"Skunk Box" Puzzle Box

I couldn't resist one more puzzle box. I won't get into building the box itself as any box with a hinged lid will do.

The secret is the locking mechanism which will "skunk" most folks who try to open it. I used a number of drawer pulls to confuse the person trying to open the box. The two outside pulls are attached permanently and are set to spin when turned. I cut the mounting screws to a length that would allow the knob to rotate, then squirted some crazy glue on the threads to hold it forever in that position. The two central knobs were drilled to allow a length of 3/16 inch dowel to be inserted and also crazy glued in place. Leave these long until you can determine the correct length to cut them.

The photos should explain the locking mechanism clearly. Make a ledge 1/2 inch wide and attach it to the top inside edge of the box just to one side of the centre of the box. Make a 1 inch block of the same thickness material. Attach it to the lid leaving a slight space between the ledge, also making certain the box closes. The secret to the lock is a hardware item called a turn button. These are used to hold old fashioned screens and storm windows in place. They should be available in any hardware store. Also are available from Amazon. Just search for "Zinc Plated Turn Buttons". Screw the turn button loosely, to the outer inside edge of the square block.

You will have to drill two holes to allow the 3/16 inch dowel to enter the box and hit the turn button as shown.

Experiment until you can determine the correct length of the locking pin and cut it to that length. The other pin gets cut just long enough to hold the knob in place.

Operating the lock is a simple matter of pushing the locking pin into the hole that allows the turn button to get caught under the ledge. To open, reverse the pins (knobs) and the box can be opened.

See how long it takes for people to figure it out, but give no hints!