Qwestions on the carter cuts his puzzles

[jpedersm]

I'm going to try his method on cutting by the lines and edges of objects, but I have two questions before I start tonight or tomorrow.

1. Are all the pieces the same size or close or do you guys make the pieces all different sizes?

2. For the pieces it self when not following an edge are they similar to each other or do you guys do all sorts of shapes over the puzzle?

[3_M]

Check this out:
New Page 1
There is also a video from Carter what might be of some help.
FD Mike

[jpedersm]

Well I tried carters way and it did not end up so good. There were so many loose pieces that I can drag one side of the puzzle and the other side will separate. Does anyone know of any place the offers templates to follow when cutting more then one style of jigsaw pattern?

[Scrolling Days]

Hi, jpedersm.

Whether you are using a color line cutting style, like what Carter does so nicely, or implementing a different technique altogether, I think you will find that the most important thing is to get your edge pieces locking nicely together. If you do so, the center of the puzzle should hold well, even if you cut central pieces with no locks at all. I very often cut figurals and what I refer to as "picture elements" into (or out of) my puzzles, and in many cases, those pieces have portions of them which form natural locks to adjoining pieces. If they do not, however, as long as the surrounding pieces lock well, it is not a factor.

Also, you will find that the more puzzles you cut, your "locks" will get tighter and better, and your puzzles will hold together quite nicely.

A lot of puzzle enthusiasts find it very valuable to be able to pick up a wooden jigsaw puzzle without any pieces falling out, but I don't personally put much stock in that (I'm not of a habit of carrying an assembled puzzle around with me, but prefer to leave them on the kitchen table. ). While a well cut puzzle will hold together when picked up, don't be afraid to cut fun non-locking pieces into the center of the puzzle. There really are no rules.....just cut in a style which you find interesting and enjoyable, and as with everything, practice makes perfect.

[Powakee]

When I first started with the puzzles I would not dare cut without a template. It was pure unadulterated fear . . . and I admit it freely. However, by reading Carter's constant "just look at the picture; you can do it" and holding onto Shawn's guiding 'take it slow and watch what you are doing' I gradually let go of the templates. I did four puzzles over Christmas this year. Three were free hand and one was from a template I made my own self. I now have about 40 puzzles under my belt and I suspect that I may never go back to templates unless, it is a handmade template. I still cut slowly enough but I note with every puzzle that I am seeing my cuts ahead time a little easier and each puzzle gets cut a little ~ more quickly ~ than the previous ones.

John

[jpedersm]

My problem is I am not putting enough locking joints in and they are not the right size because alot of the pieces slide all over.

[Carter-Johnson]

At present, I'm cutting a puzzle of a picture of a store that sells birdhouses. There must be 40 birdhouses in the pictures, all different sizes and shapes. Each will be a puzzle piece on its own, with perhaps as few as one locking tab on each to keep the puzzle tight. Don't be concerned about different sizes of pieces (these birdhouses are as small as 1/4" square and as big as 1 full inch.)

Throw out your inhibition about piece size. If you encounter a sky or a bland background, cut all sorts of shapes into them. Start out by cutting some squares and some triangles. Try not to have four pieces meet at one corner.

Here's my album of photos of the fronts and back of a lot of puzzles. I think you'll find all sorts of piece shapes there.

PictureTrail - Gallery

Read Shawn's input above. He's got some good advice, and feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] if you have specific questions or need help.

Above all, have phun..... Carter

[Powakee]

http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/scroll-saw-puzzles/26904.htm

This link is to an older thread in this general topic area. It might be helpful.

John

[jpedersm]

Is there any cutting guides I can use. I tried the free hand and ya not that great. I did one with a template above it and it turned out nicely. I got some different templates for different photos sizes, but it would be nice if there were more out there for different styles of pieces.

[jim bell]

My first puzzle I covered the picture with painter's (blue) tape and drew horizontal and vertical lines on the tape. Pain to remove after cutting. I then put strips down ever other column and marked the vertical rows on the tape.
Next I just did one horizontal and one vertical quartering the picture and cut the quarters, then I had more manageable pieces to continue.

At this point I finally went to free form, and with the practice using the guidelines, the next puzzles went smoothly.

Problem with the tape, it wants to lift the photo from the paper backing (that is, not from my board). However I'm still having the problem even without tape. Not sure if my glue is causing is or the photo paper itself. I have been using 16x20 prints from walmart, so I got one from Costco to see if their paper is better. Haven't done that one yet.

To me the solution is to have a tab on each side of the puzzle piece. I recently did a puzzle from this site - tree from a scroller in England, and there were too many consecutive pieces which did not interlock, thus some of my tree pieces separate when standing up.