Buffalo Mao Puzzle Blocks

This seemed so simple at first. Maybe if it was one layer. This set of blocks is three layers of 9, 27 blocks in all. The 18 pictures found 6 per axis are from the Buffalo Mao comic book, plus one that wasn't originally included. These three pictures show a couple of different views of the mock-up I pieced together to work out the peel pasterns ( that's why they look a little ragged and have some tape showing).






                          The list bellow shows what's where axis wise.

 The address maps (three pages worth) show how to map your own 18 pictures onto a set of 27 blocks.

To the left is a full size (Biggest I could print reliably on an 8 1/2 x 11) template for building yer own peels on. Below it is a template for one of the 18 pictures for your own puzzle. All these patterns are made to print well on an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet. A full set of the 27 peels for the Buffalo Mao puzzle blocks are available at blocklogic.blogstop.com this link is to the last of three posts with 9 peels in each.

Add Adobo Dude

This weirdly lit picture is a mini loaf of my favorite cornbread with chipotles and adobo sauce split in half, buttered, and warming in a toaster oven. (it didn't look purplish in person)



 I did a lot of searching in cookbooks and on the web comparing cornbread recipes. Betty Seal's "Kentucky Cornbread" was the one I liked best. My version uses buttermilk.

When I make this cornbread I usually make a few pieces with cheese only, some with cheese and pickled jalapenos, some with cheese adobo sauce and a few narrow strips of chipotle peppers, even a few plain ones. 

                                          

                                                           
                                                            ACCESSORIES

I use about 1/4 cup

 of nacho slices minus their centers  (4 to 6 slices per mini-loaf). Pour the chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce into a bowl, and select  2 or 3 chipotles  (usually more than enough).

Split em, scrape em out, and slice em as fine as possible (mine approach 1/8 inch wide). Alright, got all your ingredients on little dishes? Good, if the oven has preheated, it's time to put those oiled pans in to preheat.

The pans don't take long to heat up but you should have time to stir in the cornmeal and mix well. I use a quarter cup measuring cup to parcel out the batter. It works great. This recipe makes about 4 cups.


                                       
The distribution of the jalapenos isn't too picky. Just get plenty in each one that gets them. The chipotle peppers are a little more sensitive. The picture shows more than enough for the five chipotle-loaves. Too many in one area can be a little too hot. Slightly less than a teaspoon of adobo is plenty per chipotle mini-loaf.

 A little less than tablespoon  of cheese per piece will probably use up most of the 3 or 4 oz of cheese. Below is a picture of the batter covered with chipotle, cheddar, and adobo, I usually push mine under with a fork .

Bake at 425°F for 28 min. I let mine cool and dry a little while on edge to help preserve their crunch.    

  
 We did eat every crumb.                                              

Chasing Frankenstein

Oh yeah they're always chasing Frank, but he and Vic weren't about to leave their latest creation behind. He's really happier than he looks. The 27x30 inch monster he and Vic are wrestling down the stairs is his third attempt in a month to cobble together a reasonable substitute for Montolit's "Combi Slalom".
After watching the video (link above) pointed out to me by a Montolit sales rep I met at Robert F Henry Tile in Birmingham, Al I became very interested. Even after a couple of months of being to unable to find out anything else about it. I had some time so I thought, maybe I can make my tile cutter do that.

 So "Brutus", my ten year (or more) old scratch cutter became "Frankenstein Side Saddle The First". Of course I had to be careful not to make any irrevocable changes since I'd have to change it back.

  This was not a well thought out build. Designed to hang cantilevered off my truck bumper, it would have taken both hands to operate with no  way to see how the cut was going. This was not a sustainable model, duh! FSS#1 was scrapped and "Brutus" was reassembled without even getting a decent test








The Weber grill on it;s way to the dumpster seemed like a gift. Still working on a shoestring, the Weber grill was stripped down and a chunk of particle board counter, some scrap one by, and poor "Brutus's " once again re-purposed parts became "Frankenstein Side Saddle The Second".

FSS#2 actuall got some testing and several stages of improvements before it became obvious that, though it could be persuaded to steer through a curvy path, it was not going to track on the line (sliding not cutting, bummer).

So with "Brutus" reassembled a second time, safely tucked away in a closet, the parts gathering for Frankenstein Side Saddle The Third began with a budget (but no wheels)! I started with two Finch & McClay scratch cutters from HarborFreight. They  had lots of handy looking parts and I used as many as possible without changing them.

 In light of how badly the first two attempts failed, this time I thought it might be a good idea to at figure out what it was I wanted this one to do.  I watched the Combi Slalom video repeatedly. I found it informative, but a bit understated (no words at all). Still I came up with my wish list, as it turned out the first of several.
1.a three railed cutter, for curvy movement of the blade.
2.a rotating head to allow the blade to track on a curve.
3.a way to steer the cutter head, and press down blade.

The blade/breaker foot holder (31, 32) on the assembly diagram at left was the answer to both wishes 2 and 3. Both of these parts took me several hours each to make. Hack sawing the first into three pieces then splitting the bottom of the cup looking one with a side grinder (tricky cause the aluminum filled the diamond blade repeatedly and had to be cleaned by cutting a brick) everything had to held with wooden blocks so the vice wouldn't crush the threads or flatten the side ridges.




The drawing to the right shows the blade arm too narrow. Actually the side ridges fit up around the "cup" tightly and the flange between them was forced beep enough into the "cup split" to make drilling and bolting possible.


                   
    On the left the same part hes been re-purposed     again. This time ends of the arms were removed and the connecting flange filed a little to fit into the grinder-cut shaft of the circle cutter attachment from the Finch & McClay (three in one). The handle of the circle cutter screwed into the top of the shaft so it is pre-drilled and threaded inside and out. I was pleased and a little surprised that being cut through by the grinder didn't ruin either set of threads.

                                                                                                              The circle cutting attachment (44 and 45, on right) made an excellent steering mast set up.  The handle was removed and the center bolt was replaced by two corner bolts fixing it solidly to an oak block.







                                                      On the left you can see the circle-cutter/mast mounted on a block with an additional spacer block.
early tests seemed to show insufficient cutter pressure. Some curvy scratches were achieved but none broke far on the curvy line. Worse the cutter head tended to try to go under the center rail when downward pressure was increased. raising the board surface 1/2 inch helped but as shown by the mast/block shim it is a tweak still in progress.

                                                                                                                                                                     Vic's unfortunate vacuum cleaner collision led to FSS#3 falling face (cutter head down) first onto the carpet,Ow! It's not yet clear if the head can be repaired. If not, the replacement would require another Finch& McClay 3 in 1 cutter. This isn't all bad since replacement tubes would be nice to have on hand, as this fall ruined one. The all-thread rod holding it to aluminium angle rail rider stretcher may also have to be replaced.
In the mean time a local Montalit rep. has gotten back with me by e-mail informing me I can acquire a Combi Slalom from Robert F Henry Tile in Birmingham for $912. It seems like a lot, but I'm like 40% there after about $100 in parts and more than two weeks of my time. Without just copying theirs, which I also can't afford (and seems bogus) mine could end up costing that much or more for less of a tool. I'm wishing I had the $912, theirs looks tough and loaded with features I haven't begun to work out yet. Truthfully this doesn't look like an easy tool to master even if you had a good one, but it's been my experience that tile workers are a hardheaded and persistent bunch. I hope I get to try one out.                                                                                          




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Trust Your Heart

"Trust Your Heart To Lead You Home" is a triptych carved on five inch square, cherry wood panels. This mosaic mock-up is a variation on the third panel, and is my fourth effort at a feasible cyclocentric mosaic in tile. It contains samples of  five polygons not commonly seen in tile in five networks similarly underused, these polygons have all been test cut (with diamond tools) in the sizes necessary to produce this image for a back-splash 41 5/8 in x 87 in.  

These examples represent the smallest pieces I was able to cut consistently. Quite a number of them just broke from the strain, and more than a few were backwards (the wiggle has a direction). It wasn't until later that I realized those backwards pieces were the key to an even odder group of symmetries. I was moving them around wondering just how one might join lefty wiggles to righty ones. I had to flip some over because so far I had no place for out of phase pieces. That was before I discovered "phase flip, side slip".
Applied to the triple wiggle triangle window, these phase flipped triangles don't just wiggle they crawl. The effect on the other cyclocentric polyhedra is no less pronounced.

These last two images are from the "Phase Flip Side Slip" article posted on the cyclogon.blogspot.com where I explore it and whatever other new cyclogon flavors I've uncovered.   

first posted on LinkedIn Dec10,2015