Free Reign
Free Me Part II
… continuing a conversation with Joe Turner
Free Me 5 by Joe Turner
Joe Turner had been thinking about his annual Christmas puzzle, the gift his family and friends had come to expect from him each year, and which he set as a personal goal. His interests in puzzles and mechanisms had evolved in complexity, and his skills as a woodworker continued to increase. The handful of classic “T” puzzles he had made out of pressboard many years ago and presented in ziplock baggies were a distant memory. Back then, he realized that since he had made a jig to cut the pieces, he could easily make more, and why not? That creative spark had been leading to this moment. He saw something that caught his attention in a book or online and thought, “That would be kind of neat”. But it used a lot of glue, and Joe didn’t like that. So he took a walk. Joe lives in St. Louis, right next to Forest Park, a beautiful public space of over 1300 acres where he often finds himself strolling, and talking to his god about puzzle designs. “You know god, I like the idea, but want it simple, no glue. Maybe two pieces with a dovetail …” Thus the conversations typically begin. In this case, the internal dialogue led to a simple way to lock the two pieces, which was nice, but likely obvious, at least to seasoned puzzlers. That was ok, because Joe likes to lure people into the puzzle, give a little something, and then trap them. Joe’s mind kept going: So what’s next? And why keep going? Ah yes, the coin, that’s the goal … OK, so there’s a trap, but why doesn’t it open? Another lap around the park, an hour passed in reflection, and Joe had determined there would be certain internal parts to this puzzle, that worked in certain ways. Maybe springs, pins, rods, balls? Hmmm, and how would they get there? Now, where to store these parts, and how to access them? Hmmm, that’s clever, I’ve never seen that before … Would others like it? It will need a [few specific design details] inside, … but no glue! So, how? Well, maybe if the … Would it work? Joe finished his walk, got back to his car and sketched the design out. This was in September 2015. Six jigs later and the finished “prototype” (recall that Joe doesn’t make prototypes, and hopes the final puzzle will work as envisioned) turned out just as he had hoped. The idea, which uses psychology against you, was so good that he submitted it to the 2016 International Puzzle Design Competition, something he hadn’t done since Free Me 2. It won an Honorable Mention award, validating his suspicion that it was a novel and enjoyable puzzle. Free Me 5 is arguably Joe’s best in the series, and my personal favorite.
Free Me 6 by Joe Turner
Naturally he took a good thing and ran with it next. Free Me 6 was an extension of the previous design but included a few new ideas and is a completely different puzzle. As mentioned, Joe likes to lure the solver into the puzzle, and is a true puzzler’s puzzler. He likes to use psychology against you, and did this in a fantastic but hidden way with FM5. For the follow up he placed the psychology front and center. The trapped coin is even more accessible here, simply blocked from removal by a slim metal bar at the top. It’s right there, almost – it’s practically solved! But, of course, there’s a lot to do before you get there. Joe’s goal is to provide layers, allowing some progress, then slowing you down. Over the years he has learned so much about solving build issues as well. For example he had noted an occasional flaw in FM5 with a peg that would stick, so learned how to correct this problem for the next puzzle. With every project he gained experience, and new shop tools which helped him achieve new levels of production, mechanisms, and designs he would not have dreamed of twenty years ago nor thought were even possible. All this led him to make Free Me 8, the only puzzle box in the series, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Even FM6 tested his skill. He envisioned a final trick involving a few parts and moves, which he ultimately achieved, but in a slightly simpler way than he had wanted. Nonetheless FM6 is a great successor to FM5.
Free Me 7 by Joe Turner
Joe’s most recent Free Me puzzle is out of order in a few ways. He actually came up with the idea for Free Me 7 about twenty years ago, before he started to make his puzzles so much harder to solve. Which also explains why it is a simpler puzzle (but by no means easy). As “a fun little idea”, he had always wanted to make it, one day. He even finally started, and made a jig, but one of the production steps, a process of plunging a part down into the router table, felt unsafe, and he tabled the idea. He ended up making Free Me 8 instead, which was produced and released in 2020. Free Me 8 saw Joe making his first puzzle box, and turning an idea that inspired him into something completely different, but I’ve told that story already. What changed after FM8 was a flier that Joe received from a wood craft store, in which he saw a CNC machine advertised. The flier promised that is was “easy to use!” So he took the plunge, buying another piece of fancy equipment he would not have ever imagined back when all this started. Free Me 7 needed a coin circle carved out, some lines, some other cuts. He set up the machine, and in fact it was as easy as advertised. It worked! He made 150 puzzles! No jigs, no danger, just plenty of clever puzzles using a safe and repeatable production method. He was finally able to bring Free Me 7 to life, a cute puzzle which offers a somewhat easy to find starting point that allows direct access to the coin. But, the coin still won’t come out! Which is really the puzzle, all along. Another one of Joe’s trademark jokes.
Cents and Sensibility
For fans of Joe Turner’s Free Me series, and his playful style of puzzle making, it’s nice to know that he has more in store. Free Me 9 and 10 are already designed, but he could have never made these on his own. With his CNC machine, they are now possible. The machine has opened up a new world of design options for him, and he no longer needs to figure out how to create jigs as part of the production puzzle. Next on his personal Christmas list is a laser cutter! Now Joe has a new puzzle to solve – a packing puzzle. His small basement workshop is already full of the tools he acquired over the years. The magical CNC machine is actually the smallest model he could possibly buy! Although his sales of FM7 paid for the machine, he thinks he now needs a bigger one! Joe recently “Free”d up some space of his own in the workshop by giving an older machine to his brother, so he could fit the laser cutter in there now … Joe keeps it all in perspective, appreciating this puzzling journey he has been on, and thinks “it’s nice having options.”
Fancy Free by Crosby Gaige c. 1941
I’m toasting Joe Turner and his Free Me series with something fancy. Joe’s journey illustrates the path we are all on, constantly moving forward in life, not always certain where the road is going, but simply taking things one step at a time and stopping to enjoy the view. Who knows, maybe some things we never thought would be possible, actually are, but we keep on going in the meantime, doing the things that are right there in front of us.
What’s your fancy?
Here’s an old fashioned cocktail, both in that the earliest recipe is from the Cocktail Guide and Ladies’ Companion by Crosby Gaige, 1941, and that it is in fact an Old Fashioned. Crosby Gage, best known as a successful Broadway director and producer in the nineteen thirties, was also a food and spirits writer, and chairman of New York’s Food and Wine Society. Gage also wrote the Standard Cocktail Guide, 1944. His original recipe presents the drink up in a small coupe rimmed with lemon and sugar, like a crusta or side car. Modern interpretations have moved it more firmly into Old Fashioned territory, where maraschino liqueur lends the sweet element. Gage notes in his book that he once produced a play with the same name as this cocktail, and that cocktail names in general tend to be somewhat fluid and ephemeral – suggesting that he renamed many drinks in his books. Unsurprisingly and amusingly, there are a lot of funny drink names in his books. So if you want to make an Old Fashioned with maraschino liqueur, dash in some orange and aromatic bitters, and call it what you will, be our guest. You are Free to do as you please. Cheers!
Free agents
Fancy Free attributed to Crosby Gage, Difford’s Guide version
2 oz whiskey (historically Canadian, or a rye heavy bourbon)
½ oz maraschino liqueur
3 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
Stir with ice and strain into an Old Fashioned glass. Orange peel garnish (or a lime wheel trapped coin).
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