Puzzle Jar

The puzzle jar is made of mahogany, ebony, burmese blackwood, brass & stainless steel, and sealed with a uniquely designed and precisely machined triple maze puzzle lock built into the lid. It is a one of a kind object measuring approximately 15" tall and 7" in diameter at the feet. The body is lathe-turned and fully hollow.

The concealed mazes are traversed by sliding three knobs and turning a rotating ring to allow guide pins attached to the locking bolts to move through the mazes. There is one maze for each knob and all three mazes must be solved together to unlock the jar. It was designed to be very difficult to solve.

The puzzle mechanism evolved from an earlier and simpler version using two slides and fewer courses in the maze. That version was much smaller and two were made from stainless steel, each holding a wedding ring in place until the puzzle was solved and the ring released. See those puzzles here. Two earlier brass prototypes of that design were also made. All of those were designed and built in 2009. The puzzle jar was designed and built in 2009-2010.

The price is $4500.

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	Underside of the lid.

	Underside of the puzzle jar.
The puzzle jar with lid removed.

Copyright 2010 by Scott Lefton

Puzzle Jar

	The puzzle jar is made of mahogany, ebony, burmese blackwood, brass & stainless steel, and sealed with a uniquely designed and precisely machined triple maze puzzle lock built into the lid. It is a one of a kind object measuring approximately 15" tall and 7" in diameter at the feet. The body is lathe-turned and fully hollow. The concealed mazes are traversed by sliding three knobs and turning a rotating ring to allow guide pins attached to the locking bolts to move through the mazes. There is one maze for each knob and all three mazes must be solved together to unlock the jar. It was designed to be very difficult to solve. The puzzle mechanism evolved from an earlier and simpler version using two slides and fewer courses in the maze. That version was much smaller and two were made from stainless steel, each holding a wedding ring in place until the puzzle was solved and the ring released. See those puzzles here. Two earlier brass prototypes of that design were also made. All of those were designed and built in 2009. The puzzle jar was designed and built in 2009-2010. The price is $4500.


		A view of the top, showing the locking lid. The ebony ring with the brass dot is rotated, and the ebony knobs are slid in dovetail tracks to work through the hidden mazes inside the lock. The brass dot shows rotational position as the ring is turned. When all three knobs have been moved inwards to touch the center spindle the puzzle is solved, the locking bolts are retracted and the lid can be removed. Also visible is some of the machined decorative detail in the brass.