Flattrick by Vinco

Flattrick

This is the last of my Vinco puzzles - I am sure I will be buying plenty more. The craftsmanship from this man has just got to be seen to be believed! Plus as well as being a true artisan, he is also an absolute pleasure to deal with. He responds very quickly and is very fair (see my previous discussion about how he is a true gentleman).

This is the Flattrick - it is another of his coordinate movement puzzles - but this time has 6 pieces and therefore must have a different design internally than the other 4 piece puzzles I have described. After a previous comment by me he has now begun putting the woods used in each puzzle down on the website. This particular version is made of Plum and Acacia woods and looks absolutely gorgeous, just like all his others. Nothing made by this man looks anything other than beautiful (sorry - I'm gushing!!!)

This puzzle had me more stumped than all his other coordinate motion puzzles. I did not attempt it straight away because I had received so many new puzzles in a rather short period of time. But with all the previous coordinate motion puzzles I would walk past, reach out and just try to start the motion off. Usually this would lead to the puzzle sliding apart a small amount. Every time I tried this with the Flattrick, I failed! Nothing moved at all! Nada! This intrigued me and so I would have a play more and more frequently. Eventually, well past my bedtime, I could stand it no longer so I decided to give it a proper "seeing to". After about 10 minutes of pulling in multiple directions I eventually tried a 3-way swivelling motion at diagonally opposite corners and got just a small opening in the puzzle. As soon as I tried to improve my grip and widen it, it closed up again. The required move once the crack has occurred seems to be to actually relax your grip slightly and shake it gently and the puzzle starts to slide open!

Partially open

This is a really lovely action and it soon comes apart into it's 6 pieces!

Flattrick pieces

 Reassembly is surprisingly easy! Place the pieces in the right positions where they sit ready to be slid together. Interestingly it is possible to change the direction the pieces face and end up with a cube with a different pattern on the faces (equally attractive)

Alternative arrangement

I am sure that more Vinco's will be coming my way! I know I will not be able to resist them!