# jigsaw puzzles



## Brucio (7 May 2007)

I've been reading about all these scrollers making jigsaw puzzles. Since I've never tried that in all the years I've been using a scrollsaw, I thought I'd give it a try.
One or two questions-
If you stick a picture on the wood before cutting, how do you put the lines on to cut along? Or do you just cut something which looks faintly like a jigsaw?
Say you've got a picture 12" square, stuck on the wood, which way do you cut: long strips, then cut the strips into bits, or each individual piece at a time, or cut the big square into say, quarters, then cut those parts smaller?
All these questions, and I haven't even plugged in the saw yet!


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## Gill (7 May 2007)

Hi Bruce

Some scrollers have been known to print off jigsaw templates and use a removable spray adhesive to overlay the picture they are cutting. I've seen these templates in a couple of jigsaw books, including one of Pat Spielman's which I know I've got somewhere :roll: . The problem, of course is that these templates don't discriminate aspects of the picture that you might not want to saw through. They make the puzzle look just like any that's been produced in a factory.

It's far better, in my opinion, to seek advice from a master jigsaw maker like Carter Johnson who cuts his puzzles freehand and who we're fortunate to have as a member of this forum. Once you've seen his work you'll have a better understanding of why his style of jigsaws is held in such high esteem. Chrispuzzle, another member here, also makes some superb freehand jigsaws. If you're thinking about making jigsaws, I suggest you search against their names on this forum and read a bit more about their techniques.

Incidentally, Carter _never _cuts pieces so they meet at corners; and he cuts each piece individually, not in strips.

Gill


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## Carter Johnson (7 May 2007)

Hello Bruce.....Greetings from near Chicago (hopeful home for the 2016 Olympics)

I don't pretent to be the expert Gil claims I am, but I have made a lot of jigsaw puzzles and am happy to share with you. Feel free to email me directly at [email protected].

Please don't use a pattern for cutting pieces. It's a bad habit. You know what a puzzle piece looks like. I choose calendar and card pictures with little images within them that I can use as the basis for pieces, making sure that any piece I cut has locking tabs to adjoining pieces.

Here's a link to one of my Picture Trail albums where you can scoll down the left side and click on different kinds of puzzles I've made.

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/vie ... &members=1

Below is a new family-oriented puzzle: only 288 pieces but great for ages five to 100 (or more). The bright colors and many images make for easy cutting and assembly. Note that the bees' antenae, flower parts, etc. form locks to adjacent pieces. It's a little over a square foot in size.

Pictured are the front and the back, with the latter flipped horizontally to more readily identify the pieces.

Have phun.....Carter


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## Brucio (8 May 2007)

Thanks Gill, for your fast reply. The Carter Johnson you mentioned replied just after you, with some brilliant stuff!
Thanks Carter, your stuff is amazing...I've been to the picture trail via your link, and seen all the pictures. I love the ones that don't have straight edges, and the ones where you can "see" the picture even from the back, by the way you've cut it.
I must admit, my favourite (oops, another English spelling slipped in there...) one is the hose pipe.
Who says that jigsaws have to be square, or even solid?
Now that that seen all these, I'm not sure I should even try (what kind of excuse is that?)
Bruce


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## chrispuzzle (8 May 2007)

Hey Brucio -

Of course you should try, it is easier than it looks! One of the great things about cutting a jigsaw puzzle is you *don't* have to follow someone else's line. If anything, the line follows you...

The "traditional" puzzle cut, like the cardboard puzzles you can buy in the shops, is called a "strip cut" and it is not really so traditional. The style was developed around the 1920s so relatively unskilled workers could cut a lot of puzzles quickly. Modern mass-produced puzzles are stamped out which is why they are in such regular rows with four pieces meeting at a corner.

It is more fun and, dare I say, more creative to develop your own style and see where it takes you. All the successful professional cutters have their own distinctive style, sometimes very flamboyant.

Good luck!

Chris


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## Gill (8 May 2007)

Hi Bruce

You certainly should try if this sort of work appeals to you. Carter, despite his modesty, is one of the finest puzzle makers you'll encounter. Don't expect your first puzzles to be comparable to his but it's surprising how quickly you learn the knack and develop your own style. Just as it's possible to identify a crossword compiler from their puzzle, so it's possible to identify a jigsaw manufacturer from theirs. There are jigsaw aficionados out there who actively seek out specific puzzle makers.

Oh, and if you want any more incentive to try this, it's one of the few woodworking activities with the potential for earning good money.

Gill


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## alanjm (8 May 2007)

Hi Bruce

If it is in your mind to do a puzzle or two then you just have to go for it. I cut puzzle, predominately for children from MDF and real timber. My thoughts would be not to be put off by the mastery of the top notch puzzle cutters but start off at simpler level and work up to there standard, you always have to realise that they must have started somewhere as well. I guess you have to decide who you are going to cut puzzles for, maybe if you have children in your family, nieces, cousins etc start off making a few animal shape puzzles, these can be out of pine with a clear acryllic finish or MDF and acrylic painted. Once you cut the shape of the animal you can either cut free had straight away or you could draw round the shape on a piece of paper and draw in your own shapes on the piece of paper as a guide (you could always paste your paper template on tho the piece, but I wouldn't as you will gain skill by cutting it yourself freehand). Once youv'e done a few and seen the enjoyment they get from someithing you have created, well onwards and upwards

Regards
Alanjm


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## Brucio (8 May 2007)

Many thanks for all the words of encouragement...
I've just got some very thin blades from B&Q (20 TPI) which I'll try out.
All right, I know that to some of you, these are thick, chunky blades, but I've been using the bog-standard blades that came with the saw, which are thick enough and coarse enough to rip through 3" oak without even getting warm (do I sometimes exagerate, perhaps...).
To me, these new blades look so delicate, that they'll break just getting them out of the package.
Now to look for a picture....


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## Carter Johnson (8 May 2007)

Hey, Bruce......Please, please don;t be the least intimidated by some of us who have been cutting puzzles for quite awhile.

Start with simple pictures, perhaps those from greeting cards. Glue them to 1/4" wood, spray them with a glossy coating, let them dry and start cutting. Cut onje piece at a time, a corner piece first, putting a locking tab on its two sides. Then just go from there. I like to cut along the color lines of images as I encounter them. And please.....feel free to ask questions.

I use a narrow kerf 2/0 blade. I'm not sure if that blade you describe is close to that or not, but it sounds as if it's a good one to start with. 

Keep us informed.........Carter


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