Bumped into one of my new neighbors at the mailbox last week, and when I mentioned that I work for MAKE, she mentioned that her teenage son builds puzzles. Mechanical puzzles. Complicated ones. Turns out, he doesn’t just build them–he designs original configurations and sells them to people all over the world. He’s got a following.
The young man’s handle is Steryne, and although I can’t seem to find a dedicated page for him, the forums over at TwistyPuzzles.com are full of his work, as is his YouTube channel. Some of his puzzles are 3D-printed via Shapeways, some cast from 3D-printed masters, and some meticulously cut and assembled by hand from sheet plastic. This video gives a good overview of his hand-building method.
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