Because you can't have too many "what would you charge" threads...

[Berone]

This is from a pattern in one of our sponsor's books. This particular piece is from a piece of birch with a ragged edge and is about 13" high. Today I cut one from pine and it's about 7" high. We know that there are various details that will determine pricing, including cost of materials, time spent on the project, and what the market will bear. That last one seems to be a moving target, depending on location and economic times. Material costs are fairly predictable, so I'm wondering about the second two. It took me an hour to prep, drill, cut, and sand the smaller one, which I did not stain (yet). Has anyone else made this piece? If so, how long did it take you? If not, how long do you think it would take you? (I think 1 hour is too long and that I can do them faster with practice, but I don't know that I'll shave off more than 15 minutes). I haven't looked at the licensing in the book, so I don't know if I even could sell these (I've been doing them for gifts and practice); but what would this sell for in your market?

Thanks,
Anthony

[wood-n-things]

Yes you can sell those. I sell them for $18.00-$25.00 depending on the woods used. You can probably cut your time down significantly. I stack cut and do 2 at a time out of 1/2" - 3/4" stock and start to finish it takes about 30 minutes.

[Berone]

Thanks, Mike. A few questions, if I may: How do you finish them? When you stack cut do you do different colored woods and swap them? Or stain or keep them all one color? What size blade do you use? The one above I used a 3, and it was a tight puzzle, but I stained the pieces because it was hard to distinguish them. (For the photo I offset the pieces to create a shadow line.) The one I did today was with a 5. I thought it was a bit loose, but the pieces are more distinct left natural. And my 3 1/2 year old still had trouble getting the pieces apart. I did it out of a pine scrap and when he started to twist I was pretty sure he would break it. So I may go with 1/2" and not pine. Finally, what size do you make them?
I appreciate the help.
Anthony

[Jan]

I made that puzzle out of 3/4" hardwood, charged $30 for it and sold them easily. The caveat to that is I live in snowbird heaven (Florida) and most of the puzzles were bought by grandparents who were bringing stuff home to their grandkids. I always use a #3 FD UR for those puzzles. Never use pine because it does break. I buff the edges of the pieces with a 320 grit sanding mop which gives them a very nice finished look without affecting the shape.

Jan

[wood-n-things]

I finish them with danish oil or I use my beeswax concoction as it feels really nice and is organic.

I do stack 2 different woods so I can swap contrasting woods. I never make stand up puzzles in Pine it breaks too easily and I also do not use red oak as it splinters too much and little kids get poked.

I use a #7 UR FD blade so it fits loosely smaller children have trouble with tight fitting puzzles. Puzzles intended for older kids or adults I use #3-#5 fd ur.

I don't shrink or enlarge the pattern I make it the size it prints out.

Not that how I do it is the "right way" it is just the way I do it.

[cpowell]

Mike;
What is a "beeswax concoction"?

[sawdustus]

I have cut one from 1/2" cherry using a #5 blade and one using a #2 blade, softened the edges with a sanding mop and gave the pieces a bath in Watco Natural. The number 5 is loose enough for most people and the #2 cut is tight enough for the finicky ones. In both cases, I picked a piece of wood that had a lot of color contrast and grain so I did not have to stack cut them to get some contrast in the pieces. My granddaughter has the #2 cut and the other sold for $25.

I agree with Mike about using pine and oak for puzzles.

george

[wood-n-things]

The beeswax concoction is the one they show on the toypress site. I really like it. It is 3/4 Cup beeswax melted and mixed with 1 pint of mineral oil I increased the amount of beeswax from 1/2c because mine was separating in the shop due to the heat i think. Now it is more stable.