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Thread: An old puzzle box

  1. #1
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    An old puzzle box

    I bought this box many years (decades) ago and gave it to my daughter as a gift. You have to know the 'combination' to open it and now she can't remember it. The center button turns and can be pushed in.

    I'm posting it here on the very off chance someone else is familiar with it and might know how to open it.

    I tried Google image search without luck. There is something inside and she can't remember what that is either!
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Sledgehammer???

  3. #3
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    Hasn’t been ruled out....

  4. #4
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    I would guess the rattle inside could be the marble that is part of the locking system. You likely have to move the marble to a location so that the lid can be removed.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
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  5. #5
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    Know anyone with access to an xray machine?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    I would guess the rattle inside could be the marble that is part of the locking system. You likely have to move the marble to a location so that the lid can be removed.
    Some need to be inverted or tilted at certain steps in the "combination".

    I'll try to look in my wood puzzle books the next time I get to the shop and see if there is one like this. Also, one gentleman in our woodturning club makes a lot of puzzle boxes. I'll ask him but I won't see him for a few weeks.

    JKJ

  7. #7
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    Button Puzzle Box

    Google politely told me it's a Button Puzzle Box and where to find one.

    Maybe you could buy another one and read the directions, then give the new one to someone else.
    https://www.amazon.com/Heartwood-Cre.../dp/B0195M07GU
    button_puzzle_box.jpg

    A little cheaper from TurtleCreek: http://www.puzzleboxguy.com/byothers.html
    button_puzzle_box_open.jpg

    Perhaps call Heartwood Creations and beg them for the instructions.
    https://www.heartwood.com/catalogsea.../?q=button+box

    Or maybe ask Rob how to open it: http://www.robspuzzlepage.com/disassembly.htm#heartwood

    JKJ

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Zellers View Post
    I bought this box many years (decades) ago and gave it to my daughter as a gift. You have to know the 'combination' to open it and now she can't remember it. The center button turns and can be pushed in.

    I'm posting it here on the very off chance someone else is familiar with it and might know how to open it.

    I tried Google image search without luck. There is something inside and she can't remember what that is either!

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Google politely told me it's a Button Puzzle Box and where to find one.

    Perhaps call Heartwood Creations and beg them for the instructions.
    https://www.heartwood.com/catalogsea.../?q=button+box
    No need to call and beg. Click on their Instructions Tab. https://www.heartwood.com/deluxe-button-puzzle-box.html

    You could call and thank them though!
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  9. #9
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    WOW. You guys are awesome. Ironically, I just learned at dinner tonight (just finished) that my daughter was fiddling with it on the way to the beach tonight and it opened!

    Inside were a couple trinkets and...
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    wait for it...
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    the instructions.

    Kids.

    Well, she's 37 now, but still.

  10. #10
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    John- how did you get Google to tell you that? As I said I tried image search and came up empty.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Zellers View Post
    John- how did you get Google to tell you that? As I said I tried image search and came up empty.
    I searched for variations of wooden puzzle box and when checking some of the links I found Rob's page and spotted your box in the 100+ little pictures:
    http://www.robspuzzlepage.com/disassembly.htm
    Clicked on it and found the name "Button Box", made by Heartwood Creations.
    Searched for Button Box, Button Puzzle Box, and Heartwood Creations and found places to buy.
    I didn't look at the Heartwood page hard enough to find the Instructions section!

    BTW, I did check the three puzzle books on my shelf and didn't find one that matched or was even close. I did spend a pleasant half hour browsing the books though. There are many instructions/plans for making various puzzles, write-ups about some of the famous wooden puzzle designers/inventors, and some very fascinating things about the ancient history of puzzles.

    JKJ

  12. #12
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    Good sleuthing. And a thanks to Mike for the link to the instructions.

    Looking back now I can't believe I didn't Google 'puzzle box' since I used that in the subject. I got discouraged by the image search. Google told me the closest they could come was 'gem' I presume based on the shape of the inlays.

    Thanks to everyone!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    BTW, I did check the three puzzle books on my shelf and didn't find one that matched or was even close. I did spend a pleasant half hour browsing the books though. There are many instructions/plans for making various puzzles, write-ups about some of the famous wooden puzzle designers/inventors, and some very fascinating things about the ancient history of puzzles.

    JKJ
    I can absolutely imagine that pleasant half hour.

    I have experienced it in other situations.

  14. #14
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    I was going to say Maybe Penny from the Big Bang Theory would be able to open it like she opened Sheldon's

  15. #15
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    John,

    Could you list the titles of your puzzle books?

    Others besides myself might be interested.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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