puzzle. Lord! Was I wrong about that!

Within just a minute of actually playing with the puzzle, I had a realisation that the notches I could see did not lead anywhere and so...no maze! What the hell is this? I pushed and pulled at the ring and all of a sudden one of the layers moved and moved in a VERY unexpected way! And then both of the other layers moved in a similar fashion - OMG! This was completely unique and I suspected was not going to be easy! I set to last Monday evening and proceeded to explore where the movements went and what they allowed me to do. I very quickly moved to a position that I could not backtrack out of back to the start position - this is always a bad sign for me! Ten minutes after starting I had a huge Aha! moment:

Solved it! Hell NO! I am nowhere near solving it!
Yes, the ring was off and I felt sort of great. Only sort of? Yep! Only sort of! I could hear Allard and Michel whispering with glee in my ears:
"Now put it back...we dare you!"
These voices I keep hearing are becoming a cause for concern - it's bad enough hearing Mrs S chattering at me (Whack! Ouch!) but Allard and Michel too? Now I'm totally crackers!
With the ring removed, I was able to explore the movements of the plates a bit more and was able to reveal this - don't worry about seeing the photo below - it doesn't help you solve it and if you've played with the puzzle for more than a few seconds then you have discovered the nasty little secret:

There's a whole lotta movement possible!
Having listened to those nasty little voices - Whack! Ouch! Not you dear, I meant THEM, I set to the reassembly. Of course, I had absolutely no idea what I had done before and have spent most of the week alternating between this and the Haleslock #5. It is actually pretty easy to get the ring back on and interlocked at the correct place on the asterisks but something tells me that I have gone wrong somewhere:

Lord help me! I keep getting to this point but it's just not right - the central disk is offset.
Today after 6 days at it I cut the seal on the leaflet hoping for a little clue and was greeted by a copy of the original patent diagrams which were horrifically complex and impossible to understand - I'm impressed that Michel and Robrecht could interpret them. Inside that page was a big warning from Allard - a whole page showing this:

Very off-putting!
This put me off for another hour or so and then in abject failure, I opened the leaflet completely. My Jaw dropped! He's an absolute swine! Inside is the text of the patent which (at least to my feeble mind) is of no help whatsoever! My B. Dorstrum puzzle remains like this...probably forevermore!

Never to be solved?
I will keep at it...probably for years like many of my other toys! I know better than to ask Allard for help! In the meantime, I will carry on with the Haleslock #5 in the hope that it will not also be more than I can chew! Thanks, Allard, Michel.......and Shane! 😱😱😜


Sunday 9 September 2018

Just Meandering About

Meanders Box
Yukari sends out an email to subscribers of the Pluredro blog when new stuff has been made. As well as puzzle stuff she includes her random thoughts on the blog just to hone her English language skills (which are pretty good by the way). At the beginning of August, I learned about the release of 2 versions of the Meanders box - a lovely design with 4 different setups to allow 4 different solutions. There was one version (348 moves) which Juno and Yukari both considered too difficult/arduous to be any puzzler's primary choice and another (172 moves) which they thought would be perfect for almost everyone. I had recently spent my pocket money and decided to wait a while before placing an order and promptly forgot about it. Puzzlers, of course, are a contrary bunch and they immediately homed in on the most difficult one and the puzzle stock promptly began to fall. Luckily for me, I chat with Matt Dawson fairly frequently and he noticed that when he bought his copy they were down to just one left. He notified me and I immediately (within a few minutes) jumped on the last one...PHEW!

This gorgeous puzzle arrived a couple of weeks later from Oz and I have been working on it intermittently since it arrived. Yes, yes! I know it's labelled as a box but it really isn't a box! Firstly there was no bread in it and bread could not possibly fit inside! If this comment mystifies you then read my review of the Heart case from Juno here. I will buy some puzzles that have cavities if there is something else special about them - this puzzle is partially N-ary and partially maze puzzle so perfectly allowable for my collection.

Its' dimensions are 95 x 85 x 84mm and it is made from Burmese Teak, Rose Alder, Silver Ash (citrus family tree) and some metal pieces inside. Juno seems to be developing a certain look - his recent puzzles are instantly recognizable as his workmanship and that is no bad thing.

The aim is (as you would expect) to open the box by following the maze...except the maze that you can see is not the maze you are following. The real maze and pins inside it are inside and invisible so it needs to be done by deduction and feel. This sounds really simple (the mazes are not as complex as a Revomaze) but the difficulty comes from the fact that the movement of the pins needs to be made stepwise due to the plates having small steps cut out of the ends where they interact with each other. The effect of this is that I found I lost track of which direction I was travelling in and also missed a number of choices of direction to travel. The first time I attempted it I got to here and thought I had solved it:

Cavity visible - is it solved? Nope!
Reading on the product page I saw that the aim is to completely remove the maze lid from the box. and I was stuck. Several times I reached this position and tried to continue along the path only to find myself back at the beginning. Finally, after several hours (Yukari wasn't joking when she said that the high-level one was arduous), I found a hidden passage and took that. Finally, I managed to remove the lid:

Solved the first challenge!
To prove that I really understood it, I then reassembled it back to the beginning which strangely was much easier. I tried opening it again and struggled yet again but not quite so much as the first time. I was not able to count the number of moves but I suspect that the puzzle arrived in the easiest set-up with 260 moves. Time to try another one - each maze can be placed in the puzzle in 2 orientations giving a total of 4 challenges (260, 263, 337 and 348 steps to fully open the puzzle box). The only difference with the "simpler" puzzle is that the steps are bigger and there are less of them per side giving a solution level choice of 130, 134, 161 and 172 steps to fully open the puzzle.

I personally preferred to solve this as an "opening" puzzle and therefore chose to use Juno's beautifully implemented reset mechanism - there are screws underneath:

Such a simple reset mechanism
Here you can see the steps on the side faces.
Unscrewing those screws allows you to left the top frame away and place all the pieces back in the closed position and with the maze in whichever orientation you choose:

The quick reset method revealed - clever idea.
Pick the assembly you prefer.
Here are the 2 mazes for you to examine - believe me when I say that having seen them, you are no closer to solving the puzzle - this one has to be solved by feel rather than by sight. Derek has provided me with a Burrtools file for the puzzle but I have refrained from using it so far.

2 mazes each of which can be oriented in 2 ways in the puzzle

So far I have done 2 of the solutions and have still to do the remaining 2. It is quite arduous and I now agree with Yukari and Juno - this puzzle is still perfectly fun with the lower level construction - luckily for you, there are still plenty of these available on their store. It will look fabulous on display with my other Yananose puzzles. I am eagerly awaiting more toys from Oz! Thank you, Juno and Yukari.



Follow up with the Hales puzzles

Silver lock exchange puzzle is open!
Shane's recent puzzles have been kicking my butt! All excited at my success with the Hokey Cokey lock last week (they are still available for sale on Paradise if you are interested), I set to on Shane's locks and after a week of working on them on and off, I have managed to solve just the Silver lock exchange puzzle. The Goldilock and the amazing Haleslock 5 are as they were when I bought them. The Goldilock has one obvious first step and I am stuck, the Haleslock 5 doesn't even have that! I have a key which won't go in the keyway and a lock which rattles a lot more than one would expect for such a solid lock - something tells me it has been "doctored"!



How could I forget Allard?

Allard's exchange puzzle - the B Dorstrum Puzzle
Last week, when I wrote my blog after the MPP, I had not had time to unpack my box of goodies that I took with me and which also contained this lovely and historical challenge given by Allard. My friend Michel van Ipenburg seems to have a knack of finding the patents and descriptions of fabulous historic puzzles and then reconstructing them with the help of Robrecht Louage. The B Dorstrum puzzle is the latest of these. I have been fiddling with this for a day or so now and made some interesting discoveries but not got very far yet - it is telling that the genius that is Goetz Schwandtner has also not got very far either!

I will keep you informed when and more likely, if, I get anywhere with it. Thanks, Allard!



Sunday 2 September 2018

Big Steve and Ali Make Me Dance

and Joe makes me grub around on the floor!

The Hokey Cokey Lock
I have been chatting with Derek on-line in the past few weeks before and after the IPP and he had mentioned that Big Steve Nicholl's exchange puzzle this year was a new design by Ali Morris and that it was absolutely superb. He didn't tell me anything more than that other than that it was a lock. I was a little surprised because I know Ali pretty well and was aware that he was a master carpenter and very good with burrs and boxes but did not know that he also could design puzzle locks. Obviously a master of all trades! Then I heard that it was called the Hokey Cokey lock and was even more mystified.

Derek had volunteered to be Steve's exchange assistant and there were rumours of much dancing going on during the exchange which mystified me even more! What did a lock have to do with dancing? and if you know Big Steve then you will also know that he is not really built to be light on his feet and nimble! At the end of the exchange day, a video came out on Facebook showing both Steve and Derek (and at least one exchange recipient) actually doing the Hokey Cokey (differently named in the US according to our puzzle box loving alcoholic surgeon friend). This must have been quite a sight to see and apparently almost everyone joined in and received their Hokey Cokey locks with the song written large in their memories.

At yesterday's Midlands Puzzle Party I had an opportunity to purchase a copy myself. If you want one for your own collection then Steve has been posting them up on Puzzle Paradise for a very reasonable price. How could I resist? I put my acquisitions away for the rest of the day and enjoyed the fun at the MPP. Then, when I got home, Mrs S was treated to the delights of me also dancing the Hokey Cokey! Why would I do that? Surely there's no reason for me to dance to solve a puzzle lock? Well, I thought so too...at first! The lock is a standard long shackle padlock which has been "got at". There is no visible evidence of it being got at but someone obviously has. It comes with 2 keys that fit the keyway...2 totally different keys! You know it won't work but you have to try. Of course, neither keys will turn! After this, last night, whilst sitting with Mrs S, I was FORCED to do the dance! I put the right key in...nope! I put the left key in...nope! In...nope! Out...nope! In...nope! Out...nope! Shake it all about...nope! Shake it about with the left key in...nope! Shake it all about with the right key in...nope! Rinse and repeat ALL those steps with the keys ¾ in...nope! and again with them ½ in...nope! and, in desperation, about ¼ in...yep! you guessed it...nope! Hmmm! Maybe I did it wrong somewhere in those steps and yes, much to Mrs S' disgust, I did the whole lot again! I have been fully Hokey cokey'd!

A very innocuous comment from my friend Otis on Facebook made me think - ©. I stared at the lock for another 30minutes and an idea popped into my head. This is quite a feat because my head is pretty dense but it definitely popped in. A few minutes later I was the proud owner of an open lock!

This is MARVELOUS!
I actually showed the mechanism to Mrs S and even she was impressed which as far as I can remember has never happened before! Well done Ali for a tremendous design and well done Steve for making me, and a large number of other puzzlers (including Derek) look very foolish indeed - that takes great skill! Buy one on paradise whilst they are still available.

Next up, we have a delightful new design by Joe Turner - the Free Me version 6:

Free Me 6
Last year, in Paris, Joe had entered the Free Me 5 into the IPP design competition where it won a well-deserved Jury honourable mention prize.  I recall playing with it in the competition room and really enjoying a well made sequential discovery puzzle which involved wood, ball bearings, steel rods and a fair bit of courage as one had to decide whether to do something decidedly dangerous (at least it was in the eyes of most puzzlers) before eventually releasing the half dollar coin. I loved it!

I missed out on purchasing the version 5 last year but this year, my friend Matt Dawson, informed me when the Free Me 6 came up for sale and I quickly sent off an email and some PayPal.

The new version seemed slightly smaller and for the first few minutes of play, nothing would happen. After a little thought (which hurt considerably!) I managed the first move and released some pieces. It all works very smoothly. I could see another tool but could not reach it so tried closing it and a few other things but that did not help. There are a number of holes around and after a while, one has to resort to poking things in those holes...as I have said above a fair bit...nope! Time to examine the puzzle and in doing so I gave my cat a Whack! Ouch! as a ball bearing dropped on his head from a decent height! It does say in the instructions that one should NOT play where parts can roll away or get lost but I am not very bright and who reads instructions anyway?

I now have 4 tools/things and no idea what to do next. The following day, over an hour or so, I do a fun little dance (yes! again!) with a ball bearing! At the end of the BB dance, I have even more pieces - this is SUCH fun! Time to put it down again as it's bedtime. I cannot resist taking it to work the following day as I have a huge long case to do (a 9 level spinal curvature (scoliosis) correction with spinal cord monitoring) - there will be a couple of hours of setting up to do which will give me time to play before the surgery actually starts.

My workstation goes from far left, right across to the right
Once in the operating theatre (OR to the yanks out there) and the spinal monitoring boys are doing their thing, I get the Free Me 6 out and just hold it, contemplating...and they stimulate the patient's spinal cord - they twitch violently about on the table which scares the bejeezus out of me and the BB goes flying! I end up grubbing around underneath everything to find it.

During the ½ hour or so of getting everything ready, I have a brainwave (maybe it was their machinery?) and I try other things with the BB. There are some VERY strong springs in this puzzle and a number of times the BB shoots off across the room and I go grubbing around on the floor again! and again! and again! and again! My surgeon is watching me as if I am completely crackers - which, of course, I am! Then, everyone is delighted when I have my Aha! moment in front of the whole crowd and I free the coin...just in time for us to do an operation! Phew!

The coin is free at last! Awesome puzzle!



Shane has been at it again!

The Haleslock 5 is about to be released! 
Shane Hales is a sucker for punishment! Not only is he trying to run a new business as a Master Locksmith, but he continues to work as a Master builder in his local area too. On top of all of that (whilst bringing up 2 kids and an expensive wife - I know that feeling! Whack! Ouch!) he continues to design and manufacture his own puzzles. I bought some new keys for the amazing Ultion locks from him and also purchased the 5th in the series of Haleslocks - it is very robust and beautifully made! They will be coming up for sale from the usual puzzle lock purchasing outlets quite soon.

Not only has he made his own new lock but he has also made not one but 2 more lock puzzles for others to give as their exchange puzzles at the San Diego IPP. So only another couple of hundred lock puzzles to be made with a short deadline! Yes! He definitely is a sucker for punishment!

Goldilock
Silver Lock Exchange #1
So far I have got absolutely nowhere with either of these 3 puzzles but I will keep at it and will let you know in a future blog post! It may be a while because I am RUBBISH at locks!