This is an all wood Truncated Tetrahedron, one of the 13 “Archimedes Solids” in polyhedra study.
It’s basically a regular tetrahedron with the 4 tips clipped off evenly so that 4 large hexagons and 4 smaller triangles remain (18 pieces of wood total). I can make these in a cherry (red) walnut (brown) ebony (black) wood stain, or just a clear polyurethane coat (as shown). 9″ or 12″ height.
For the complete polyhedron model index, please see my website.
The Borromean Rings are a classic math paradox. Not exactly a puzzle, (nothing actually comes apart), but as a model this is a nice tangable way to show students how the Borromean Rings are a type of ‘Gordian Knot’
Each of the 3 rings are closed circles and no 2 rings are actually linked together, yet as 3 rings they cannot come apart! If any one ring was broken, the other two would simply pull away from each other.
They lay down naturally in this kind of rosetta shape when you put them down, which is kinda cool. I make these 9″ or 12″ on the longest axis and very loose fitting. They are wood stained in cherry, walnut, and just clear coat polyurethane on the third to tell them apart (If you prefer all 3 rings the same as a decor piece, just ask).
For the complete polyhedron model index, please see my website.
This is a 3 dimensional wood model of a rectangular hexahedron made to the proportions of the ‘Golden Ratio’ (phi). Nice little bookshelf or classroom lecture piece.
It’s either 9″ or 12″ on the longest axis with the corresponding pieces in very close fractional proportions to phi (its a conversation model, not for precision machinist work!). The ‘Golden Ratio’ is represented in black twice on this piece, the small to medium on the left, the medium to large on the right. I can make this in cherry wood or walnut wood stain (along with the black), or just clear coat polyurethane along with black as shown here.
For the complete polyhedron model index, please see my website.
This is an all wood truncated cube model, clear coated with a semi-gloss polyurethane finish. These can be displayed either on the flat surface or up on the corner for a different look. A couple in different sizes make a nice decor piece.
It has 6 octagons, 8 triangles, 32 vertices and 36 pieces of wood, each angled tword the center point of the piece. As the wood gets older it gets more of a honey color under the polyurethane coat, but I also wood stain depending on what someone prefers. This one is 9″ tall.
All wood model of 2 Tetrahedrons woven together (aka Stella Octangula), one stained in cherry-wood the other left to a clear coat of polyurethane. These are great gift ideas for math teachers, engineers, students, plus those interested in “Atomic Age” 1950s interior design or Sacred Geometry. 
Most polyhedron have a dual, meaning they share or relate 1:1 with the number of vertices and / or planes. The tetrahedron (4 triangular surfaces, 4 vertices, 6 pieces each) is the only polyhedron that is its own self dual. This particular one I kept 2-tone for clarity, but I also make them in any one color. I have more versions on the website.
Some of our wood Platonic Solids models in action. A friend looked all over the web for something like these for the classroom that would be much more durable and permanent than just card stock or construction paper. We found some color plastic ones, but not really what would look good in a university math lab, library or bookshelf.
Most things today are just computer generated line drawings, so there is something really cool about having a tangible geometric model to help show a concept. Like most other things, they are much easier to build in a batch then one at a time and that keeps them a lot more cost-effective.
This is an all wood Cuboctahedron. It can be used as a classroom lecture model or a nice “Atomic Age” decor piece. There is a resurgence of Mid Century Modern “Jetsons” type of art pieces lately so these are pretty cool.
This is made of 6 squares, 8 triangles, 12 vertices and 24 pieces of wood. If you look closely, there are 4 true hexagon equators. Each of the vertices has full 3 axis compound miters. This one is 9″ tall.
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