Turning A Photograph Into A Jigsaw Puzzle

Here are the things you will need in order to turn a photograph into a jigsaw puzzle: ¼ inch poplar plywood, saw, scroll saw, puzzle cutting blade for scroll saw, spray adhesive, two copies of the photograph, clear gaze and hearing/eye protection.

Let’s start with the beginning. You need to spray the back of one of the photos and one side of the wood by using a spray adhesive. After that, let them sit for several minutes right until the adhesive is tacky to the touch.

Now you need to press the photograph down firmly onto the wood. Make sure that the edges of the photograph do not come up. If it is necessary, you should lift the edge of the photograph and spray a little extra adhesive under it and after that press it down again.

After completing this task, you need to set the photograph and the wood aside and let it dry for about 1-2 hours. Once the adhesive has dried, you need to cut the wood to the size of the photo. It is not entirely necessary to cut the wood to a perfect rectangle – it can be in any design.

Once you finished cutting, you must spray the entire photograph with a clear glaze and set it aside to dry. It can take from just a few minutes to even several hours, depending upon the glaze. In the scroll saw you will need to install a puzzle blade. Such special blades are a little bit smaller in comparison to normal blades and allow the blade to make the tight turns of a puzzle piece. We mentioned hearing and eye protection in the first paragraph and now would be a good time to use it.

You now need to place the photograph on your work surface face up and start cutting in the right corner. Each of the pieces must have a lock in order to fit the adjoining ones. For example, a border piece may have three locks-on on each of the sides and the third one on the bottom, so that when the jigsaw puzzle is assembled, the border piece grabs the pieces on each side as well as the piece below it. Depending on the shape of the piece, an internal one will have 3 or 4 locks. It is best to avoid having four pieces that meet at their corners as it will make the puzzle too loose.

After cutting 10 to 20 pieces you need to stop cutting. You should now sand the edges of the pieces you have cut and reassemble them. After that, continue cutting. The shape and size of each piece is completely random as there is no right or wrong shape or size.

Once you have finished, you need to disassemble the puzzle and put in into the box. Paste the copy of the photo to the top of the box and you are just about done.

No need to say that you should avoid using an original photograph, especially if it is one that you treasure. For this reason, make copies and use them for your puzzle.

Video: Cutting a Jigsaw Puzzle

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