LABRYNTHSPEL
The Marble Maze Game
A precision project for expert woodcrafters.

Here is a project for the expert woodcrafter.
The sizes and placement of the barriers is extremely critical to the proper operation of the game as is
the smooth action of the play surface tilt action. However, the construction becomes much easier after you build the first one.

First, locate a few very good quality marbles with no seams. The marbles need to have a diameter between 3/8" and 7/16". A 3/8" metal bearing ball works best. Next, download the diagrams in the Acrobat file by clicking on any of the diagrams on this page. Cut and tape (or glue) pages 1 & 2 together and pages 3 & 4 together. These pages are NOT to scale. Page 5 IS to scale and can serve as a template for the barriers. The diagrams should be pretty much self explanatory with a few exceptions. Construction of the base is pretty simple. Use 3/4" material for the sides, make sure the sides are 3-1/2" tall, ensure the inside clearance is exactly 12-1/4" by 10-1/4", and that the corners a perfectly squared. Notice that the heights of the The game is played by turning the knobs on the sides to tilt the surface left-right and forward-back to roll a marble along the path, numbered from one to sixty-one, while avoiding the numerous (forty) holes. The barriers can help you as well as hinder you. The picture at left is not of the actual project detailed on this page but it is very similar. dowels for the control knobs are staggered just enough to prevent rubbing against each other. Attach the bottom with screws to allow just enough they do not rub against each other. Attach the access to replace broken strings later. The bottom should fit well and needs to be mounted with a tilt toward the exit hole. Use strips along the long side as stops and to secure the bottom. When cutting the triangles that steer the marble to the hole, be sure to taper them toward the hole so marbles dropping through onto the blocks will find their way out. The barriers are all cut to a height of 10/16" and a thickness of 5/16" then sanded to a round top. You can use rub-on numbers (available at office supply stores and many electronics stores) for the numbers and you can even add arrows showing the path. Layout the guidelines for the barriers with pencil marks then carefully position and glue all the barriers in place. Once the top pieces are ready, find some high quality nylon kite string. Add eyehooks to the bottom of the top pieces to secure the guide strings. The eyehooks for the inner piece should be to the sides while the ones for the outer frame should be placed to the front and the rear. Mount the outer top frame over the inner piece (with the barriers) with 1/8" thick flat washer between the two and glue a 1" long dowel into the outer frame. Do not glue it to the inner frame. Actually, it is best if you wax the portion fitted into the inner frame. Next, mount this assembly into the base with flat washers and a 1-1/4" long dowel. Glue the dowel to the base but not the inner frame. Turn the assembly upside-down and remove the bottom. Cut two pieces of the strung about sixteen inches long. Tie one end to one eyehook on the inner frame. Seal the knot with glue or fingernail polish then wrap the string ten times around the dowel going from the front to the back. Tie it off at the opposite eyehook being sure to keep it taught. Tie a similar string for the other control. Replace the bottom and have fun.

*********** WARNING***********
Read my page on safety before building this item.