Perry McDaniel, an ambassador of Incra Tools and their in-house puzzled guy, crafts some of the world’s most precise puzzle boxes. It all started with an ingeniously “impossible object”, the Sandfield Joint, which was the spark of when his woodworking expertise began to dovetail with intricate and beautiful puzzles.
I’m celebrating Hobbit Day with the perfect puzzle. Hobbits are well known to prize their pantries, which are full of palatable provisions and delectable vittles. Surely a Hobbit would absolutely love a puzzle box shaped like a petit four cake, as long as he didn’t attempt to eat it for elevenses.
Perry McDaniel understands a lot - about the fine art of precision crafting in wood, about what makes for a great puzzle, and most certainly about the subject at hand, a successful marriage.
A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curious thing, and she went nearer to watch them, and just as she came up to them she heard one of them say, `Look out now, Five! Don't go splashing paint over me like that!’
Perry, as many know, is a master woodworker who creates some of the most surprising and beautiful puzzle boxes featuring incredibly complex and elegant mechanisms.
The Dovetail Jewel Box is truly a puzzle jewel of a puzzle box, one that pays homage to so many great puzzle boxes that came before it.
Those familiar with the creations of the Sandfield brothers won’t be surprised to see that this pyramid is held together by perfect dovetails, impossibly positioned at opposing sides all around.
Perry McDaniel, the premier purveyor of puzzling pastries, is one of the most precise craftsman I know who can create incredibly complex mechanism in the tiniest pieces of wood. He has outdone himself with his Bon Bon series, scaling things down to a diminutive box which resembles a bite sized bon bon.
Perry McDaniel hails from Midlothian Texas, just shy of Dallas. He is a master joiner, precision woodworker and Incra magician. He is also a brilliant puzzle box designer.
Blackjack Cake is an innocent and tempting looking treat. It appears to be a chocolate layer cake with a splash of chocolatey sauce drizzled over top and oozing down the sides.
The deviously puzzling Sandfield brothers, Robert and Norman, designed their Salt and Pepper Shakers to exchange at IPP 22 held in Antwerp in 2002.
Aloha from paradise. For this week’s installment, Boxes and Booze has gone on location. It was time to discuss another one of master puzzle maker Perry McDaniel’s fine confectionery creations, the “Hawaiian Hijinks Cake”. In order to fully appreciate the puzzling nature of this finely crafted delicacy I felt compelled to seek out its inspirational source.
Perry McDaniel has created many beautiful puzzles over the past 20 years, some of which he has designed with the dovetail loving Sandfield brothers and some as his own unique designs. He is lately known for his series of “baked goods” which have included puzzle boxes disguised as slices of cake or pie which look good enough to eat.
I’m sharing a wonderful gift with everyone this week, on the heels of the American holiday grounded on giving and gratefulness. The gift is the story of another wonderful puzzle box created by one of the world’s true masters of the art, Perry McDaniel.