4 December 2008 Sue Young

Tornado Burr 12 piece puzzle

Sold out 2008 Limited Edition Set of 30.
Original Price: AU$255.00

An award winning 12 piece interlocking wooden burr designed by Junichi Yananose and made by Brian Young @ Mr Puzzle.

This ingenious burr was designed by Junichi in May 2007 with “head and hands; no computer”. Junichi had the idea for a multiple rotational movement but did not get to finally apply it to a puzzle until he came up with the Tornado Burr.

People often ask puzzle designers “What was going on in your head to design this puzzle?” What was going on in Junichi’s head when he designed the Tornado Burr? Visualising things going up and down and back and forth at the same time is one thing, but things going up and down, back and forth and around as well is quite another! Junichi says the Tornado Burr “has very eccentric movements” and challenges puzzlers to “Try your luck, and stop this fierce tornado.”

Needless to say this puzzle is not solvable in any computer program that we know of.

This interlocking burr puzzle was recognised for its innovation, design and the amazing puzzle solving experience it provides in the 2007 Nob Yoshigahara Design Competition with an Honourable Mention. Until Brian tackled his Limited Edition of this burr the puzzle had not been commercially available and now Brian knows why. Making the jigs, the number of and complexity of them, was more difficult than making the puzzle itself. As well as conventional check-outs there are routed check-outs and a further 16 sections that must be hand-turned on a lathe. Click here to see a video (note large file size 27mb) of Brian using one of these jigs to route one of the pieces.

The burr puzzle is made from Papua New Guinean Rosewood. This is a very golden brown wood varying at times to a more red brown colour.

Size: 150mm x 150mm x 150mm The puzzle is made from 30mm x 30mm stock.

More information about the Design Competition.