Thirty-five years ago a Swedish neighbour handed me a flat pack challenge. It had nothing to do with IKEA, rather it was two dismantled antique chairs that she had inherited from the family farm just south of the Arctic Circle. It was a real pleasure to cut away the dry rot in the European oak, copy the profiles of what some clever Swede had crafted more than 150 years ago and then re-assemble the chairs. Besides a beautiful smile, my reward was a delightful Swedish trivet. The trivet is a constant marvel. Visitors try hard to work out how it was assembled and are amazed that they can't solve the puzzle.
As you will read, I have only recently solved the puzzle myself and have now made several and am happy to share the technique.
The path to the solution came to me last year when I was sitting in a brewery in Powell River, British Columbia. Hanging on the wall of the Belgian-style brewery was the medieval yeast ring you see to the left.
In the 16th century a yeast ring would be placed in the wort for an hour or two and then hung out to dry in the sun. The yeast would dehydrate and lay dormant
