Hello as well!

[chrisyates]

Hi, I too am a Chris, and am new to this forum.

I can't believe I have never found this site before- it is a treasure trove of scrolling info!

Anyhow, I'm a young (20-something) artist that somehow fell into making somewhat unique jigsaw puzzles (I call 'em Baffler!s) about a year and a half ago, and now they make up a good half of my income. After going through several Ryobis and a Dremel (I often spend 25-30 hours on the saw a week) I was googling around to see what saw I should pick up next, and I found this place, and well, I figured I'd like to join in. (I'm most likely going to pick up a Dewalt, by the way)

I'm quite impressed with some of the work posted here... If you'd like, you can take a look at my puzzle page, they are certainly not the traditional jigsaw puzzle, but are all made by me and my scroll saws!

http://www.chrisyates.net/store/puzz.html

[CanadianScroller]

Welcome Chris, Awesome bafflers you have there. I love it when someone explores a new direction!

[ozarkhillbilly]

Welcome Chris,

Very interesting and cool Bafflers!! The possibilities are endless aren't they?

Curious what type and size blade do you use for your puzzles?


Ozarkhillbilly
Bill

[lucky788scroller]

welcome Chris . All I can say about the bafflers is WOW!!! I like them. Especially that macaw! Do tell, how did you ever come on to that unique idea,and what fuels your artistic coloring schemes. I love em!Thanks for sharing.

PS: Get the dewalt,you wont regret it one bit! Dale

[Christopher]

Incredible!

It would appear that painting them, would take as much or more time than actually cutting them. I love the bright color schemes as well as the earth tones used.
"Unique" would be putting it mildly!

[chrisyates]

Gee, thanks everybody!

I've used a variety of blades to make the Baffler!s, but these days I do just about everything with pinned skip tooth blades, usually the 18.5 tpi variety. It generally gives me the stability to cut out all the pieces how I like 'em and keep just about the perfect kerf. Not too tight that the pieces won't come out, not too loose that it looks bad. With some of the larger puzzles, I use a spiral blade around the main interior sections, as the more pieces are cut out of a section, the puzzle will get naturally looser.

I actually came upon the idea by accident, while I was cutting out the layers for a 24"x18"x3" 3D topo model of Colorado. I screwed up a layer that taken a lot of intricate bandsaw work, got a little upset, and starting cutting it up into little bits on the scrollsaw. I then realize I had just made a very crude jigsaw puzzle, something that never dawned on me to make. I came up with the inlay style a few experiments later, and just enjoyed the freedom of improvising cuts and shapes, and also making functional art that my customers seem to enjoy.

And yes, while much less labor-intensive, the painting of the pieces generally takes longer than the cutting. I try to do everything in batches of eight or ten puzzles, so that all the processes don't take so long.

I hope that answers your Q's!

Chris

[Little flower]

Welcome to the site Chris. My first impression of your puzzles was AMAZING! It's so good to see new ideas and know thatpeopleare prepared to put their new ideas 'out there' and try the market. Congratulation on your success.

[bearfretworks]

Really neat twist with the puzzles!

Welcome to the group!

[minowevie]

Gosh. how in the wourld did you come up with these designs?. so cool. the cutting was probley small to your ideas. and the color skeem wow. welcome to the group. keep going the way your going an we well all be put to the test. it amazes me what talent we have here. your new friend Evie

[Old Mooner]

Outstanding Chris. You are a real artist. I, too, think your colors are great. Do you use acrylics to paint the pieces? Along with everyone else, I welcome you to the group. There is a lotta talent in this bunch--ref the galleries--and everyone seems to do something a bit different. Your input will be welcome.
Moon