Monday, 20 October 2014

Three-Layer Double Dovetail

The name is quite a mouthful but this doesn't detract from the fact that the TLDD is extremely beautifully made. About the size of a small jewellery/ring box, and looks like one too.



This was Robert Sandfield's IPP34 Exchange Puzzle in London this past August. Designed by Perry McDaniel, the TLDD was crafted by Kathleen Malcolmson from two exotic hardwoods, Honduran Mahogany and Primavera. 

If there are a couple of things that I really like about the TLDD, these are the very precise construction and finishing of the puzzle and the attention to detail. So precisely cut and edges sharp that if you are not careful, you can "pinch" your fingers accidentally during play. I really can't fathom the amount of work Kathleen went into making a hundred or so of these for the Exchange!

Unlike Sandfield's Rebanded Dovetail, the TLDD is more akin to the "impossible object" kind of dovetail puzzle, where you wonder, just by looking at it, if the two halves can be split apart at all.



The goal is not just to separate the two halves, but also to find a cavity within the puzzle which contains a cute little rubber star. From a puzzling perspective, not difficult for those who have experience with "impossible" dovetails, especially with the likes of Wil Strijbos' dovetail collection. But to the uninitiated, this one may take a while to figure out.

A very nicely made Exchange Puzzle, not too difficult, which displays well too!

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