Laser Cut Puzzles

The five-cent coin puzzle is a pretty simple project, and it is not too difficult for little kids. Just fit ten X five-cent coins in the little box. They have to sit flat, with no overlapping coins, and the lid will fit back on.

It works with Australian 5-cent coins, but other countries' coins may be the same, NZ, Fiji, Tonga, Somoa, and Im sure some other places have a Union Jack as part of their flag.

I've also found that some old UK and Canadian sixpence coins are the same size; I'm sure there are others.

The coin's diameter is 19.41mm, which is important for the puzzle to work. If you can't find coins the right size, you could cut out ten discs in the laser cutter in the correct size

There is also a block puzzle which is significantly more difficult to solve.

You will need a laser cutter, or you can print the DXF files out on paper and cut them by hand if you wish. I used 3mm laser plywood. It is a special plywood that cuts well in a laser cutter. Some plywoods have a glue that can cause issues with burning or not cutting correctly. Just a quick sand and glue the base to the rim. A little finish and you have a great little puzzle.

There is not much to the coin puzzle you just have to fit all ten coins into the frame. I just gave everything a quick sand and coloured the frame with a Sharpie. I Glued the frame on and finished with some clear polyurethane.

This block puzzle is quite difficult, even if you have seen the solution, it is still very hard to solve. just fit all the shapes into the frame. Again same as the coin puzzle, I just gave everything a quick sand and coloured the frame with a Sharpie. I Glued the frame on and finished with some clear polyurethane.

If you don't want to see the Solution, look away now!

Solution in the photos