Thomas Tray Puzzle

I started to work on a tray puzzle for my son. This is my first attempt at a tray puzzle, so we'll see how it goes.

As I mentioned in this thread, I found the original picture as computer wallpaper. I printed it out with a laser printer on 110lb card stock I got from an office supply store. The paper was pretty cheap, too and much more economical than photo paper. If I was doing a photo puzzle, I'd opt for the photo paper. But since it was just a graphic, the cardstock worked well. I used 3M 45 General spray adhesive. I sprayed the back of the image and the 1/4" BB Ply and attached them immediately for a permanent bond. Each spray adhesive is different, just read what they recommend for strong bonds. I then used a seam roller (found in the wallpaper section of any bigbox store) to make sure the image was well stuck to the wood. Then I put a couple of light coats of clear acrylic spray to protect the image.

I drilled a small hole in the corner with a 1/16" bit. I'm using a #3 FD Scroll Reverse to cut the puzzle out. I should have used a #5 so I can get a looser fit. 20/20 hindsight.

Here I cut out the puzzle. I wanted Thomas to remain intact and the background be in pieces. I first did the perimeter, then cut out the interior into smaller pieces. My original intention was to make it a sliding puzzle with no interlocking pieces. My son is only 2.5 and I figured interlocking pieces would be too difficult. But I got a little carried away with following lines and accidentally created one interlocking piece. Whoops. Again, in hindsight, I should have made all of the pieces much simpler and not followed lines, except for Thomas. Oh well. He'll grow into it.

Now that I have the tray cut, I need to add a backer. I used 1/8" BB Ply for the backer. I used a sponge brush to spread wood glue over the back of the tray, being careful not to get too close to the interior of the tray. I pressed the 1/8" ply to the tray and wiggled it around a bit to create a tight bond. Tip: When gluing two surfaces together that doesn't have a lot of outside force applied, you can rub the glue surfaces together to create a tight bond. It not only spreads the glue, it also creates a small "vacuum" between the two surfaces, and the heat will activate the glue quicker. Many times you don't need clamps. It doesn't take much. Just wiggle the surfaces together a few times. I also put a board on top of the glue-ups and stacked a bunch of paint cans on it to add a bit of pressure while the glue cured.

Here are 3 pix of the final glue-up. Note the wood is larger than the picture. Tonight I will trim the pieces with the table saw. I'll also round the corners with a belt sander (assuming I can get to my Dad's place to use his sander). I'll take some more pix as I finish the puzzle.

Great job on that so far Travis. Can't wait to see the completely finished project. I bet he's going to be doing this puzzle over and over. Sure to be a favorite. Thanks for sharing the in progress pics

Barry

Travis your puzzle looks great. Your son will love it!

Great puzzle. You'd be suprised (or maybe not ) what a two year old can do. I'm quite sure he'd figure out how the pieces fit.

OK. I got a few minutes to work on the puzzle again last night (2 nights in a row....that's rare for me!). I used my table saw to trim up the sides of the puzzle. Remember the wood is oversized. This allows me to flush up the edges of the tray and backer and trim it to the right size at the same time. I used the tablesaw fence for the top and bottom, and the miter gauge for the edges. I had a fine toothed blade in the saw which worked really well. It didn't splinter or tear the paper, so I was thrilled.

I was going to use my dad's belt sander, but he's having a garage sale this weekend and it wasn't accessible. So I turned to my drillpress drumsander setup. This actually worked better than I expected. I used this to round the corners of the puzzle. I did this for safety, and to protect the puzzle a bit from damage. If I kept the corners intact, when the puzzle gets dropped (and it will), it may chip the edges. The sanding drum worked well for sanding the edges of the wood, but the paper didn't sand at all. So after the edges are sanded down, I used a small palm sander to hit the corners at an angle to sheer off the remaining paper. I also took the palm sander along the rest of the edges too to soften them up a bit.

After I finished sanding the edges, I decided I wanted to add a coat of finish on the back and the inside of the tray (the exposed backer). I did this for two reasons. First to make it look nice and match, and second to protect it from dirt, grime, and chocolately fingers. When spraying the inside of the tray, I tried to be quick and light. I didn't want too much buildup or else my puzzle would fit too tight.

So what is my overall impression? This was a very quick project. I used spray adhesive to mount which dries quickly, acrylic spray that dries quickly, and the scroll sawing probably took less than 10 minutes. The gluing the backer to the tray took overnight. But the finishing steps I took in this post probably took me 10 minutes. I bet if you broke this project into two evenings, it wouldn't take you more than 20 minutes each evening. I like quick and easy projects, especially since it's hard for me to find time to play in the shop.

I would have done a couple things differently. First, I should have used a thicker blade. I used a #3 on this project. I should probably use a #5 or a #9. The wider kerf would make the puzzle fit looser and easier to assemble for little fingers.

I also wish I would have made the puzzle pieces more simple; gentle curves with no interlocking pieces. My son will eventually grown into it. He has an idea where they all go, he just has a tough time getting it exactly right for them to fit in and will sometimes get frustrated. But now I know.

I can't wait to make my next puzzle. These are fun! Give it a try!

A lot of good information in this article - thanks

Cant help but think that Thomas would make a nice Segmented piece too.

I mentioned that I used cardstock I got from the office supply store. I thought this would be a good material to print the image on because of the weight. However, with a little rough play, I noticed the cardstock is starting to separate. Looking close, it almost looks like the cardstock is just a bunch of paper ply. So while the bottom is securely glued, and the top is sprayed, it will eventually separate with rough handling. I'm wondering if it will work OK with puzzles for adults and older kids. I guess I'll find out because I already have some images printed. But for tray puzzles, not so good. In the future, I think I'll stick with either heavy paper, or buy some photopaper for the printer. I thought I'd give y'all a heads up.

Travis I have found that some photo paper does the same thing. The only paper that I have found that does not do this is Kodak paper.

Lots of good information in this WIP Travis. You did a great job on the puzzle. Your helper is sure a cutie and it won't take him long to figure out where all those pieces go. Thanks for all the tips! I'll have to adopt some grandkids if I make any of these! LOL

Wow Travis, this is an excellent WIP! I love this project. I might have to adopt some grandkids too Sue! I bought some old calendars with this type of thing in mind...........all animal pictures. So may have to try my hand at a few I think. This would be an excellent addition to my charity gifts for Christmas. Last year I made little cars and trucks........might have to make a few puzzles too. Thanks so much for sharing this with us Travis. You did a great job on it. And your helper is a real cutie patootie too!

Christina

Wonderful post....Very detailed and I enjoyed your tour.

I tried card stock before and found the same issue of separation. I just use heavier bond paper and it works ideally.

If I may:

I got the bug for kids puzzles one day in May 2009 while I was waiting at the Oncology dept for my treatment. A grandpa had brought his little grandson with him who was 5 years old, and while grandpa went back for his radiation therapy I watched the little boy while I awaited my turn, and he was so bored. Nothing to do and he was a little scared for his grandpa.

I went home that day and made a couple of puzzles for the waiting room and brought them back the next day they were a really big hit.

Then Carter (you all know carter, the puzzle master) got me to try my hand at cutting out a jigsaw puzzle freehand, no over laid pattern. I made one and gave it to a family member with a note attached, that when they were done to please give it to a friend.

There was one caveat, they needed to contact me and let me know where it is.

So far it has traveled to 4 states, and seems to end up at senior centers. 1 person said 63 people had assembled it at one of the senior centers in Seattle. I have rec'd several phone calls thanking me for the use of my puzzle and asking for more. I finally found my way to give back. The team at the oncology center where I got my treatments were so helpful I just had to find a way to repay their dedication and compassion, Cancer is a scary thing to go through.

I made each of them a really cute bookmark, this too was very much appreciated and then i amde a plaque for their wall.

The wolf is the traveling puzzle. The others are in the waiting room bringing smiles to kids faces, I have even seen some of the adults playing with them to pass the time...

You did a wonderful job on those puzzles. I really like the idea of donating tray puzzles to hospitals. Great idea. Be sure to post copies of those pix to your User's Gallery. Those are certainly something to be proud of.

...I made one and gave it to a family member with a note attached, that when they were done to please give it to a friend. There was one caveat, they needed to contact me and let me know where it is...

This is the coolest idea. That would be so much fun to see a puzzle travel all over the place. I might have to try that out myself and see what happens. Just a note to tell someone to email you when they finish and move it along. Love it!

This looks like fun I will have try this

Your really thinking on this project from all angles.most of all i love the slide in pieces for toddles .your right about them getting it in the proper position to go together so les frustration for them keeps them at esae and happy.Great puzzle tips on glueing ,sealing and sanding.Don't forget to mark this one as hot in the forum!

...Don't forget to mark this one as hot in the forum!

You can rate a forum thread at the top next to the thread name. The more people who rate forum threads that contain really good info, the more visible the really useful threads will become. I encourage everybody to start rating useful forum threads.