'Tis a puzzlement

[Arcy]

After reading and watching Carter's instructions and videos, I pasted a couple of photos onto wood and cut out my first puzzles.

I initially tried to make the pieces puzzle-shaped (more or less square, plus the locks), but after the first few pieces I started making them more curvy and less regular. Many of the keys didn't solidly lock, but there are enough of them that each piece reinforces the ones around it and the puzzles as a whole are pretty solid. If I pull the top corners of the avocet puzzle apart they'll separate, but any other two corners won't pull apart. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

The first one gave me some trouble near the end, when the pieces got too small for me to comfortably to hold. There's a bit of damage where I let go and the piece was picked up and bounced about the blade. I ended up temporarily gluing them to a piece of cardboard so I could maneuver without getting my fingers too close to the blade.

On the second one, I stopped cutting individual pieces about halfway through and stippled the remaining area. This gave two long serpentine pieces, which I divided into several final sized ones. I really liked how that turned out, and may start out doing that on my next puzzle.

I took both of these photos last August in Yellowstone. The mule deer was having breakfast amidst the West Thumb hot springs. The grey clouds are steam rising from the springs. The avocet was fishing in the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley. The pictures of the pictures are hard to make out, so I attached the originals as well.

Both puzzles are 5"x7". The deer has 49 pieces and the avocet 34.

I have two more photos glued up and ready to cut, and a good excuse to go through my photo collection again.

Cheers!
--Rob

[Carter Johnson]

Beautiful! And you cut out the deer and bird. That makes it really unique. Your wavy style is one that some puzzle cutters use and it often provides multiple locks. I bet your friends or family are enjoying them and encouraging you to do more.

A quick note: It's very difficult to get cut by the fine-tooth, puzzle-cutting blades. You can get your fingers right up next to the moving blade without fear. If you touch the blade, your natural reaction will withdraw your fingers before they get a cut.

Sounds like you're having phun..... Carter

[Wood Dog]

Those look great Arcy.....Carter's instructions sure do make it easier for first timers, and he encouraged Dee Rogers to post her video for continuous cut puzzles. That method is fun to cut too. Here is the link in case you have not seen it.
YouTube - Continuous cutting wooden jigsaw puzzle

[utbva]

Very nicely done Rob. and I like your photos as well.

[Arcy]

Originally Posted by Carter Johnson

Beautiful! And you cut out the deer and bird. That makes it really unique. Your wavy style is one that some puzzle cutters use and it often provides multiple locks. I bet your friends or family are enjoying them and encouraging you to do more.

Thanks! I really liked the cut out objects in several pictures posted here. Last night I tried for more traditionally puzzly shapes, but I think I like the squiggles better. A coworker complained that the squiggly shapes made it harder to figure out where they went, which I count as a vote in their favor

Originally Posted by Carter Johnson

A quick note: It's very difficult to get cut by the fine-tooth, puzzle-cutting blades. You can get your fingers right up next to the moving blade without fear. If you touch the blade, your natural reaction will withdraw your fingers before they get a cut.

Aha! I had noticed how close you got in your videos, but wasn't sure how much that was reality and how much was illusion. What you say makes sense, but will take some practice to override my gut feeling: "it's a saw! stay clear!" I suspect it'll get easier with practive and familiarity.

Originally Posted by Carter Johnson

Sounds like you're having phun.....

Oh, definitely!

--Rob

[Arcy]

Originally Posted by Wood Dog

and he encouraged Dee Rogers to post her video for continuous cut puzzles.

Thanks. I hadn't seen that video, but it's pretty much what I was thinking of for stippling to get the basic shapes and then cutting them into pieces. She had several refinements and solutions for a few problems that I hadn't even considered, so very helpful!

--Rob

[Arcy]

I did two more last night, trying to use more traditional puzzle shapes and to follow the color lines (even though I seem to be working with a rather monochrome pallette this week, there are some lines!) The bigger pieces on the pelicans picture went pretty well, but I ran into several problems with the smaller pieces on the river picture where I didn't have enough room to cut an adjoining piece without running into the lock from the first. This caused a few pieces to be more oddly shaped than I had intended. Before my next one I think I'll make a sign: plan ahead!

I also think that the pelicans themselves were too small to cut so closely into separate pieces. The cut lines overwhelm the images of the birds and make the pelicans look even goofier than pelicans normally do.

These are more Yellowstone pictures. The pelicans are from the same spot as the avocet was, but about a minute later. I don't remember where exactly the river was.

Again, both are 5"x7". The pelican has 30 pieces and the river 54. My coworker rated the pelicans more difficult because of the limited colours, but not as hard as the similarly uniform but squiggly avocet.

--Rob

[iohonnes]

Rob,

These first couple of puzzles look great - and the photos are pretty nice too, esp. the mule deer. Keep on practicing and you'll find a style that suits you. I can tell from your second two puzzles that you've already started to develop a feeling for making the interlocks more interconnecting. Trust me, after the first couple of puzzles it almost becomes second nature. I found that once I could confidently make interlocks, then I started to play with various styles of cutting.

John

[Carter Johnson]

Rob, if you feel a color piece (such as the pelicans) is too small to be independent, then how bout making that image a lock with the adjoining piece. If you had started cutting the pelican a little bit under him, gone around him and finished the same way, it would lock with the piece above it.

Please don't worry about pieces not being similar in size. I don't know where that concern came from. Sure, there's a general proportion in each puzzle, but many of mine have pieces that vary from almost an inch square to less that 1/4", again depending on the image.

Carter

[Arcy]

Originally Posted by iohonnes

I can tell from your second two puzzles that you've already started to develop a feeling for making the interlocks more interconnecting.

Thanks. Slowing down and concentrating on turning in place rather than just moving full speed while squiggling made a big difference. As with everything, practice should make that easier.

--Rob