Angel's Wheel

Jerry McFarland Makes an Angel's Wheel

Classic Bits and Pieces version of Satellite burr

Jerry McFarland never stops thinking about new ways to bamboozle us! This is great for those of us who like new toys but not so great for the rest who are patiently on his waiting list for one of his previous puzzles. His boredom threshold is amazing - he starts making a batch of puzzles for people and then gets fed up and moves on to something new. Out of the blue, he emailed me to say that he had been making the Burrnova 3D but has found a way to improve it (version 3.0) and also still working on (and improving) the incredible Burrlephant for people but wanted to produce something for the next IPP. He has been thinking about a classic puzzle called the Satellite burr and wanted to improve it in the traditional McFarland magnetic way.

The original had been mentioned in the 1893 Hoffman book and has almost certainly been recreated many times. Jerry wanted to make it slightly more interesting with the addition of magnets and brass ball bearings. You know Jerry by now...Of course he did! Jerry also decided to use some rather gorgeous wood (Bloodwood and Jatoba) - I think he specifically does that to entice me - he knows I can't resist it. When he sent me the pictures, he seemed to think that it did not look like a classic McFarland puzzle. I had to tell him that the curved shape of the pieces was the only thing that might confuse people. As soon as anyone sees it, it can only be one of his creations - there is something absolutely unmistakeable about his creations. It is the wood used, the lacquer finish and of course as soon as it's played with, the "clack, clack" of the magnets pulling the pieces back together. 

He wanted to originally call it SatBurr but his grandson came up with the Angel's Wheel instead. 

"Inspired by the Ophanim—mysterious “wheels within wheels” described in ancient texts—Angel’s Wheel is a satellite-style burr that moves freely in all directions while guarding its inner secret."

The Ophanim - I find this image quite disturbing
Ophanim, or "wheels," are a class of celestial beings in Judeo-Christian theology described as wheels intersecting wheels covered in eyes, symbolizing omniscience and guiding God’s chariot throne.

The second copy was made for me and after a bit of PayPal moved across the pond, it was sent over. When it arrived, I was not disappointed with the beauty of it. Luckily there were no eyes in it but there was a fair bit of rattling inside. The secondary aim is to remove the brass balls from there cavity inside.

I had to spend a week or two working on the Pelikan puzzles before I could find time to play with the Angel's Wheel. All I was able to do during that time was marvel at the clacking noise - my goodness, he uses string magnets - don't put it near your pacemaker! Finally I found some time last weekend and immediately set to exploring. I have never played with a Satellite burr so had no idea what I was trying to do. Initially nothing slides or moves and it requires a little careful observation to notice something peculiar about the construction. Once you have noticed this then you can start to move the odd part. It doesn't really release much until you think© a bit and look in other places. There is a nice little Aha! moment and a little feeling that you might need more than 2 hands and at one point I found myself using my nose to push something. Luckily I have a particularly large nose!

Things were moving but it didn't seem to help much. I put it back the way it came with a very satisfying Thwack and thought a bit more. Eventually I realised that I was overthinking it and if I move certain parts in certain ways then it makes space for a really useful move. After that I was well on my way and dismantled all the curved sections. I emailed Jerry in triumph and he pointed out that it was not complete until the brass balls were removed. Doh! I had completely forgotten about that. 

I went back to it a day later and realised that an odd flaw that I had noticed on one of the pieces was not a flaw. It had been put there deliberately by Jerry and there were several of them. There had to be a jolly good reason for that. A quick experiment and I had a cat playing with my brass balls! Mrs S would have been very unhappy if one ended up inside the cat so I quickly separated them and took a photo.

Beautifully made - complete with brass balls!

Jerry has put his usual mark inside and mine has serial number 2 which I am very proud of. This will be taking centre stage in my McFarland display - it is very different to his usual.

This puzzle is very beautiful and fun to play with having its magnetic action but it is much less difficult than Jerry's previous puzzles. Jerry plans on making a few more for sale at the upcoming IPP. If you are interested and will be there then let him know and he might be able to reserve one for you.