Herb Savage sent me the touching boxes, pointing to http://www.planetee.com/planetee/servlet/DisplayDocument?ArticleID=1251

I saw a puzzle on your site about arranging 7 cylinders so that they all touch each other.  15 or 20  years ago I realized that 8 cylinders was the  maximum.  I have this puzzle on my website, I think on page
http://www.contestcen.com/tough.htm   Two solvers have confirmed my results.    Frank Rubin