First comes the puzzle picture. You can pick one of my stock images from the Available Images gallery, or you can supply your own. My stock images are printed on premium quality photographic paper from either Epson or Ilford. I can currently print images up to 13″ x 19″. You can provide a digital file, and I will print it for you. Or you can provide a poster or print of your own. Please be aware that some photo paper brands can separate when cut into jigsaw puzzles. For more information, see my blog article at Paper Issues.
For backing material, you can select from 1/4″ 5 ply Baltic birch plywood, 1/4″ cherry appleply, or 1/2″ 9 ply maple plywood. The 1/2″ plywood makes for a substantial feel to the pieces. Due to the increased cutting time and blade usage, this backing material incurs additional cost.
The image is mounted onto the backing material using a heated dry mount press and Fusion 4000 adhesive. The mounted image is allowed to set overnight under a weight to ensure complete bonding to the backing material.
Once the assembly has cooled, it is taken out to the wood shop to be cut. First, the straight edges (if there are any!!) are trued up. Then the fun begins. Using a DeWalt scroll saw with special blades that are only .007″ thick, I cut out your puzzle. There is no computer involved in the cutting, no lasers, and no water jets. For most puzzles, the only pattern I use is to cut out the frog signature piece. If you have arranged for figurals or letters in your puzzle, I will print them on a piece of computer paper. These are then cut out with scissors and temporarily attached to the puzzle for me to follow. As far as the rest of the pieces go, there are techniques I can use to make assembling the puzzle run from easy to challenging (one of my daughters says “Evil!”).
After cutting, the back of the puzzle is sanded to remove the feathering that occurs on the cut lines. The puzzle is carefully examined for any image separation. The pieces are next counted and boxed. One of my puzzle testers may assemble it for picture taking and to establish a relative assembly time. Then the puzzle is shipped to you for your enjoyment!