Puzzle question

[millwab]

Scrollers,
Thanx to Carter, I was bitten by the Christmas card puzzle bug last year. The one box of cards I did was so popular that I'm considering expanding it this year. The question I have is this: instead of using the card "inside" for the cover and adding a backing to hold the puzzle, I was thinking of making the puzzle two-sided - the picture on the front and the inside message on the back.

Would there be any pitfalls to doing it this way? I used triple thick glaze on the fronts last year. Should I coat both sides with glaze if I make them two-sided, or just the picture side? If I coat both sides, will that be a problem sliding on the saw table?

Any input would be appreciated.

[miamw]

It depends on how clean of a cut you get on the back side of your piece. You wouldn't want to have rough edges around a finished back that you are unable to sand. Another thought would be to glaze your piece like usual, front and back, then add some ply underneath so you get a clean cut on the bottom and let the fuzzies happen on the scrap. This scrap ply would also eliminate your concern for sliding the coated puzzle on the saw table.

[CanadianScroller]

Mia is right, that doesnt need to be said we all know she is I use cereal boxes under projects to stop the fuzzies.

Be sure to use a reverse tooth blade and I would want the ply for the puzzle thick enough that the reverse teeth don't come out the top.
If the puzzle was more freeform than following the design of the picture then you could place another single sided puzzle underneath and cut two out at a time. I would place a piece of paper between the two puzzles though to stop the pictures from sticking to each other.

[Carter-Johnson]

Bruce, sorry for the dumb question, but:

What purpose are you serving in having the card puzzle two-sided?

It seems to me you've just upped the ante of difficulty a great deal without a commensurate increase in charm or value. You would still have to have fronts and backs when you mail them and it would be almost impossible to cut the images on the front and not go right through the letters of the message on the reverse. And every time someone wanted to show both sides they would have to pick it up and turn it, hoping that it would stay assembled.

The joy of the puzzle is putting together the side where the pretty picture is. There's no real fun is assembling the other side.

Try it, of course, but be mindfull of the warnings that have been posted by others. You will be unable to sand the back (and it will need to be sanded if you cut it alone). You can coat both sides without a sliding problem, but you may have a problem with getting scratches on the side that's down during cutting.

Let us know what you produce....Good luck and have phun....Carter

[miamw]

I'll have to agree with everything Carter said especially about the point of showing the completed puzzle to someone. You can cut it as tight as possible, but it's still going to have some play in it and picking it up in one piece may not happen. If you want a message as well as a picture, maybe you can find one of those holographic images that change when you move it. That way you would have a picture and message on top when the angle is changed. Otherwise, I'd rethink your venture of a two sided puzzle. It seems like an awful lot of work to complete if it's not practical.

[chrispuzzle]

Bruce -

Instead of using a message from the card, why not write your own message on the back of the pieces? If you don't think you can write neatly enough you could use an appropriately sized stencil.

You could then write the message *after* the puzzle has been cut and re-assembled, on the backs. The recipient would then end up with a puzzle where the pieces had letters on the back but the message could not be read until the puzzle was assembled which I think would be fun.

Chris

[CanadianScroller]

You could still do what you originally asked by making a tray to hold the puzzle in. Once the puzzle is complete in the tray, they could place a piece of paper on the top flip the whole tray over, remove the tray and read the message on the other side.
That way the message was a secret till the puzzle was complete.
If you are concerned about the letters on the message being messed up from the scroll kerf then you could cut the puzzle with the massage side up.


The joys of forums and differing opinions
And joys of cross posting sorry Chris

[millwab]

Thanx for all the input.

What purpose are you serving in having the card puzzle two-sided?

[Carter-Johnson]

I guess, Bruce, it comes down to the purpose for the gift you are giving. If the primary purpose is to give a jigsaw puzzle, that's one thing, but, with me, the primary purpose is to convey a Christmas greeting to old friends. The fact that it is a jigsaw puzzle is secondary. Almost all of the families we send them to display them each year along with their decorations. I'm not the least bit interested in the process they used in putting it together and the pieces are not designed to stump them......................Carter

[millwab]

Carter,
I agree that the primary purpose is to convey the greeting. What I found last year was that these friends were so thrilled with the puzzle that (in their eyes) it became almost as important as the greeting. There was no attempt to "stump" them, only adding to the enjoyment by having them assemble the puzzle to get the greeting. If I was mailing these, it would be more practical to put them in the envelope flat (assembled), but in my case that isn't an issue. I just found it a bit cumbersome to have to recreate the card, using the 'inside' as the cover and a piece of posterboard as the back just to house the puzzle.