Jigsaw Puzzle Tips, Techniques and Gluing for Puzzling People.
Choosing A Jigsaw Puzzle.
Getting Started.
Jigsaw Puzzle Assembly
Identifying The Correct Piece.
Basic Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Shapes.
Techniques
Common jigsaw puzzle assembly problems.
Puzzlers Tips Corner - Some of the best tips from our customers.
Scott & PJ Life The Greatest puzzle build.
Look for a pattern.
Gluing a puzzle.
Why the number of pieces in a puzzle do not always agree with that stated on the box.
Choosing A Jigsaw Puzzle.
First time or less experienced puzzlers should choose an image which has various distinct areas of colour, and which appeals to you. Photos or drawings with distinct lines are easier than paintings, as the brush strokes cause object boundaries to become blurred. Also the artist may use the exact same colour in several places on the painting.A first timer may wish to try 500 or 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles, and progress to a larger number of pieces from there.
Getting Started.
The first step for most people is to separate the edge pieces from the rest of the jigsaw puzzle.While sorting through for the border pieces, I find it worthwhile to separate the pieces into several piles of similar colour or markings at the same time. Although this may seem tedious, when you are anxious to get started, it pays dividends further down the line. As a rough guide, I generally form about 6 groups of pieces, no matter if I am doing a jigsaw puzzle with 1000 or 18000 pieces.
A second sort through one of the piles for a specific shade of colour or type of marking is easier when concentrating on fewer pieces of similar colour as you can become more focused and more discriminating. For dark colours it is easier to distinguish the different shades in natural light or daylight.
Jigsaw Puzzle Assembly
Many people choose to start assembling a jigsaw puzzle with the border. This
defines the region in which you will eventually be working.
Do not worry if you think you have a piece missing from the border
- it is very easy to miss one, and it turns up in one of the other piles
of pieces later on.
To assemble the main body of the jigsaw puzzle, choose one of the piles of
distinct colour or markings, which will form one of the main features of
the picture.
By picking out all the pieces with even the smallest amount of the
colour or marking in question, you will be able to complete the object
and will have a link to the adjoining section of the jigsaw puzzle.
Heye 2000 Years jigsaw puzzle in progress (8000 pieces)
The puzzle comes in two bags of 4000 pieces.
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After the first piece sort, the border, the centre and the red section
have been completed.
The second colour sort is underway. |
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Some of the individual section of the puzzle are nearing completion.
Note the use of boxes from other jigsaw puzzles to keep the different coloured pieces separate, but still spread out. This is particularly useful when doing a large jigsaw puzzle or when space is limited. |
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One half of the jigsaw puzzle is complete! |
Identifying The Correct
Piece.
A well trained eye will look for a combination of colour, markings
and shape of the required jigsaw puzzle piece. Colour combined with lines or other markings
are the easiest to match up. Once you have completed these sections, and
are left with many pieces which are virtually indistinguishable by colour
or markings, then shape plays a more important role.
Basic Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Shapes.
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| 0 knobs
4 holes (4 feet) |
1 knobs
3 holes (2 feet) |
2 knobs
2 holes adjacent (1 foot) |
2 knobs
2 holes opposite (regular) |
3 knobs
1 holes (flat sided) |
4 knobs
0 holes (square) |
Oblong or square.
By this, I am referring to the shape of the main body of the jigsaw puzzle piece excluding the knobs.
Some manufacturers have jigsaw puzzle pieces which are all 'square', others will have a mixture.
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| square | oblong | square | oblong |
- Shape of knob or hole - see examples above.
- Position of knobs and holes along the sides - see examples above.
- Straight or sloping sides - see examples below.
- Corner shape size and angle - see examples below.
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Techniques
Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Matching.
Lining
up the same shaped jigsaw puzzle pieces with the same orientation allows you to focus
more easily
on a particular knob, hole or corner shape.
When it comes down to trial and error, this also allows you to try
the jigsaw puzzle pieces in a logical order.
Common jigsaw puzzle assembly problems.
When the last jigsaw puzzle piece does not fit into the remaining hole.
(Or when you're not sure if the jigsaw puzzle pieces fit together)
Some jigsaw puzzle's pieces are very similar in shape, at least along two or
three of the sides. It is often possible to put a puzzle piece in the wrong place,
especially when dealing with solid colour, and then find no other puzzle piece
fits in. If you turn the jigsaw puzzle pieces over and study them from the back, it is
easier to see if they fit together or not.
Gluing/Fixing a jigsaw puzzle.
I have not yet found the time to do an 18000pcs puzzle, but have one set aside for some time in the future. I have done several large puzzles (the largest so far being the 12000 New York Skyline). I mount all of them for display. I do them in sections, and do not mix all the bags of pieces together due to space restrictions.
When I complete a section, I glue the pieces together. I slide a piece of plastic (garbage bag, drop sheet, etc...) under the puzzle, or if working on a puzzle mat, drag the completed section off the mat onto the plastic with the help of a second person. The glue goes directly on the top (surface) of the puzzle working the glue into the spaces between the puzzle pieces and leaving as little on the surface of the puzzle as possible. Allow to dry 30-60 minutes and apply a full second coat if necessary. I push the pieces together as I glue them and try to keep the section as square as possible (ie vertical and horizontal edges at 90 degrees to each other.)
Subsequent finished sections are fitted to the previously glued section before gluing otherwise you may/will find the sections will not line up properly at the join.
The glue I prefer is the Ravensburger puzzle glue. I have used other companies sachets of glue in the past, but they tend to be very watery and can cause the puzzle pieces to swell and distort. I also found that the glue left a dull finish to the surface of the puzzle. This is the glue we use for all company laminations. It gives us the least amount of problems and is very employee friendly.
I then glue the entire puzzle onto a sheet of lightweight foam insulation
using contact cement and construct a frame around that.
For very large puzzles some reinforcing with car body repair fiberglass/resin is
recommended. Cut extra 3inch foam strips and use contact cement to glue them
horizontally to the back of foam that the puzzle has been glued to. Then shape
the fiberglass around the foam and resin it in place. At this time you can glue
in your mounting points. This technique allows for a very lightweight but strong
permanent structure that will not overly load the wall you are going to show
your puzzle.
By extending the foam at the edges of the puzzle you can then use a sticky backed gold strips to provide a nice neat edging. Please see the pictures attached.
I hope this helps.
Happy puzzling to all and please send me your comments feedback to me.
Sheila
Vice President
Jigsaw Jungle International
We have included this special presentation
in our tips corner showing a unique approach to the build and display of their
work - Life the Greatest puzzle (24000 pieces).
You can view their full build process by visiting their website
http://www.aegroup.com/puzzle/
Enjoy their story and note that they were the first to complete the puzzle.
You can view our progress by visiting our
build page.
Below is extracts of Scott & P.J. build and includes their techniques.
"Techniques and Tricks"
Over the years we have
come up of with many techniques and tricks to assembling large piece count
puzzles. These techniques can be used on all puzzles, not just the "Life"
puzzle.
Sections
First, once the puzzle size gets above 6000 pieces the puzzle typically
comes out of the box in sections in separate bags. The number of sections
varies from 2 to 6 and depends on the size and manufacturer. One trick that we
use is that each section is an exact copy of the others with regards to the
shape of the pieces. This means that you can build the subsequent sections on
top of the previous ones and know exactly what shape of piece you need to look
for. You'll see that in the pictures below.
Repeating Patterns
Another trick is that each section has repeating patterns both vertically
and horizontally. The sections of the "Life" puzzle have 6 repeats (2
horizontally, every 37 pieces, and 3 vertically, every 27 pieces). In other
words, if you took a piece from the lower left part of a section, you would find
that exact same piece "shape" 37 pieces over to the right and you would find
that exact same piece above 2 more times every 27 pieces. You'll have to
complete the first section in order to determine what the repeating patterns
are. Some are fairly complex so you may have to hunt for them. The "Life"
puzzle's pattern was very straight forward.
The Completed Puzzle
- 34 days total completion time.
Click on an image to get a larger view.
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| Turning
the puzzle over Had to split the sections in half to make it easier.
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Close-up
of the overturned section
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Contact
paper We put contact paper on the back of each section to hold it together and use a rolling pin to press it onto the pieces really well.
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The
completed LIFE puzzle We had to clear out our room to be able to fit it all together. Notice the sections of a 13500 and 18000 piece puzzle on the floor that haven't been mounted yet.
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P.J. with
the puzzle
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Of all the puzzles that we have built over the years this one is by far the most memorable. Not just because it is the largest but more for the challenge we set for ourselves to complete the puzzle in 6 weeks. Last year we completed a 13500 piece puzzle in 3.5 weeks. I figured that we should be able to do this one in 6 weeks since it's not quite double the other. I'd say that we definitely beat our goal. Before we started I decided I wanted to document the build in a time lapse by taking a picture at the end of each day. I didn't realize that after section 1 was completed that the time lapse idea was not going to work any longer because you would never be able to clearly see the changes from day to day since we built the sections on top of one another.
Sincerely,
Scott & P.J.
Problem about the number of pieces actually in a puzzle from Rita,
Answer from Jigsaw Jungle.
Hi Rita,
Unfortunately the number of pieces stated on the side of the box is only a guide
as to the number of pieces actually in the puzzle. The reason for this is that
each die that cuts the puzzle can be made from say a rectangle 35 X 28 = 980
pieces or the closest to a square would be 32 X 31 = 992 pieces.
So counting the number of puzzle pieces in a puzzle will not tell you if
the puzzle is complete. All I can suggest to you is that if you have several
puzzles from the same manufacturer and the same number of pieces and hopefully
cut from the same die then what you could do is 1 of the puzzles and find out
how many pieces are on the edges and then you can calculate the number of
pieces and apply that to the others. Obviously this only applies to regular
puzzle cuts.
Hope this helps - Ian in The Jungle.
Tip from Phil & Karen
ptaylor110@cogeco.ca
It is a good idea but I like to refine it by buying a large piece of black foam core mounting board, available at art supply or office supply retailers, then cutting them neatly into smaller boards. Anywhere from 12" square to 18" square, and some rectangles as well. The board should have a matte finish so as not to reflect light. This provides good contrast so its easy to see the pieces. I usually do fairly light coloured puzzles, but if your puzzles have a lot of dark pieces then you should also get a board with a medium tone, say gray or brown, in order to lay the dark pieces on. I put all the pieces on these boards right off the bat and then stack them, so my work area is clean and tidy. Pieces only go down on the table when I know where they belong.
You can also have spare boards to do sub sections of the puzzle on, and then lay it down on the table. As boards become depleted of pieces you can consolidate boards by combining pieces of different boards. You want to keep the number of cut boards down as it makes the whole thing easier to manage. One standard size board should cut into about 6 smaller boards, enough to lay out 1000 pieces. If you do smaller or larger puzzles then you may need more or fewer boards.
Many Thanks Phil & Karen.
Sam G.
SamG@discovery.co.za
Different Naming Convention.
Sharon has a different
naming convention. How widespread is this naming convention I wonder? I have
included her naming convention on our table of basic
jigsaw puzzle pieces.
What you call 0 knobs - 4
holes we call 4 feet,
1 knob- 3 holes we call 2 feet, 2knobs - 2holes adjacent we call 1 foot, 2knobs
-2 holes opposite we call regular piece, 3 knobs - 1 hole we call flat sided,4
knobs - 0 holes we call square. Just a comment: )
Many Thanks Sharon.
Look for a pattern.
My thanks to Keith (puzleking@excite.com)for sharing the following
jigsaw puzzle tip:
One very helpful hint in doing large jigsaw puzzle is looking for a pattern. Generally, there are two common patterns in large jigsaw puzzles:
1. many times certain types of puzzle pieces will only fit together with other types of puzzle pieces, for example: a 3 knob/1 hole puzzle piece (pointing up) will fit only a 1knob/3 hole puzzle piece directly above it (thus keeping the horizontal-vertical pattern throughout the jigsaw puzzle).
2. Jigsaw puzzles are often cut into halves or fourths, therefore,
the exact same puzzle piece may re-occur twice or even four times in the
same jigsaw puzzle. It will have a different color but the shape will be
exactly the same. The pattern of jigsaw puzzle pieces will be identical on each
half or fourth of the jigsaw puzzle.
When you are finished with your jigsaw puzzle, many people like to preserve them
with jigsaw puzzle glue and
possibly even frame them. When the glue is applied to the top of the jigsaw puzzle, the
glue drips down between the puzzle pieces. When it dries, the jigsaw puzzle will be stuck to
whatever surface is underneath it. If you need to put newspaper under the
jigsaw puzzle, you're left with a newspaper mess on the bottom side of your
masterpiece. If it is possible, find a glass surface to put your jigsaw puzzle on before
you glue. Your jigsaw puzzle will pull up easily from the surface, and the dried glue on
the glass can be peeled or scraped off without any problem.
Frank (sinosich@home.com) shares his
method of tackling large jigsaw puzzles.
Joyce (boudreau@accesscable.net
)shares some valuable advice.
Each year my husband and daughter, both whom are colour blind, do a
jigsaw puzzle at Christmas...and so each year I buy them a new Christmas
jigsaw puzzle.
Hint: When choosing a jigsaw puzzle for people with a colour defect, it is very
important to choose jigsaw puzzles with distinct and strong colours. If one gets a
jigsaw
puzzle with a lot of muted shades, they cannot see the shades. Also, there
should be lots of colours, rather than a lot of 'one' colour in the jigsaw puzzle as
it makes it easier to see. It is difficult for these folks to see shade
differences of one colour.
Cheryl (cdrabit@hotmail.com )passes on her tip for puzzlers.
Like your recommendation, I usually group jigsaw puzzle pieces into different piles according to colour and I did use the lining-up trick as well. What I find extremely useful is to then assemble each pile on A4 paper rather than using the cover of the jigsaw puzzle box because I can have more sections. It also allowed me to keep them in a separate section when I cannot finish (and the jigsaw puzzle pieces don't get mixed up again).
Hope this puzzle tip helps other jigsaw puzzle fans to enjoy their puzzles.
Jesus Gilberto Gomez-593657 ( al00593657@mail.cegs.itesm.mx ) lets us know that Educa jigsaw puzzles have different piece shapes:
I'm writing you because I bought two jigsaw puzzles from Educa, one mini- jigsaw puzzle of 1000 pieces and another normal-size jigsaw puzzle of 1000 too, and I found that Educa basically uses two types of jigsaw puzzle pieces, the normal of 2 knobs and 2 holes and another that I think is a characteristic from Educa is like a broader shaped jigsaw puzzle piece, it is like the border pieces, but the flat side is a little curved, of course it has another puzzle piece that fits there. I found that those kind of jigsaw puzzle pieces usually give me a headache. The reason that I send this Email is to inform other jigsaw puzzle fans about the characteristics of Educa jigsaw puzzles.
Jefri tells us how he avoids losing pieces of his jigsaw puzzles.
If you are doing the jigsaw puzzle on a table, people tend to accidentally hit a puzzle piece off the table. To prevent this, you could enclose the table with a few pieces of cardboard (scotch tape it to the table face up). The puzzle pieces should not drop off the table this way.
John explains how using a jigsaw puzzle mat can make jigsaw puzzle assembly and storage a breeze:
I do all my jigsaw puzzles on the
Roll O Puzz jigsaw puzzle mat. Since I
live in a small apartment I don't have room to keep my jigsaw puzzles spread out
all over the place while I complete them. The Roll O Puzz jigsaw puzzle mat
allows me to take the completed portion of my jigsaw puzzle and all the jigsaw
puzzle pieces I have spread out on the felt puzzle mat and roll them up around
the large diameter cardboard tube just like rolling up a carpet. I then
secure the felt jigsaw puzzle mat in place with the elastic fasteners that come
with the Roll O Puzz and Voila, I haven't lost any jigsaw puzzle pieces, any of
my hard work and I've reclaimed over 12 sq. ft of living space. The rolled
up jigsaw puzzle can be kept under the bed or behind a door and can be unrolled
at any time and the partially assembled jigsaw puzzle along with all the puzzle
pieces are just as they were when I left them. The soft
felt jigsaw puzzle mat also makes it a lot easier to pick up jigsaw puzzle
pieces than it is to pick them up off a normal table and it helps cut down on
the reflective glare from bright lights too. I don't know what I'd do
without my Roll O Puzz jigsaw puzzle mat! (P.S. If you'll notice, the
above photos of the assembly of the Heye Year 2000 Jigsaw Puzzle, it is being
done on a Roll O Puzz jigsaw puzzle mat too. )
If you have any jigsaw puzzle tips you would like to share, email me (Sheila) at Jigsaw Jungle, and I'll publish them on this page.
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Last Updated =
01/05/2012
