Sanding Puzzle Pieces After Cutting

[Gordon Wu]

Hi all,

I've been interested in learning how to cut puzzles from 1/4" plywood.  I've read a bit, watched some videos, but before I make purchases and start getting hands on experience, I got a question.  I hear about sanding the pieces down after cutting.  Are the pieces sanded individually?  If so, is it typically done using a sanding mop?  Or is the puzzle assembled and turned around so the picture is facing the table and the entire backside is sanded together?  Is it using a random orbital sander in that case?  

I'm trying to understand the process to understand the overall scope of equipment needs before getting permission.  Thanks!

 

Gordon

[kmmcrafts]

Welcome to the Village!!

I'm not much of a puzzle maker but the few I did make I did all my sanding before cutting. After cutting if you have some fuzzies on the back you can take a small propane torch and carefully burn them off holding the torch way back and slowly moving closer while also continuing to move it around so not to keep the heat in one spot too long.. takes a bit of practice bu you'll get it if you take it slow and hold it far away while gradually moving closer. 

I suppose you could use the sander method too, but I'd be worried to mess up the face side of the puzzle cause from vibration etc. from the sander. 

Maybe someone else will chime in on this topic that is more experienced with puzzles since I've only made a handful of them over the years.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

What kind of puzzles are you talking about? If you are talking those stand up animal puzzles then the pieces are large enough that if you have any fuzees it is easy to sand. but if you are talking small puzzles then I suggest you use Baltic Birch as material and no sanding is needed when using puzzle blades. This is the type I do. and no sanding is needed, I in fact place a front face of bill and a back face of the bill on opposite side and cut away.

 

 

Edited August 28, 2025 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[BadBob]

I make puzzles from 3/4-inch wood. If surface sanding is required, I do it before cutting. Once they are cut, I use a sanding mop to remove any fuzz and smooth out the sharp edges. 

[barb.j.enders]

Welcome.  

I have no new information to add.  Pretty much everything has been covered.  If you find you need to sand after then you could use a coffee filter to run over the edges.  I have also used a toothbrush to remove fuzzies.

[Gordon Wu]

Ahh. Interesting.  I'm leaning toward small puzzles like the dollar bill puzzle shown above by JTTHECLOCKMAN.   

Another question, would you need to sand down the Baltic Birch before gluing the picture onto the wood?  I've read it helps with the picture adhering but not sure how important it is.  

I'd prefer not getting equipment that I won't actually need.   

 

Good to know that a sander may mess up the front side.  Didn't think about that.   

 

So it sounds like Baltic Birch won't generate fuzz if cutting with a puzzle blade...is it the flying Dutchman puzzle blade or are there other brands that's similar?  And does it have to do with the TPI or the shape of the teeth?  What causes and how to minimizes fuzz when cutting?   I'm happy to go experiment but it's be good to learn from the collective knowledge of the community so I have an idea what has and hasn't worked.  Thank you for the thoughtful responses!

[kmmcrafts]

I'm not certain about the sanding before gluing the puzzle.. when I did a few puzzles about 15 years ago I did sand the plywood first so there was a good smooth surface to glue to and to make the surface of the puzzle nice and smooth too. I suggest to sand first but is it really needed? I don't know... some might depend on the quality of the Baltic Birch.. I've bought it and had real smooth surface and I've also gotten it where it had some rougher sort of raised grain.. which may mean it was a older piece that had sat out and absorbed some of the humidity out of the air.. I say that because I started purchasing it in larger bulk quantity several years ago for cheaper prices and the older stuff does start getting a rougher surface over time.. so you may want to have a random orbital sander or some type of sander to smooth them out when / if needed.. Though you could just buy sandpaper and use hand sanding too as it doesn't usually take a lot of sanding to get it smoothed out good. 

There are different methods I've seen over the years of being on these message boards for attaching the picture.. I used regular wood glue and spread very thin even layer with a business card the lay the photo down and them used a roller to press it down good. I then always top coated with triple thick clear glaze https://www.walmart.com/ip/Krylon-I00500A07-Krylon-Triple-Thick-Crystal-Clear-Glaze-Clear-High-Gloss-12-oz-Spray-Paint-Multi-Surface-1-Piece-1-Pack/22301320 Then I'd cut the next day with the Flying Dutchman Puzzle blades.. never needed sanding as JT said.

I also seen where people will use the 3M 77 spray adhesive and spray the back of the photo and the plywood and they say it works well.. I've never done that method myself. 

It'll take a lot of blades per puzzle as the glues in the plywood really dull blades quickly so when getting blades be sure to get more than you think you'll need, LOL.  Pure Bond Project Panels from Home Depot seem to be a bit easier cutting and not quite as harsh on blades.. is another thing I've read.. I've used them some but not really for puzzles so might be something you could look into though a bit more pricey depending on where you get your Baltic Birch as I said I buy full sheets in quantity so it's quite a lot cheaper than mail ordering like a lot of people do.  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

My method is simple. Yes always sand the BB plywood before attaching paper. Second vac it off. Then what I do is spray with dewaxed shellac. I use 3M 77 spray adhesive. Yes on the roller. Need to make sure all air bubbles are out. I let dry. I then do a quick hand sand on the edges incase any adhesive over spilled. By the way my blanks are cut exactly to the size of the dollar bills. Then I spray both top and bottom with several coats of flat lacquer to seal the paper. The first coat is a light mist to not soak the paper. It would change the color of the print if soaked. After that I will spray several more coats till I am satisfied. Nothing is written in stone. Then I wait a day before I now place scotch tape around the entire blank. I am sure you could use other materials for this. The tape lubricates the blade because as mentioned they dull very quickly because of the very thin and small teeth. I then attach pattern with the same 3M adhesive. Yes when cut I then have to peel the tape off but it comes off easily because of the lacquer. just my way of doing this. Your mileage may vary. Test before committing. I have cut many of these and sold many. After doing a few the cuts become so easy and redundant your mind may wonder so stay alert. The advantage of what I do, the people actually get 2 puzzles in one. They can assemble as front or back. When they mix them they can become even more of a challenge. I do not worry about the wood because BB is a nice wood that is strong. you want to use a puzzle blade for small puzzles like this because the pieces stay together and are not too loose when cut. Use larger blades and the piece fall apart easily. When I sell them I had bought some nice resalable plastic bag that are perfect size. I then found some nice size boxes that work well too. Makes a nice gag gift. or stocking stuffer. Steve Good has the patterns on his site.

Being I am sharing my method I should mention to save time in the end, I cut these in strips. Does not make a difference top to bottom or end to end. But after I cut them I place the strip aside and do the next just to keep all together. Alot more work if I had to assemble all of them. . I like doing puzzle like the next guy but that would be ridiculous. Even after I take all tape off I line back up and put together. I use a thin piece of cardboard to keep assembled and till I bag them. I in fact include said cardboard with the puzzle so that when they take out of box it is laying flat. They are the first people to take apart and reassemble again.  

Edited August 28, 2025 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Gordon Wu]

Thanks for the notes Kevin and John T.  

It's interesting you mention the blades dulls quickly on Baltic Birch and needs a lot of blades for each puzzle.  So...let's say it's the size of that dollar bill puzzle and that's a what...5 x 12 piece puzzle on that Baltic Birch...6 mm?  I understand it'll vary depending on the wood and thickness and everything but how many blades does it take to do something like that on average?  Trying to grasp the order of magnitude to stock up on...if it makes sense to buy a dozen or 10 dozens at a time.  

It's interesting you mention the plywood gets rougher over time because it's absorbing moisture.  So in general...do you need to pre-treat the wood if it's been sitting in a high humidity environment...like the summer heat in Florida by heating it up in an oven or something to bake off excess moisture before starting?

And let's talk about cutting wood pieces.  Maybe I'm just not good with cutting wooden items because whenever I cut something, I never can get the cut to be the dimension I measured and marked.  How do you cut to the exact size...without being slightly too small or too big?  As in, a dollar bill is a very exact size, how do you cut it so that the dollar bill fits perfectly on there?  Do you cut a rectangle out of sheet metal and file it down to the exact shape and then use that as a guide to cut your blanks?

And if so, how would you cut a blank something like a photo?  Do you need to cut a piece of sheet metal as a guide for every photo size so that the blanks don't end up being too big or too small when you glue on the photo?

Triple thick clear glaze acrylic spray vs flat lacquer...is the type coating a matter of preference?  What purpose does it serve?  Is it to minimize oil from dirtying the puzzle after being played with a few times?  Does it help hold the photo from detaching from the wood?  Is there other considerations for acrylic vs lacquer?

John T...is that a real benjamin that you cut up?  Or TWO benjamin's even?  If so, that's some confidence and real dedication to the craft.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, Gordon Wu said:

Thanks for the notes Kevin and John T.  

It's interesting you mention the blades dulls quickly on Baltic Birch and needs a lot of blades for each puzzle.  So...let's say it's the size of that dollar bill puzzle and that's a what...5 x 12 piece puzzle on that Baltic Birch...6 mm?  I understand it'll vary depending on the wood and thickness and everything but how many blades does it take to do something like that on average?  Trying to grasp the order of magnitude to stock up on...if it makes sense to buy a dozen or 10 dozens at a time.  

It's interesting you mention the plywood gets rougher over time because it's absorbing moisture.  So in general...do you need to pre-treat the wood if it's been sitting in a high humidity environment...like the summer heat in Florida by heating it up in an oven or something to bake off excess moisture before starting?

And let's talk about cutting wood pieces.  Maybe I'm just not good with cutting wooden items because whenever I cut something, I never can get the cut to be the dimension I measured and marked.  How do you cut to the exact size...without being slightly too small or too big?  As in, a dollar bill is a very exact size, how do you cut it so that the dollar bill fits perfectly on there?  Do you cut a rectangle out of sheet metal and file it down to the exact shape and then use that as a guide to cut your blanks?

And if so, how would you cut a blank something like a photo?  Do you need to cut a piece of sheet metal as a guide for every photo size so that the blanks don't end up being too big or too small when you glue on the photo?

Triple thick clear glaze acrylic spray vs flat lacquer...is the type coating a matter of preference?  What purpose does it serve?  Is it to minimize oil from dirtying the puzzle after being played with a few times?  Does it help hold the photo from detaching from the wood?  Is there other considerations for acrylic vs lacquer?

John T...is that a real benjamin that you cut up?  Or TWO benjamin's even?  If so, that's some confidence and real dedication to the craft.

It takes me 2 blades per bill. Now with puzzle blades they do break easily too. Sometimes your fault and some times manufacturing fault. Blades are the one thing that just is not a big factor when doing scrollsaw work. yes I know you are looking to get a feel for amounts needed. But ordering more than enough for a project is always a good thing. I order blades by the gross. Saves money. I am only an FD blade user these days. 

As far as cutting goes I have a complete woodworking shop with all the basic tools. I use my tablesaw to cut these as I do most my dimensioned lumber.  Once you get the exact size for the width, just run a bunch of strips. Then you set up for the length and I use a stop block after I zero in on the right size. Nothing to that. Simple when you have the right tools. Not sure what you have available but am sure you can compensate. 

Top coating is to protect the finish on the paper. I chose lacquer because it did not darken the paper and kept it looking natural. I chose flat because that is what money is. Not gloss.

Finally these are prop money and not real money. It is the same money that is used in movies and TV shows. You can get new money with no creases as these are or you can get what looks like used money and all crinkly. If you look at the bill you will see on top prop money. Have to say there were reports of people passing these type money as counterfeit. 

Edited August 29, 2025 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

Who says the puzzle has to be square and smooth edges? Back in the beginning of my scrolling days I cut everything on the scroll saw.. if you can't cut a nice straight edge then make them scalloped edges.. I mean yeah I get it for the dollar bill puzzle and certain other times but just a photo you can make the edges anyway you want / need. 

Once the plywood has absorbed moisture putting it in a oven to evaporate the moisture will not fix the lifted swollen wood fibers.. I think sanding is about the only best option from that point and as I said.. no need for a expensive power sander.. Something like a few different grits of these is what I did for a lot of years.. https://www.harborfreight.com/aluminum-oxide-sanding-sponges-coarse-grade-10-pack-63918.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=22877870283&campaignid=22877870283&utm_content=186422612369&adsetid=186422612369&product=63918&store=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22877870283&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4eUxG6KRQwIaxIXVdKxfFz-G&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_L_FBhDmARIsAItqgt5Z185CJDt0hvSVBDDDx_Vf8aZG2GtSbb7PKC2Xtp3F8TNda8JxpvYaAgCYEALw_wcB