
Wooden combination lock - chaosmachine
https://woodgears.ca/combolock/index.html
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MatthiasWandel
Hi, it's Matthias here (I built the lock). Got any questions for me?

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11thEarlOfMar
Very fun. Is there any reason the basic design can't extend to more than 3
numbers?

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MatthiasWandel
You could go to more numbers. Though it gets awkward to dial, and cumulative
precision become an issue.

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cliffwarden
He's truly a hacker...
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU)

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starshadowx2
Can we please have scaffold jousting and racing now?

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erikpukinskis
I think you are looking for this:
[http://burningman.org](http://burningman.org)

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agumonkey
All these rotating pieces reminded me of Sussman's talk on watches
[http://video.mit.edu/watch/an-electrical-engineering-view-
of...](http://video.mit.edu/watch/an-electrical-engineering-view-of-a-
mechanical-watch-9035/)

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marincounty
Just happened to be waiting for a Elgin 883 movement to finish drying from a
clean/rinse cycle. Killing time on HN, and I happen to run across this
referral to a video.

Watch repair can be fun, and it really doesn't cost a lot to get into on a
hobby level. There's lots of books on watch repair, and most are out of
copyright. The debate of mechanical watches comes up every so often. That
Bulova watch he takes the Balance Wheel out of will literally last a life time
with proper care.

In the video, he mentions he doesn't know how the Bulova Accutron 360 gear is
manufactured(you need to inspect it with a 30X scope). I have always been
curious about this topic. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate the info. I know
about watch lathes, and hand turning. I don't know how the factories mass
produce these gears, what machines they use.

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morgante
This is an awesome educational tool: the large size makes it really easy to
see and understand how combination locks work.

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ak39
Awesome. How long does it take to achieve skills of this calibre in woodwork?

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vailripper
Matthias is fantastic at engineering things and then building them out of
wood, but I consider it very different than true woodworking. To me, the level
of craft of someone like Sam Maloof is on an entirely different level.

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function_seven
Although Matthias does have metal tools, they're just items he hasn't gotten
round to wood-ifying yet.

The man is truly unique among wood-workers. If he were given the task of
building a suspension bridge, he'd make the damn cables out of wood if he
could. (And he'd probably succeed at it, too).

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mullingitover
I'm skeptical of a security mechanism that can be defeated with a match and
some lighter fluid.

However, as an art piece this is impressive.

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penguat
The point of a lock is twofold (in most cases* ). First, to discourage
casual/opportunistic access. Second, to make unauthorised access evident. I
believe this lock meets those criteria, albeit at a minimal level - but it's
purpose is to educate, rather than to directly secure.

* In specialised cases the expectation is that the lock will also take a finite amount of time to get through, which may exceed that of the door, allowing for a response to alarms, for example. In other cases a lock may be designed such that the contents would be destroyed by any action which would defeat the lock.

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vvpan
Not to diminish Matthias' amazing abilities, but only to highlight the
challenges that go into making anything out of wood: plywood, isn't really
wood per se. If you built things out of wood you'd have to worry about grain
direction, because cross-grain strength in wood is very low. This adds a whole
another level of complexity to the engineering process.

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MatthiasWandel
Most things I make aren't made of plywood. Yes, you have to be aware of poor
crossgrain strength (varies with species) as well as seasonal shrinkage and
expansion from humidity changes.

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kitd
Fantastic! The whole site is great. My kids have been pestering me to let them
do stuff like this and I didn't really know where to start.

Bookmarked.

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bhudman
I try to visit his site every Friday. I like his no nonsense videos.

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wlmsng
Really interesting! What got you into woodworking?

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MatthiasWandel
Always had access to my dad's wood shop. Wood is fast and easy to work with -
unlike metal.

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ableal
And wood smells better.

(I don't dislike oiled metal, but for me there's something about waxed wood
that's really on the nose ;-)

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owly
Very cool!

