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Introduction
The Cube in a Cube is a puzzle worth making because it is easy and fun to make. It is a cool little conversation piece that can be nicely displayed on the coffee table or shelf. It is, as the name says, a cube in a cube. People look at this and wonder how to remove the inner cube or wonder how it was inserted to begin with. There is one hitch to this puzzle…that inner cube cannot be removed! It is more of a puzzler than a puzzle.
I want to say first before we go any further…I enjoy sharing projects that are something that I came up with myself or something that was made by others but I made it with a different aspect making it my own. I like uniqueness. This project is not one of those as this one has been around for quite some time and the methods I used in creating this is nothing unique and are the same basic steps used by other woodworkers. I still find this project fascinating and worthy of introducing it here. It is a great project for beginning woodworkers such as younger kids around the age of 12, with adult supervision of course. Adults and experienced woodworkers will enjoy it as well.
Our son, Parker, asked to look at some of my woodworking books to see if there is something he could make himself. He came across this Cube in a Cube project and thought that he could give it a try himself with the few tools he has, not realizing that he may need assistance with other tools that I do not let him have free range with yet, one of those being the drill press. The drill press is a fairly safe tool to use, but there are still certain safety precautions that need to be taken, just like with any other tool in the shop.
The book he got this idea from is from “Great Book of Woodworking Projects” by American Woodworker (Paid Link). This project was nicely described in this book. The pictures are clear and the step by step instructions make sense. There are other small projects included in the book that I want to try one day. It is a book I enjoy picking up and browsing, knowing that there are projects I may never do because the costs and time to make those projects would be more than I would want to spend. There are, however, plenty of smaller projects that I can certainly do from it.
Parker gave the project a try, but unfortunately, it did not work out as he had hoped for. So dad (me) offered some assistance so that he can give this project a try using the more appropriate tools and let him learn how to use them and I can educate him on different key points along this project. In the end, it was a success thanks to the clear instructions in that book and we both had a great time working on this project together.
A Couple Terms to Know
End Grain – This is the grain in the wood you see where the growth rings are visible, such as at the end of a 2×4. Not all trees have very clear growth rings, instead you may see the pores in the wood.
Edge Grain – This is the cut along the direction of the grain. It is typically the thickness of a board. Most, if not all, of the grains are approximate straight lines going the length of the board. The wood grain usually appears as thin lines.
Face Grain – This is also the cut along the direction of the grain, but it is the width for the board. The main difference here from the edge grain is that the face grain shows more of the patterns and colors of the wood grain.
Knowing and understanding the differences in wood grains, whether end, edge, or face, will help you identify the faces of the wood when drilling the holes for this project.
The Symbolism of the Cube
Just like the last couple articles I wrote recently, the cube also has different meanings and symbolism that comes with it. Here are some of them…
- It is a symbol of regenerated and perfected soul
- It is a sign of stability; being the most stable
- It represents structure…
- Form
- Purity
- Protection
- Security
- Various religions mention the cube as shown by Deila Taylor on her page “Symbolism of the Cube” and “The Perfect Cube” by Glenn Taylor.
There are quite a few other symbolism’s and meanings for the cube as Angela Kaufman describes in here article “Cube Symbolism and Meaning: What Does A Cube Symbolize?”.
I recall one day during a conversation with a Structural Engineer (the owner of the company I work for) when he told me the perfect structure is a cube. This is because if you were to stretch out the cube in one direction or another, it becomes more unstable and more structural design is required to act upon the increased forces. This goes along with how it’s a sign of stability.
How is the Cube in a Cube Made?
Because this project isn’t my variation of a similar project, I will not be going into great detail on how it is made, but will rather give a basic introduction to the process. If you want the specific details, you can either get the book I recommend above or do a Google search for “how to make a wooden cube in a cube”. Doing the Google search will give you various videos and step by step instructions on how to make it.
Below are the materials and tools we used for this project. In the book I mentioned above, the author made the cube from 3″ wood stock. We made ours a 2″ cube.
Suggested Materials
- Block of wood that is cut down into a cube. Our project was made with a 2″ cube and was made of basswood. You can use what ever wood you choose, but I would recommend a soft wood so that you can easily work with it.
Suggested Tools
- We used a 1-1/4″ Forstner Bit (Paid Link). This was a nice size for the 2″ cube. You can go larger if you use a larger cube and smaller for a smaller cube.
- Drum sander attachment (Paid Link) for the drill press
- Drill Press
- Small sharp knife – an Exacto Knife works great
- Sand Paper
- Small files or sanding sticks
- Wood finish – we used boiled linseed oil
Basic Instructions
Those are the basic steps in making a Cube in a Cube. As you see, it really is just a matter of drilling six large holes to a depth before the inner cube breaks loose. Woodlogger.com has a pretty good video with very similar steps shown in the “Great Book of Woodworking Projects”. You can watch the video here.
Extra Challenge
If you want an extra challenge for this project, try making a cube inside a cube inside another cube. I have not attempted this myself yet, but I have seen pictures online of those made by others and they look pretty cool. I have also seen where someone made a sphere inside a cube using similar steps.
Rick Simper has various hobbies, including woodworking, metalworking, composting, and gardening. He is an Architect full time and uses these hobbies to get away from the busy week of Architecture.