question to carter J.

[workin for wood]

I'd like to make a puzzle out of a harley davidson playing card mounted on 1/4 inch solid poplar. How should I glue it on, what blades should I purchase, do I apply a finish and if so, before or after the pieces are cut out?

[CanadianScroller]

Well I am not Carter Johnson but my Initials are CJ so that should qualify me enough

I use modge podge to glue the picture down I also finish it before starting to cut.
I like to use 2/0 blades or FD special puzzle blades, I do find though that my Ryobi wont clamp them very well so I use the Delta.

The Modge podge is used for decupage.
I have also had some sucess useing varethane as a glue and finish.
Spray adhesive will work but it needs to be sprayed on both the wood and the paper.

[PeteB]

I'm not Carter, or named Carter, but have been to Howard Johnson's. :P

If you can't be arsed to go to the store for Modge Podge or Ailene's, Elmer's glue or even wood glue will do (for a card-sized puzzle). Just spread a thin coat on both sides, then clamp between some boards or put under a weight for one hour. Let it dry overnight before cutting.

I like Pegas blades, myself. If you have a 2/0 of any good brand in your arsenal, it will do quite well, except the pieces will be a bit looser.

Cards have a good finish on them, so acrylic spray wouldn't do much good but might look purty.

Pete

[Carter Johnson]

I agree with the previous posters.

I use Aileen's Tacky Glue, available in a brown squeeze bottle from craft stores. After glueing, I spray a Triple-Thick Glaze coating before cutting. If you can't find it at craft stores, then any glaze spray will do. As stated, it will merely protect with a playing card, not necessarily provide more shine.

Solid poplar? I would think that solid wood might chip more easily than 3 or 5-ply, but I've never used solid for puzzles.

I use FD Superior Puzzle Blades. Pegas are also good, but I do find that the pieces I cut with Pegas are not quiite a tight as with FD. Shark narrow kerf 2.0 are fine as well. Olsen, on the other hand, in my view, produce pieces that are way too loose.

Sounds like a phun project.

Carter

[workin for wood]

would you scuff up the bottom of the playing card before gluing?

I'm finding 1/4 poplar to be nice, no tearout or chipping and poplar has nice tight graining so the fingers don't break off, unlike oak. I just like poplar so I don't see the ply's in plywood, and it's almost as cheap as plywood.
I'm learning something new though, and think I can't wait to get back to doing intarsia. I've just been cutting blanks into puzzles for practice before tackling the real deal. I've learned the poplar is a great puzzle wood, but I've also learned that it doesn't take long to fill my burn box with crappy puzzle pieces. I'm just going to keep practicing on scraps, this puzzle deal is way more difficult that it appears. Good thing I'm not someone that gives up.

[workin for wood]

I bought a couple spray cans of the new minwax water base polyurethane. Any thoughts on using that to spray on the card?

[Carter Johnson]

Use anything you like, Jeff.....and all those crappy pieces. Are they crappy simply because they don't meet YOUR standard? Would recipients recognize them as "crappy"? I doubt it. Sometimes we scrollers (and especially puzzle makers) don't realize that those who receive our work are grateful for it, and not as demanding as we ourselves are......have phun......Carter

[workin for wood]

It wouldn't surprise me if your right, but I just don't feel good about giving a sloppy puzzle to someone, so I'm practicing on the multitudes of scraps that I have until I get to where I want to be. I hope it doesn't take too long to get there though, lol.