Puzzle,Puzzle

[Dealmaker]

Attempting my first puzzle with a drawing. 1/8 Luan, two tried two glues, Elmer's white and a spray. Slow speed on my dewalt 788 an Pzl blade from Lesley. I am using a drawing reproduced on a copy machine.
I have tried both glues and glued to both sides of the Luan and no matter which combination I use, it lifts the paper firm the wood on the edge.
What am I missing.
Thanks,
Rich

[Carter-Johnson]

Good luck, Rich.....

First, is the blade oriented right, with the teeth pointing down?
Second, is your tension high enuf. Do you get a high "ping" out of the tense blade when you strum it?
Third, increase the saw's speed.
Fourth, although it's too late for this one, in the future try 1/4" plywood. It's sort of the standard and it's easier to control and hold together.
Fifth, (dumb question) Is the glue dry?

Keep at it..... Carter

[Dealmaker]

I'll check your list. Thanks!
Rich

[Berone]

I wouldn't use white glue because I don't plan far enough in advance to let it dry. Spray adhesive you want to put a light coat on the wood and on the paper. Wait a minute for them to be tacky but no longer wet, then apply. It will not come off. The paper layers may separate, but the paper won't come off the wood. That includes if you make contact in the wrong place. I either put wax paper down on the wood and work my way from one side to the other, slipping the wax paper out; or lay thin dowels down and roll them out to the sides while pressing down in the middle. If that doesn't work, you're using poor or very old spray adhesive. I use 3M spray adhesives because, as ridiculously overpriced as it now is, it never surprises me and I don't waste any of my limited time. Spray 77 for permanent adhesion, 3M Photomount if you want to be able to take off the paper when you're done (then only spray on the paper).

Hey- I just realized you're right up the road from me!

One other thing- luan is a bad material for puzzles. The surface tends to be too splintery and the cores aren't solid enough. I like Baltic Birch, although I'm going to look for the poplar that Carter mentions in his excellent instruction sheet. And while I generally defer to his expertise, for 8 1/2x11 or 5x7 puzzles that I've made for my son, I like 1/8" ply. I find the 1/4" a little bulky for the smaller size. I like the 1/4" for anything larger, like 11x17 or 13x19 that are the largest I can print.

[3_M]

Cater forgot to tell you about this:
New Page 1
Plus a video: cutting jigsaw puzzles - YouTube
I know that Carter is a great help for people who want to cut puzzles.
FD Mike

[Dealmaker]

Thanks to all !
Rich

[joes]

The glue is probably not your problem. Most often is the paper separates at its internal layers, the color is lifted and you have a white tip. The more layers your paper has, the more likely this will occur. Try to avoid really thick paper or expensive paper. Really cheap paper works well. Another way to reduce this is to spray (and saturate) the paper with a fixative. I do this before mounting in case the spray changes the color or has some other undesirable effect. The chemicals in the spray can also break down your glue.

Nothing wrong with white glue; its been used for a couple of hundred years. You do have to plan ahead and watch for air bubbles. Spray adhesive is convenient and quick but who knows if it will reach its half-life some time in the future and suddenly every piece of paper falls off. I use it a lot for quick jobs but if you are working on an heirloom puzzle, you might consider white glue.
Joes

[Dealmaker]

Thanks !
Rich

[jim bell]

I have used the loctite and 3m spray glues with success, but sometimes the glue comes out stringy. Have recently switched to contact cement which works well, but you need to be careful not to get it on the picture.

All of my puzzles are photos, printed at either walmart or Costco, and I do have some problem with the photo paper separating. Easy to spot when cutting, so I keep a bottle of elmers white glue and put a little tad on the separation, press it down and she is good to go.