Cryptex Lock Notebook

thingiverse

I recently started collecting another nerdy hobby: bookbinding. To assemble a stab bound sketchbook, I quickly tossed together a couple of books, but they didn't quite meet my requirements - I wanted something more user-friendly that would lay flat when opened. Luckily, several folks had already posted instructables on Coptic stitch bookbinding, which seemed to fit the bill: https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Coptic-Stitch-Bound-Notebook/. Of course, being lazy, I wanted to improve matters by finding a way to create one cover that I could constantly reload with paper without having to spend time and material on new covers every time I ran out of pages. Additionally, since my scribblings tend to be a bit subversive and my doodlings occasionally NSFW, I wanted a way to secure my notebook. Here is the result. The 3D printed hard cover has holes in the spine for a separate thread that secures the stitches of the text block. On the front is a circular pattern cryptex with 4^5 possible combinations. When the correct one has been set, the locking pin may be slid down to release the latch. Credit where it's due: I adapted a puzzle design from Kagen Sound. He does beautiful work and I highly recommend checking out his website: https://kagensound.com/page2.html. Many thanks to Elizabeth Grab (www.elizabethgrab.com) for sharing her time and knowledge without which this project would not be possible. Those who just want a cover without the cryptex nonsense can head over to my earlier non-lockable design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3399102. On a side note, if anyone feels inclined to tip me for my design work, please donate to the ACLU, Habitat for Humanity, Planned Parenthood, or any charity endorsed by GiveWell instead. Thanks in advance.