In formation on scrolling jig saw puzzles.

[hawkeye10]

A friend of mines wife like puzzles and I want to make her one if (big if} I can. I want the type of puzzles that is about 1/8" thick not the 3/4" puzzles that I make. I would like a puzzle that maybe is about 100 pieces more or less. Another thing is I know she like cats. I am not talking about someone making me a pattern. I am very happy to buy one. I also need to know how I need to go about cutting this type of puzzle. If you need more information just ask as I don't know what to ask.

 

PS- Being it is my first puzzle to cut I guess I don't need one that is to completed. Am I asking to much???

[JOE_M]

Are you talking about making a regular jigsaw puzzle where you take a poster or print of a cat, glue it to 1/8" plywood and cut it out? Those are the type of puzzles I like to make (but on 1/4" plywood). If so, what kind of questions do you have?

[Dan]

Here's a short video by Carter Johnson. If you search the internet you'll find some other tutorials. https://youtu.be/gQDlGUhVom4

[orangeman]

Look for a calendar with lots of cat images. Pick an image and glue to 1/4" Baltic Birch with 3M 77 spray adhesive. Coat with Krylon Triple Glaze. Glue a piece of 1/8" Baltic Birch for a backing. Then start cutting.  That's all there are(sic) to it.

bb

 

[kmmcrafts]

3 minutes ago, orangeman said:

Look for a calendar with lots of cat images. Pick an image and glue to 1/4" Baltic Birch with 3M 77 spray adhesive. Coat with Krylon Triple Glaze. Glue a piece of 1/8" Baltic Birch for a backing. Then start cutting.  That's all there are(sic) to it.

bb

 

I am confused here.. while I have only done a handful of puzzles.. I don't understand why you would need to glue a 1/8 backing on a jigsaw puzzle.. Are you talking about a tray type puzzle?. 

On the puzzles I cut.. I used arleens tacky glue to glue the portrait onto the 1/4" BBply.. Used a roller to smooth it out and take out any air bubbles. Then after dried I sprayed the triple thick clear glaze over that.. I have done both free style cutting ( no pattern ) and I used a puzzle pattern from ( steve good I think). 

With freestyle cutting I drew 1" sized square graph on the back of the puzzle to help me keep puzzle piece sizes somewhat uniform.

With the pattern I ended up taping a couple paper towels to the puzzle to protect the portrait and then taping a 1/8" BBply with the pattern on it.. This worked best for me.. however... freestyle cutting was much more pleasing to cut.. just had a hard time keeping the sizes uniform..

   

[dgman]

Defiantly use 1/4" Baltic Birch plywood. Don't know why you would need a backer board. If you don't have any puzzle blades, use 2/0 skip tooth blades. Flying Dutchman puzzle blades are 3/0 skip tooth. You want to use as thin a blade as possible for a tight fit. 

I have never used a pattern for Jigsaw puzzles. I took a scrap piece of 1/4" BB and just started cutting till I got the hang of cutting the puzzle pieces. My avatar is my first puzzle!

[orangeman]

A backerboard for jigsaw puzzles makes it a tray puzzle and easier to assemble and you can pick it up with ease. All my 1/4" Baltic Birch puzzles are tray puzzles with the 1/8" backer board.

[hawkeye10]

I am not getting very many replies to my question. Cutting Jigsaw puzzles must not be very popular. I think I can see why because the only reason I wanted to cut one is to do something for a friend that has done so much for me.

[Phantom Scroller]

I do them for the grand kids on 1/4" ply and for wedding photos cut as puzzles dead simple to cut attach a scrap piece on top draw the pattern or grid line and cut the design that way you don't get tear out on the puzzle only on the scrap then coat it with a puzzle coating you can buy on line. Roly

[kmmcrafts]

6 hours ago, hawkeye10 said:

I am not getting very many replies to my question. Cutting Jigsaw puzzles must not be very popular. I think I can see why because the only reason I wanted to cut one is to do something for a friend that has done so much for me.

I don't think a lot of people do them.. and probably many of them are for the same reason I don't do many of them..

First of all... if I am cutting something I am going to make money off of it or.. it is a gift for a friend or family member.. I don't cut stuff just to cut stuff.. and give away etc. In cutting puzzles get's a little more complicated when making to sell.. because the images you use need to be royalty free.. There was a big topic about using older calendars a few years ago.. Some say it's still copyrighted images and some argued something about fair use or something along those lines.. I wanted to get into making puzzles at one time just shortly before the whole thread on copyright started.. I went out and bought around 20-30  year old calendars on sale and was planning to use those images.. Then the topic came up.. not REALLY knowing I never pursued the puzzles.. Then a few years later I went out and bought a fancy expensive camera.. for the purpose of taking my own photos to use for the photograph for puzzles and for taking pictures of my work for my online store.. Well.. it just takes a lot of time to learn photography.. not to mention that the average printer photos will fade after a couple years.. so really to make a quality puzzle one probably should have prints made.. when considering all the factors into making a high quality puzzle I got discouraged.. I am not one to sell junk.. I take pride in my work and I do my best to put a quality product out there to sell..

You go to the handmade sites such as Etsy.. look at how many people are selling puzzles... Not too many shops there that are selling them.. especially when you compare it to fretwork.... same for other types of scroll saw work.. you don't see a lot of inlay, intarsia etc etc..

As for your question you asked.. I think you got a pretty good selection of info..for a really generalized question... someone mentioned using 1/4" BBply.. some have given info on ways to glue the photo to the board.. spray with clear for protecting the photo.. what saw blades should be used.. etc..any specific questions.. ask I am sure that someone would give an answer.. 

 

    

[NC Scroller]

13 hours ago, hawkeye10 said:

I am not getting very many replies to my question. Cutting Jigsaw puzzles must not be very popular. I think I can see why because the only reason I wanted to cut one is to do something for a friend that has done so much for me.

On the contrary puzzle cutting is popular.  I think you are over thinking it a bit.  My process is I mount the photo to 1/4" BB using 3M Super 77.  Thick stock photos like cards and calendars are best. IMPORTANT I spray both the back of the photo and the wood.  After pressing firmly I let set for about 15 minutes.  I then spray with rattle can shellac and let dry 30 minutes.  I use Flying Dutchman puzzle blades.  I free hand my puzzles cutting along the edges of the shapes in the picture.  It really is easier then it sounds.  Here is an example.  This one is a tray puzzle but the cutting is pretty much the same process.  See I cut around the image of the snow man.  I cut along straight edges of the house. I cut along the edge of the red trim to make the border, etc. 

 

Edited June 20, 2017 by NC Scroller

[hawkeye10]

Thanks for the advice guys. It helps a lot. I am beginning to understand puzzle cutting a little better.

[JOE_M]

I don't put any clear finish on top of my puzzles or on the back.

I used contact cement at first. It worked but had its quirks. Then I used some 3M photo mount spray and it was perfect. I thought I'd discovered the holy grail of puzzle glues. But when I went back for a second can I found that nobody in town was selling it anymore so I bought the 3m 45 spray glue. It works fine too. I found when spraying it really does help to shake the can and keep it moving when spraying or you get clumps of glue that turn into bumps under the picture.

I spray the wood only, making sure to cover every bit of it. Then I slap the picture on, use a rubber roller from hobby lobby to make sure there aren't any bubbles, and then I put it in a simple press I made of two pieces of melamine and some all-thread and let it set for a while.

Although most any picture will work although I did have a set of thick glossy postcards that turned out to be too thick and when i cut the pieces there was a lot of white showing on the edges. Old calendars have worked good and I've used old art books with glossy pages from the used bookstore by the library.

I don't use backers or make frames. There's nothing wrong with making a tray puzzle, but for me those are for little kids puzzles and I was making my puzzles for relatives a bit older.

I use the flying dutchman puzzle blades. I very lightly sand the back of the board before cutting - it only takes a couple swipes with 320 or 400 grit paper to make it feel smooth. Then when I'm done cutting I blow of all the dust and check the back for any fuzzies edges to scrape off. If any edges of the photo lift up it means you didn't hit every bit of the wood with enough glue. You can take a toothpick, lift up the paper and smear some white glue underneath. Clamp it in your fingers for a few seconds and set aside to dry and nobody will be able to see the repair.

I've still got the book "Making Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles" by charles w. ross. It's got some decent information in it if you pick and choose your chapters. If anyone wants it they can have it for free provided they're in the US (I'm not filling out 20 pages of customs forms just to mail a book) and they're not in a hurry (I drive into town once a week).

And if you're really into puzzles, these are the guys who first gave me the idea years ago before I had a scrollsaw. They take wooden jigsaw puzzles to a whole other level.

https://www.stavepuzzles.com/

 

[hawkeye10]

5 hours ago, JOE_M said:

I don't put any clear finish on top of my puzzles or on the back.

I used contact cement at first. It worked but had its quirks. Then I used some 3M photo mount spray and it was perfect. I thought I'd discovered the holy grail of puzzle glues. But when I went back for a second can I found that nobody in town was selling it anymore so I bought the 3m 45 spray glue. It works fine too. I found when spraying it really does help to shake the can and keep it moving when spraying or you get clumps of glue that turn into bumps under the picture.

I spray the wood only, making sure to cover every bit of it. Then I slap the picture on, use a rubber roller from hobby lobby to make sure there aren't any bubbles, and then I put it in a simple press I made of two pieces of melamine and some all-thread and let it set for a while.

Although most any picture will work although I did have a set of thick glossy postcards that turned out to be too thick and when i cut the pieces there was a lot of white showing on the edges. Old calendars have worked good and I've used old art books with glossy pages from the used bookstore by the library.

I don't use backers or make frames. There's nothing wrong with making a tray puzzle, but for me those are for little kids puzzles and I was making my puzzles for relatives a bit older.

I use the flying dutchman puzzle blades. I very lightly sand the back of the board before cutting - it only takes a couple swipes with 320 or 400 grit paper to make it feel smooth. Then when I'm done cutting I blow of all the dust and check the back for any fuzzies edges to scrape off. If any edges of the photo lift up it means you didn't hit every bit of the wood with enough glue. You can take a toothpick, lift up the paper and smear some white glue underneath. Clamp it in your fingers for a few seconds and set aside to dry and nobody will be able to see the repair.

I've still got the book "Making Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles" by charles w. ross. It's got some decent information in it if you pick and choose your chapters. If anyone wants it they can have it for free provided they're in the US (I'm not filling out 20 pages of customs forms just to mail a book) and they're not in a hurry (I drive into town once a week).

And if you're really into puzzles, these are the guys who first gave me the idea years ago before I had a scrollsaw. They take wooden jigsaw puzzles to a whole other level.

https://www.stavepuzzles.com/

 

Thanks Joe. i ordered the book on Amazon. It didn't cost much and it might be helpful.

[poupster2]

Steve Good has a great video explaining how to do it:

He also has a great pattern book with most of the size picture patterns.

http://www.stevedgood.com/estore/estore.html

 

[NC Scroller]

6 hours ago, JOE_M said:

I don't put any clear finish on top of my puzzles or on the back.

 

I have done it both ways and in general I like the way rattle can spray shellac looks over no finish or even using poly or lacquer spray finish.  IMHO it comes down to personal preference.  I do not recommend a brush or wipe on finish as it MIGHT dissolve the photo finish.  Trust me it happened.  Hawkeye I suggest you try various options and see which you prefer.

[hawkeye10]

2 hours ago, poupster2 said:

Steve Good has a great video explaining how to do it:

He also has a great pattern book with most of the size picture patterns.

http://www.stevedgood.com/estore/estore.html

 

Thanks Christian; I have all of Steve Goods patterns but I have not seen the book. I also haven't seen the video on YT so you really helped a lot.

[dgman]

18 hours ago, hawkeye10 said:

I am not getting very many replies to my question. Cutting Jigsaw puzzles must not be very popular. I think I can see why because the only reason I wanted to cut one is to do something for a friend that has done so much for me.

Well Don, I'm sorry you didn't get the responses you were looking for. Maybe you should of asked more specific questions!

several folks took time to reply, myself included. Up to the time you made this reply you hadn't responded or even offered any likes to the responses. 

[hawkeye10]

6 hours ago, dgman said:

Well Don, I'm sorry you didn't get the responses you were looking for. Maybe you should of asked more specific questions!

several folks took time to reply, myself included. Up to the time you made this reply you hadn't responded or even offered any likes to the responses. 

Dan I am getting more responses since I posted that. I have read all of the post including yours and have learned something from all of them. As with most things there are a lot of good ways to do the same thing and I wanted to learn as much as I could.

As far as ((Likes)) I really don't do that very much. It's not because I don't like them it's because I just don't think about it. I do more quoting a post rather than liking a post.

You also said I should ask more specific questions. It's hard to do that when you don't know what anything about it.  

Edited June 21, 2017 by hawkeye10

[fredfret]

If you use a calandar or a poster as long as you give it not sell it copyright does not apply. I freehand about 10 or 15 calandar puzzles and 1 0r 2 poster size (grandkids) per year. I use 3m Super 77 on both the wood and paper I do not use any finish on the picture side and onlr a spray of shellac on the back. I also write the source and artist for the pic along with " Cut By" and a date. on the back.

Fredfret