The Trajber's Octahedron is declared finished. Here are some photos:




I had to quit working on it before it was completely finished, so it looks a little goofy. A word to the wise: it IS possible to injure yourself by overusing your arms and hands while making these puzzles!

I used to think you could rotate faces on a Trajber Octahedron, but looking at that pic there's no way.
Clearly it's a vertex rotating puzzle. So this is a modified 3x3x3? Very nice work. I'll have to check the literature to be completely sure this is the same, but I think so.

As I recall, I'm the one who originally suggested that Carter make a Trajber's Octahedron next.

I figured it would be relatively easy to make one since it's based on a 3x3x3 puzzle (or as far as I think it is) but working with milliput myself I can see how it can be difficult to work with. And messy.

It is easy to see how this is a 3x3, just reshaped the pieces. Not so easy though.
But, is the Magic Octahedron (the one that is in pieces on the puzzle museum) a 3x3 variation as well?

There is a website which i and a couple of people posted in the big survey below. It has heaps of virtual puzzles you can play with, including both octahedron puzzles in question here (and dino cubes and more...). Its not the same as playing with them in real life, but if youre thinking of coming up with something, you can at least check how they work...

i cant remember the link, as im not on my usualy computer but if you want it again just let me know.

are you going to make some of these tyler?

i hurt my shoulder
it tingles now when i use a saw..

wanna trade for one of those? its on my wanted list

Thats definitely what it is. Gee i love seeing what you guys can do! Its really fulfilling.

That octahedron is much more common than the Trajber. Each faces loooks just like a face of the pyraminx - it is divided into 9 smaller triangles.
It is also a kind of 3x3x3 cube clone. Its six corners rotate (using quarter turns), and its pieces are just like the edge pieces of the cube. The corners of the cube do not have an analogue on this octahedron though. The Trajber octahedron has deeper cuts, giving face centers which are the equivalent of the cube corners.

You could colour a 3x3x3 cube so that each octant has a different colour. It would look a bit like a 2x2x2 cube. This is exactly equivalent to Trajbers octahedron. If you then take away the colours of the corner cubies, leaving them all black, then you have the equivalent of the common octahedron (except for the trivial tips)

I am planning to get into plastics.
my first creation with milliput will be simple.
Extension parts for the rainbow to creat dino cubes.
These will be available relatively cheap (probably $50-60 to make, instead of 1000 on ebay), and i will have some to trade.

After that, maybe the octahedron (trajber. as it is easy to see how to make it. i knew from first sight)

I dont know how many i can make of each, as i dont know much about plastic making yet. are molds re-usable?

I don't have anything available for trade that would interest anybody here, and it looks like it may be a while until these silly tendons heal. My doctor says I gotta rest the shoulder. Have you ever thought about how much you use your shoulder? Anyway, I am honored that you suggest a trade.

I would also love to have a Trajber's Octahedron to. Please give me a list of what you want and I'll see if I have it. Here's my e-mail address djgrew75@hotmail.com. I hope you can take money or money orders if I don't have any thing you want to trade for. I hope? I really want one badly.

The problem with my shoulder, is in the shoulder I DONT saw with. it is in the shoulder i hold with.
It seems to be going away, but comes back tingling every once in a while.
Better than the pains i have in my knee.

OFF TOPIC:
Speaking of my knee, anyone know the reason for this?
I've had orthroscopic (sp?) surgery on my knee, and ever since then, barometric pressure changes cause great deals of pain in that knee. My dad has this also from surgery. Any explanation?

I was reading up on soft tissue injuries tonight. Once you injure these tissues, you have got to rest them for a long time - like 10 weeks! And you are supposed to put ice for 20 minutes 3 times a day and take anti-inflammatories. Bad news.

The news gets even worse - if you don't let it heal, you continue to re-injure the tissues, and the damage becomes chronic. Then it takes 6 months to heal.

I really want to make an octaminx. But it has to wait.

Tyler, if you have tingling, you may have some nerve irritation. If the irritating motion continues, it will just get worse, and can lead to permanent damage. Rest is necessary for healing, and you might want to consider getting some professional medical advice.

Darren, I cannot make a Trajber's octahedron anytime soon. Sorry.

Carter - thx for the advice,
but it turned out to be caused by something different.
i got a new matress, and it is way too soft for me. i switched back to the old one, and i am fine now

i guess it was just that it happened in the same timeframe, so i thought that was teh problem...

How do you make an octaminx?

That's good news! I wish I had a magic mattress that would solve my problem.