Neil's News

Beaver Puzzle

24 December 2019

The mascot for Beverly's preschool class is a beaver. Accordingly, I used Google's laser cutter/engraver to make a bunch of beaver puzzles.

On one side of the plywood I engraved beaver patterns. Eight puzzles were packed onto each sheet. Reference holes were cut to aid with alignment when the board was flipped over.

On the other side of the board I engraved the names of each student and teacher in the class; sixteen names for each puzzle.

Flipping back to the front side, I cut the individual pieces out.

The pattern was pretty sneaky, with a large variety of shapes and disguised connections. For a 16-piece puzzle, it's surprisingly challenging.

Each puzzle piece is engraved with a student's name (alphabetical top to bottom), with the teachers making up the feet.

To hold the pieces, I laser cut a bunch of boxes according to a template generated by Template Maker. With just the right power levels, the laser can create scoring lines.

Folded, glued, labeled and ready for use.

In addition to Beverly's, I made fifteen more puzzles and gave them out to her class.

As always, I'm thankful to be able to use Google's workshops for personal projects.

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