JOE_M

Welcome Yooper! I'm an ex-Michiganian but I still drink Vernors and I like to watch the Tigers lose (Down by one in the fourth at the moment...)

This is one of the puzzle types I've been trying to do. Each is 9x12. Two of them are 165 pieces, the other two are 140 piece puzzles (they're not easy). The top images are from a 50 cent booklet I got at the Friends of the Library bookstore, glued on with contact cement. The artist is Paul Detlefsen and the book is one in a series of 8 that I'm looking for. The wood is 1/4" 5-ply. I wasn't too happy with it. The boards were 12x24 and I had one board curl and twist like a strand of DNA, two that had a lot of internal voids, and one that actually had a football-shaped plug on both faces - something I didn't think was possible so I didn't look for it and didn't find until I was ready for glue-up. I was able to work around most of it but there should be a 5th puzzle in the set that got ruined when I stumbled on a big void. I'm building the small boxes to hold them now, and then I'll be working on a series of 10 small (4.5" x 6" ) watercolor paintings that I'll cut into approx. 20 pieces each - just something easy that someone can assemble while taking a tea break.

Good idea. See what the HOA says about parking an RV. Find Woodworking did an article many years ago about a school bus converted into a workshop.

Put them on wheels and when you want to use them just wheel them out to the driveway, point the exhaust port towards the HOA president's house and go to work. I've got 26x24 and I'm out of room. I couldn't do 8x8.

Are you a native Livonian? I graduated from HS there 33 years ago.

Thanks for all the replies. I don't have any trouble with the paper/glue - I've been using contact cement and it sticks pretty good. I've tried it with regular photos, and postcard thickness prints. I glue it to the oversized plywood blank and then trim the edges to size. But if I try to cut a puzzle with the picture facing up, I have no way to sketch a pattern and I do need a pattern - I'd like the pieces to look at least something like a real jigsaw piece and without a pattern I can't seem to visualize it and I end up with a bunch of funky shapes that just barely interlock. If I cut them with the photo facing down I can sketch out a pattern on the bottom, but then it ends up getting fine scratches on the paper from all the turning, and fuzzies from the blade. I bought a roll of that low-tack clear film from hobby lobby but haven't tried to cut a sheet and print a pattern on it yet. I might try that, worst that happens is that I destroy the printer when it jams. I am happy with the technique of cutting the blank in half, and then each half in half and continuing that way until they're down to a decent size. They all end up roughly the same size that way. My saw is the Dewalt. It's no Excaliber, but it's not a $2 garage sale toy either so I'm assuming most of my problems are operator error.

I'm looking for a decent tutorial on puzzle cutting - thin and thick. I checked the tutorials and did a keyword search on "puzzles" but didn't find anything. I've made a few jigsaw puzzles using family photos glued to 1/4" plywood. I used a puzzle blade and for the most part they came out fine but I found the cut was super aggressive and it was hard to control the cut. I do have a book "Making Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles" by Charles Ross, but I'm looking or any/all tips I can get. My problems with the jigsaw puzzles are: fuzzy edges, controlling the cuts, visualizing the puzzle shape to cut (right now I'm just freehanding them with no pattern). I'd also like to try some thicker animal puzzles for my young cousin. I see Iguanadon is making some great stuff and he mentioned in a recent post that he uses a #3 blade. I try with a #3 blade and the gap is too big, so they are very loose. Any tips for keeping a better fit on the thicker puzzles? And last, I'd also love to know how to get that consistent rounded edge on all the pieces like on the thick puzzles or the intarisa. I've tried so many types of sanding, filing, routing but haven't found the perfect look yet. Any/all help would be appreciated. thanks