Stickman No. 3 Puzzlebox - Robert Yarger

_____Everyone has a postal nightmare story, and mine involves this Stickman No 3 Puzzlebox.&nbsp; It was originally sent to a collector in England, but never arrived.&nbsp; Eleven months after refunding his money, it finally found its way back to me.&nbsp; From the postmarks, it apparently had been rerouted to Australia by mistake.&nbsp; <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

_____Although the box was not damaged by its trip around the world, all boxes from this line were actually a bit awkward.&nbsp; This was my first attempt at making wooden gears (I am a lot better at it now), and none of them really reflect the quality that collectors have come to expect from the Stickman name.&nbsp; The finish on this box is dull and the gears do not have a smooth feel to them as they turn.&nbsp; (This was normal for all No. 3 puzzles.)&nbsp;

&nbsp;_____Still, these boxes are extremely unique and did have a certain rustic folk-art charm to them.&nbsp; They were also featured on page 43 of Jerry Slocum’s “The Ultimate Puzzlebook – The best puzzles in the world”, which unfortunately is only available in Dutch at this time.&nbsp; I am not sure why Jerry selected them as one of the best puzzles in the world, but I feel honored by his selection.&nbsp;&nbsp;

_____This is a very difficult puzzle to solve (unless you cheat) and requires a minimum of 106 moves in order to reach all 3 hidden compartments.&nbsp; Its difficulty is also compounded by the fact that the instruction booklet for this box did not actually survive its wayward trip and therefore is not included.&nbsp; (It really only provided guidelines for opening it anyway.)&nbsp; This particular box is No 31 out of the limited edition set of 50, and crafted from cypress with oak mechanical parts.&nbsp; It measures 6.5” x 10” x 3” and weighs about 3 lbs.

_____I also have 2 more of these boxes that do not work properly, and there is a possibility that parts from two of them can be combined to make another working version of this box in the future.&nbsp; If I can accomplish this, I will present it (also without instructions) for sale in a future auction.&nbsp; I just mention this so that auction prices on this item do not get too high. The first 2 pics are from the initial website listing, the 3rd pic is the terrible one I took of the actual box.