Puzzles

[Puzzled]

I'm relatively new to scrollsawing and have primarily focused on making wooden jigsaw puzzles. My inspirations are John Stokes and Carter Johnson who seem to make interesting and fun puzzles.

My question is: I use glue to attach picture to board. I haven't quite got the hang of it and occassionaly get glue on the picture. How do you remove glue from a picture without damaging the picture? Solvents seem to do more harm than good.

[Carter Johnson]

Puzzled, I'm a little confused as to how the glue can get on the picture at all. If you spread your glue (I use Aileen's Tacky glue) thinly and evenly onto the wood with a paint scraper, then gradually press the picture on from one corner to the other, smoothing as you go, I don't see how the picture could get glue on it. If I ever get glue on the picture, it's only a tiny bit on an edge and it brushes right off with a damp cloth.

Keep trying, keep asking questions, and have phun..... Carter

[Puzzled]

Thank you Carter, I think you answered my question. Simply wipe it off with a damp cloth.

The glue gets on my finger(s) during the "pressing" of the picture to the wood. Then as I chase a bubble or try to smooth the picture down, a glue print gets on the picture.

[utbva]

Hi Puzzled. One way I try to do it is to make the board just a little smaller than the picture. Then I put to glue on the wood much as Carter does with a paint scraper, (I use a 6" broad knife) to put a nice even layer of glue on the wood. If the picture is slightly larger than the wood, that makes some place for the glue to squeeze out without it getting on your fingers and thus transferring to the picture. Also sometimes I will put waxed paper over the picture so if some glue does get on your fingers it will then just get on the waxed paper and not the picture. I also put the waxed paper on the table so the glue does not get all over the table and then on to the back side of the puzzle.

I hope this does not confues you more than it helps.

[24 hours? NE!]

Originally Posted by utbva

Hi Puzzled. One way I try to do it is to make the board just a little smaller than the picture. Then I put to glue on the wood much as Carter does with a paint scraper, (I use a 6" broad knife) to put a nice even layer of glue on the wood. If the picture is slightly larger than the wood, that makes some place for the glue to squeeze out without it getting on your fingers and thus transferring to the picture. Also sometimes I will put waxed paper over the picture so if some glue does get on your fingers it will then just get on the waxed paper and not the picture. I also put the waxed paper on the table so the glue does not get all over the table and then on to the back side of the puzzle.

I hope this does not confues you more than it helps.

Those are great tips! Thanks!

[sawdustus]

Puzzled, I also put the glue on the wood first and then put the picture on the wood. I use a small J roller from the center out to press the picture onto the wood. J rollers are mainly used to exert pressure and remove air bubbles when attaching laminate to wood and can be found where ever they sell laminate supplies.

[utbva]

Originally Posted by sawdustus

Puzzled, I also put the glue on the wood first and then put the picture on the wood. I use a small J roller from the center out to press the picture onto the wood. J rollers are mainly used to exert pressure and remove air bubbles when attaching laminate to wood and can be found where ever they sell laminate supplies.

That was one of the things I forgot to mention in my reply. The J-roller really does make getting all of the air bubbles out much easier and it won't scratch the photo.

[Puzzled]

Thank you for the tips. I will try to get to Lowes Hardware this week. In the meantime I've been able to attach a couple of small pictures with minor mishap. I've probably been over-thinking the glue issue; simplier is better, not necessarily the first thing I tend to think of.
STEVE