When cutting very small pieces, I glued the small part I was cutting to a piece of cardboard. That allowed me to cut it safely and seemed to support it so it did not break.

Instead of gluing the wood to the paper use this method instead. Put some masking tape on the wood then glue the paper with the part you want to cut out onto the masking tape. Put a clear layer of tape over the top, it will make the cutting blade move easier. This way you can remove the pattern easy and there is no glue residue to clean up.

Supplied by Kevin

If you want to make the Knight’s Tomb with double shields, just enlarge the second set of shields by 108%, and take care when placing them.

Supplied by Ron Locke

I just finished Cubey and I would like to pass on a little tip I learned. The pieces that are in the middle layer of the sliders should be slightly thicker (not more than 1/64") in order for the slides to work smoothly. I made this little box twice... the first time the little slides were the same thickness as the rest of the box but there was quite a bit of sticking in the movements.

Supplied by Keith

Following on from Keith’s tip:

To make the spacers a little thicker, glue a little piece of paper or thin card between that and the next panel..

But make sure the glue is really set before trying to move that panel, other wise the paper/card might tear.

Supplied by George

Have a tip for you guys. put masking tape on the under side of where you want to cut then the timber will not tear as much. PS. if using band saw do both sides saves a little time and the edges.

Supplied by Ries

Since these plans are full-size, please make sure that your printer is set at 100% when printing these plans, so they’ll come out at the right size.

Supplied by Mervyn Koplinski

If sliders are a bit sticky, smear some candle grease on them. Also put candle grease on places where you don’t want any glue.

Supplied by James Randall

Whenever you have panels sticking too much and your unsure where, just take some graphite and put in on the rails so that when it sticks it will leave a mark where some sanding could be done.

Supplied by Dylan

Hints’n’Tips supplied by other people.

Some hints for assembling the matchbox laser-cut kit. As Bruce says: always try to glue on the white, non-cut surfaces where there is an option. Ex.: the rails should be glued on their white surfaces. Where this is not possible, as in the inner box edges, first firmly rub a full measure of glue into the edge and let it dry. This will fill in the porosity. Then go about gluing on. Secondly, after all 4 rails have been glued to each of the 2 outer panels and completely dried, hold the RAILS to 100-180 grit sandpaper on a table-top. Not TOO much. This will greatly ease alignment of the four panel assemblies and keep pressure off the entire box assembly.

Also:

I put about 1/2 cup of Medicated Foot Powder into a shallow 4 x 6 in. container and just scoop the open puzzle box into the powder and work all the moving parts. No blackening from the graphite powder and the smoothness is at least as good!

Supplied by James Koppel.