The puzzle is cut and shipped off to its new owner! This is the most complex and challenging puzzle I have cut to date. 732 pieces total, for an average of 2.15 pieces per square inch. When I am done cutting a puzzle, I flip it over intact and sand it to remove all the little wooden “whiskers” that are created. Once it is sanded, I take it apart and count it. Twice. If the two counts come out different, I count a third time. After the counting is done, I bring it to the house where I reassemble it in controlled lighting and take pictures.
With a puzzle of this size, I have discovered that is a little impractical, as it consumes too much of my time to reassemble it. This one took me approximately 10 hours to reassemble, and that was after “cheating” by using a copy of the image for about a half hour.
Done cutting! Picture taken in fluorescent shop lighting.
Back of freshly cut puzzle before it is sanded.
Pile of pieces ! 732 of them.
Border pieced together after two hours.
5 hours into assembly.
Just before this point, I realized I needed to get moving on this puzzle so I can start cutting the next order. So, I used another print of the puzzle to help me determine where the vertical panel line pieces went. I would not have done that if I was assembling this puzzle for my own enjoyment. So, after “cheating”, this is where I was at the 5 hour point. I did not use the copy of the image again after this.
Roughly 9 hours into assembly
9 hours and 57 minutes!
Signature frog with other figures
Backside of puzzle – sanded this time
Finished puzzle
So, it is completed! A fun and challenging puzzle to cut, and to assemble! I have three more puzzles I can cut from this project. I have the two smaller puzzles that will be comprised of the center two panels that were left over from the double stack cut, and I have the rejected broken puzzle that I can attempt to fix.
But, first, a request for the eggplant flower. It will be larger than the test one I completed earlier. It is printed and mounted and ready to cut! The shop awaits.