Fancy Free

Joe Turner comes from a big family – eight brothers and three sisters - and Christmas was always a challenge. He relates the origin of his gift giving solution: “I started making puzzles in the early 1990’s. While looking through Jerry Slocum and Jack Botermans book, Puzzles Old & New, How to make and solve them”, I decided to try to make the “T” puzzle, a very simple puzzle. Using my table saw, I made a jig to help cut pieces to the correct length and angle. After successfully making my puzzle, I realized, hey, I could make several more with very little effort. So, I made another 15-20 out of “high quality” tempered hardboard and placed them in a sandwich size Ziplock bag … nothing but the best for my family.” 

Free Me 8 by Joe Turner

His puzzle production runs expanded quickly, to the point where he was often making two hundred puzzles for his ever expanding list of family and friends each season. His interests have changed over the years as well. “Well, that was 30 years ago. My current goal is to keep making puzzles, but only make original designs. Whereas the earlier puzzles were meant to be “friendly”, taking around an hour or so to work through, now I want the puzzle to “challenge”, and to require the puzzler to give some serious thought to what needs to be done. It is also great to come up with new puzzle mechanism, but this continues to be a challenge (at least for me).” 

Joe, an aerospace engineer who worked at Boeing for 37 years, 2 weeks and 1 day (did I mention he is an engineer?) has become known in recent years for his innovative series of “Free Me” puzzles. He has entered a few of these blockish “coin release” type puzzles into the annual International Puzzle Design Competition, and in 2017 his Free Me 5 won an honorable mention. It is a fabulous puzzle and well deserving of the award. I’m surprised I haven’t written about it here already. But Joe has created something more appropriate for these pages now – he has made a puzzle box. 

The object of emancipation

He describes the evolution of his newest offering in the series, Free Me 8 - the “Reptile Box”. “In 2014 I saw a puzzle box described on a woodworking website by James Vavra. I liked the idea and put the write-up in my files for ‘someday’. In 2019 I had the chance to attend a St. Louis Woodworkers Guild weekend class to learn how to build a gift box. The class was taught by Doug Stowe who has written at least a half dozen books on the subject. I learned some excellent basic concepts. These included: a good box dimension is A x A+2 (inches), start with a long strip of wood to match the grain on the corners, you can be sloppy with glue because it can get cleaned up during the sanding process, miter keys add strength to mitered corners and also enhance the appearance, gluing a box together with mitered corners is easy by just laying the sides together and attaching them with painter’s tape, a veneered top gives an affordable range of wood looks and minimizes wood expansion/contraction concerns. I could go on, but needless to say, it was just the class I needed to motivate me to make the puzzle box. I came up with my dimensions, wood, and general appearance. But the funny thing is, as I started to think about making the previously mentioned puzzle mechanism, I was concerned about tolerances and fit and whether the box could be solved incorrectly. I started to tinker with the locking mechanism. One thing led to another, which led to another. By the time I was done, the lid locking mechanism was nothing like the original box. It was then I realized, if I can find a way to include a coin into the puzzle, I could make this into another Free Me puzzle. Well, a little more tinker and success. I am pleased to say the final results of the puzzle box is just what I was hoping for. 

He who tessellates is lost

To finish the box, he knew he wanted interlocking pieces on the lid, and has always been a fan of M.C.Escher. Joe found a supplier for the Cherry, Maple and Walnut reptiles who coincidentally lived only minutes away from him. The final creation is quite beautiful, and quite tricky. There are multiple steps and layers to this iteration of “Free Me”, from figuring out how to open the box, to discovering a way to keep going, and realizing there is much more than you expected. The coin peeking out on the bottom urges you on to the finish the whole way. It’s a stunning conclusion to Joe’s interest in making a puzzle box one day, and a gorgeous addition to the Free Me series. 

The Warning Label by Maks Pazuniak

I’m toasting Joe and his puzzle with a cocktail that tells a cautionary tale about this puzzle. The box comes with an instruction manual, as many puzzles do, which contains information and even the solution, sealed away. There is also, as with many puzzles, a separate disclaimer included, a strip of paper warning the new owner to be gentle, not force anything, and not try to manipulate the small lizards on top of the box or they will break off. Well, it’s a good thing I read it, because those lizards are oh so tempting. But, I resisted, and spent a few weeks in quiet frustration, getting absolutely nowhere with the box. Only after having a tiny peek at the solution booklet, and seeing what the very first move was, did I realize the misunderstanding. The cocktail comes from Maks Pazuniak, a New Orleans bartender who along with Kirk Estopinal edited a slim cult classic cocktail recipe book known as “Beta Cocktails” in 2011. It features equal parts of Cynar, a bittersweet Italian amaro renown for its use of artichoke leaves, overproof rum from Guyana, and the unique vermouth “Punt e Mes”, which means “point and a half” and refers to its formula of 1 part sweet to ½ part bitter. To these delicious ingredients is added a dash of both orange and grapefruit bitters, and to top it all off there is a rinse of Campari in the glass. 

Sweet vermouth and Ramazzotti are a good substitute for Punt e Mes

The drink is a variation of the classic Negroni, albeit with strong rum and different amaro and vermouth. And while absolutely delicious on its own, it was the end of August in Houston when I made it – not the best time for a dark and brooding drink - so I gave it the Morgenthaler treatment. Jeff Morgenthaler has improved the lives of many a cocktail, and has a summer fix for the Negroni as well (not that it needs fixing). He adds fresh orange juice and some simple syrup, then blends it all up with ice for a slushy taste of heaven. Cheers! 

Comes with Warning Label, proceed with caution

The Warning Label by Maks Pazuniak 

1 oz Cynar 

1 oz Demerera 151 rum 

1 oz Punt e Mes 

1 dash Regan’s orange bitters 

1 dash grapefruit bitters 

Campari rinse 

To frappe: Add above plus ½ oz fresh orange juice, ½ oz fresh lime juice, and ¾ oz simple syrup to a blender. Top with about 8 ice cubes and blend.

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