Making Puzzles From 3/4-inch Baltic Birch Plywood

[BadBob]

I have cut a few hundred puzzles from solid wood, mostly poplar and pine. About a week ago, I had a puzzle to make with some fragile parts that cried out for plywood. I cut it from 3/4-inch Baltic Birch plywood. Not only did it fix the breakage problem, but making the puzzle from Baltic Birch plywood was much easier than with any of the woods I had previously used. The cuts were almost glassy smooth, and very little sanding was required. I am considering making this my go-to material for puzzles.

[Norm Fengstad]

I use 3/4 Baltec Birch for animal puzzles and 1/4 BB for photo puzzles

[kmmcrafts]

I seen a seller on Etsy a few years back that sold puzzles and they were all made from 3/4 BBply. I would think it'd be more stable and also ( back then ) cheaper than buying lumber.. You could get a full 5 x 5 sheet for $25 and I would think quite a few puzzles could be made from a full sheet compared to a $25 board.  The downside in my opinion would be the plywood really goes through the blades faster. 

The other downside is, I'm not sure of the safety factor if kids were to play and put in their mouths etc.. Not sure if the glues in it would be toxic or not.  

Edited December 21, 2025 by kmmcrafts

[BadBob]

In this case, plywood was the only option. There was no way to align the grain so none of the pieces would be easy to break. I only brought it up because the difference was so dramatic.

[barb.j.enders]

Now I am curious to know what puzzle it was that you cut.  Picture please!

[BadBob]

On 12/22/2025 at 8:40 AM, barb.j.enders said:

Now I am curious to know what puzzle it was that you cut.  Picture please!

Note all the narrow parts, primarily the tails. They are prone to breaking when made from solid wood.

[kmmcrafts]

13 minutes ago, BadBob said:

Note all the narrow parts, primarily the tails. They are prone to breaking when made from solid wood.

I never gave it much thought to use plywood. I used to make a lot of the car and tractor puzzles that Scott ( Harvey's Patterns ) sells.. I specifically had issues with the front tires on the tractors breaking off either when shrink wrapping them or at some point in shipping or maybe even in my storage bins waiting to be sold.. I quit making them partly because of that but boy were they good sellers.. Never had much issues with the car ones but those tractors were always breaking. 

[dgman]

I’ve cut that pattern out of solid Cherry and solid popular without any problem or breakage. I love the look of solid hardwoods. To me, BB looks so bland, even stained.

Edited December 23, 2025 by dgman

[kmmcrafts]

6 minutes ago, dgman said:

I’ve cut that pattern out of solid Cherry and solid popular without any problem or breakage. I love the look of solid hardwoods. To me, BB looks so bland, even stained.

Yeah I agree with the hardwood. I also feel like Poplar is sometimes too bland but some of it has some good color tones. Poplar also does break easier. I know there are people that can get decent looking results from stains but most do not look good in my opinion. 

[BadBob]

14 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I never gave it much thought to use plywood. I used to make a lot of the car and tractor puzzles that Scott ( Harvey's Patterns ) sells.. I specifically had issues with the front tires on the tractors breaking off either when shrink wrapping them or at some point in shipping or maybe even in my storage bins waiting to be sold.. I quit making them partly because of that but boy were they good sellers.. Never had much issues with the car ones but those tractors were always breaking. 

The tusks on this toy mammoth are made of shop-made plywood. Oak in the case. My grandson wanted this, and I could not see making it from solid wood because it would not last through the first day. I could not break the tusks with my hands. That was six years ago, and today it is being played with by my two-year-old granddaughter. Still intact. 

[BadBob]

21 minutes ago, dgman said:

I’ve cut that pattern out of solid Cherry and solid popular without any problem or breakage. I love the look of solid hardwoods. To me, BB looks so bland, even stained.

I believe it, I have cut them from Home Depot cull lumber, and they did not break. It was flat-sawn wood and had to be flatten before I could use it to cut a puzzle.

 

[BadBob]

I think the hardwoods look great too, but I'm a woodworker and I like the way wood looks. I'm not making them for me, and it is a puzzle, not a decoration. If I wanted to make it from hardwood, it would be easy enough to make my own plywood. My point was that making this puzzle from Baltic birch plywood was much easier and faster than making it from solid wood. 

[barb.j.enders]

I cut these all the time.  One of my better sellers.  I have only used Poplar for it.  Not had a problem with breakage.  I have given a few as gifts.  For those I have painted some of the cats to match cats the recipient has had.

[Rooterxl]

Made this one for my Grandson. 

1/2 inch baltic birch.