Money Puzzles

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Having not been here for awhile, and after taking a look around the site to see what everyone is doing, I see that puzzles of all kinds are still popular. I did some of the money puzzles by Steve Good and they were a big hit when I was still doing shows before the pandemic. So my question is has anyone else tried these puzzles?? They are kind of fun to make. I make all denominations and the puzzle is actually 2 puzzles in one because I do the reverse side also on the same puzzle. So to mess with builder you can turn the pieces front and back. Take them a little longer to make. The movie prop money is so real looking too. In fact before one show there was an article in the papers that someone used this money in some sort of scam. Here is my version. 

 

 

[daveww1]

nice work

[rjweb]

Good work, RJ

[heppnerguy]

It sure adds a lot of interest to do all the different denominations.  Great projects

Dick

heppnerguy

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 hours ago, heppnerguy said:

It sure adds a lot of interest to do all the different denominations.  Great projects

Dick

heppnerguy

Yea for some reason many choose the $100 bills both old and new. 

[Ron Johnson]

Beautiful work John. Haven’t done much in the way of puzzles. This one looks interesting being it looks so real. Where did you acquire the pattern?

[heppnerguy]

you forgot the 2 dollar bill

Dick

heppnerguy

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

6 hours ago, Ron Johnson said:

Beautiful work John. Haven’t done much in the way of puzzles. This one looks interesting being it looks so real. Where did you acquire the pattern?

Steve Goods patterns. 

[Peter N White]

Great looking patterns   shame none are in other countries currency.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

4 hours ago, Peter N White said:

Great looking patterns   shame none are in other countries currency.

Not sure but if you wanted to make these you maybe able to find other currency. I happen to live in the USA. 

[Charlie E]

Those are awesome and I really like the idea of having the same image on both sides to add a challenge. I can see it being fun to have two of the same puzzles to race with. I'm going to have to do this one to play with the grandkids. Where did you get the movie prop money? What blades and wood thickness did you use?

[Gene Howe]

9 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Steve Goods patterns. 

JT, I guess I'm not too computer literate. I can't find that pattern on Steve's site. Could you possibly post a link? Many thanks.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

4 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

JT, I guess I'm not too computer literate. I can't find that pattern on Steve's site. Could you possibly post a link? Many thanks.

https://www.stevedgood.com/catalog/index.php

You can look under the category games and puzzles. He shows the dollar puzzle. I used that puzzle pattern and just bought movie prop money and sized my pattern to that. I use 1/4" BB plywood to make these. I found that is a good size to keep the puzzles from being to floppy and they stay together better. I lightly sand the wood to make sure it is smooth. I then seal it with a dewaxed shellac (Bullseye) . I then spray the back of the money with 3M 77 adhesive. carefully line the money up on the blank and use a roller to flatten down. I do not worry about any glue squeeze out. After I have both sides done I I take it to my disc sander and just lightly run the edges through to get rid of any glue and any paper hangover which really there never is if sized right. After I let them set and dry overnight and then spray with a satin gloss lacquer. making sure I get the edges too. I do both sides and of course one at a time. This seals the paper. I like Deft or Watco lacquer. After all said and done and now it is up to you to apply pattern as you normally would with any project using whatever method works for you. I will say I like to coat the pattern with some clear tape to help lubricate the blades because those puzzle blades which you need to use are very breakable and you go through a few per puzzle because all the tight turning. After awhile you do get a rhythm though and they are addictive. Good luck if you try them. 

oops I see a couple other questions from Charlie that I will answer here as well being I basically laid out my process of making them. I get my Puzzle Blades as they are called from Mike's Workshop and are FD blades. I only ever used FD blades. The prop money I will have to look up link. but it is movie prop money. There are many sites including Ebay, Amazon, Etsy and many more. Here is mine. You can get in all denominations as well as used or brand new. Now I remember why I never did $2 bills is because they did not have any. It has been some time since I did these. You could always use real money if you like. 

https://propmoviemoney.com/collections/full-print-prop-money

Might as well lay out the rest of it. I cut these in rows as I found that to be easiest and also helps when I have to reassemble. I bought small thin boxes to use so I can sell completed. I use a carboard layer under the puzzle that customer could choose to use or not when storing puzzle. I place puzzle in a reuseable small bag all assembled and slide it in box. After that it is up to customer as to what and how to use them. Now I do warn people the pieces are small so not a childs toy.

One other thing I should mention because someone mentioned mixing denominations to fool people. That is all well and good but remember the same pattern is used for all so they actually will go together but look weird. 

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Gene Howe]

Thanks, JT!  I got it.

[rdatelle]

Great looking puzzles.

[pinokeeo]

On 9/5/2023 at 7:11 AM, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Having not been here for awhile, and after taking a look around the site to see what everyone is doing, I see that puzzles of all kinds are still popular. I did some of the money puzzles by Steve Good and they were a big hit when I was still doing shows before the pandemic. So my question is has anyone else tried these puzzles?? They are kind of fun to make. I make all denominations and the puzzle is actually 2 puzzles in one because I do the reverse side also on the same puzzle. So to mess with builder you can turn the pieces front and back. Take them a little longer to make. The movie prop money is so real looking too. In fact before one show there was an article in the papers that someone used this money in some sort of scam. Here is my version. 

 

 

So, where do you get the fake money?  I’d really like to try these puzzles.

[Millwab]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:11 AM, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

So my question is has anyone else tried these puzzles?? … and the puzzle is actually 2 puzzles in one because I do the reverse side also on the same puzzle.

John, I’ve cut similar puzzles using pictures rather than the prop money. I generally use scraps of leftover plywood for these and by using pictures I can customize the size to fit the ply I have. I too make them two-sided and for an extra challenge I cut them with what I call my "figure 8" cut whereby all the pieces (except the outside edges) look the same. This one is 3”x 7” with 84 pieces. 
 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

11 hours ago, pinokeeo said:

So, where do you get the fake money?  I’d really like to try these puzzles.

See my post above where I explain my system. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

49 minutes ago, Millwab said:

John, I’ve cut similar puzzles using pictures rather than the prop money. I generally use scraps of leftover plywood for these and by using pictures I can customize the size to fit the ply I have. I too make them two-sided and for an extra challenge I cut them with what I call my "figure 8" cut whereby all the pieces (except the outside edges) look the same. This one is 3”x 7” with 84 pieces. 
 

I love it. Nice work. They are a good stocking stuffer for Christmas and a nice talking piece. Thanks for showing.