http://twistypuzzles.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7054 Geert Hellings Earlier this week I paid a visit to a good puzzle friend of mine, Jacques Haubrich. Actually, he is not only a puzzle-friend but also my former math-teacher at high-school. Lateron, he became professor at the Fontys Hogeschool (University) in Eindhoven from which he is now retired.
Jacques has a very nice collection of some 3000 puzzles. He is a specialist in pattern matching puzzles, especially checkerboard puzzles, on which subject he also wrote a very nice book. Although he is not primarily collecting twisty puzzles, it turned out that he has a couple of very special twisty puzzles. One of those I would like to present here.
It is a Rubik’s Cube measuring 21.6 cm per edge, weighing 3.0 kilograms and being made out of…..wood. The puzzle was made by Mr Van der Laan in the early eighties and was obtained by Jacques Haubrich in 2001. Below are some pictures of this very nice puzzle. Although speedcubing of course is no possibility, it turns surprisingly well. The ease of turning can be varied by adjusting the bolts which are attaching the center pieces to the core. No stickers are needed since each side has different kinds of wood carvings to identify the pieces |