Paint On Puzzles

[rmcaskey]

I'm a new member, been woodworking for many years, but never got seriously into scroll sawing. I bought a new DeWalt and I started with the obligartory alligator puzzle for the grandkids - the one with the tail curled up. Used scrap 3/4 pine and was pleased with the initial reault, but I need to do a lot of thinking about grain to avoid obvious weak points. My one year-old grandson, appropriately nicknamed "Bubba", could snap off that gator's tail in a heartbeat. :-)

Sanding went OK, but I think I had some give in the blade when I was cutting because in one spot the pieces go together well in one direction, but not in the other. That I will have to practice on. I used acrylic sealer and then a coat of acrylic green paint and found that just that much was enough to keep the pieces from sliding together. So, the question is how to prevent that problem. Don't paint the edges that make contact ??? Use a wide blade so that the kerf gives clearance that will be then filled with paint ??? I've got a whole pile of simple puzzle patterns, but I don't want to turn out puzzles that the kids can't play with.

Thanks in advance for any advice, and feel free to guide me to prior threads which might answer the question. I've tried the search utility but I may not be used to the language yet and might not be looking for the right thing.

[stevebuk]

hello there, i recently cut quite a few puzzles for children to play with, and you do need a wide(ish) kerf when cutting them, we are not making Carter Johnson type puzzles, just something for the kids to bash about.
HTH

[jigsue]

I make lots of kid's puzzles.
1 - make sure that your table is level and that your blade is at right angles (good methods described in recent magazine). I would suggest that yours was not and you have created a bevel cut
2 - Use a large blade, I use #7s, #8s or even #9s for chunky jigsaws.
3 - Let the blade do the cutting, don't force the wood through or the blade will bow - having said that, if they are just a bit tight, use a sander and take off the high points
4 - Sand and seal everything and get a real smooth finish
5 - Paint - I usually leave the inside cut edges plain or, at the very most, put one very thin coat on
6 - If you are gonna paint stuff, have you considered using MDF (medium density fibreboard. It is cheap, even to cut (although a little hard on the blades), comes in lots of thicknesses, is easy to prepare for paint and does not have any grain to snap.

Hope this is of some assistance, if you need more - just holler

Cheers

Sue

[rmcaskey]

Originally Posted by jigsue

If you are gonna paint stuff, have you considered using MDF (medium density fibreboard. It is cheap, even to cut (although a little hard on the blades), comes in lots of thicknesses, is easy to prepare for paint and does not have any grain to snap.

Actually, that's the first thing I thought of. But I had a new saw and it was late on a Sunday evening and there was this scrap of pine laying around not doing anything productive - so............:-)

I think I'm going to use the rest of the pine for an alphabet and get some MDF for the puzzles. I'm sure Bubba can manage to break those too but I'll at least give him a challenge.

[Marsha]

Here's a great puzzle for kids. I make these out of BB plywood approx. 3/4". The first one I made was pine and it broke real easy. I don't like cutting MDF, too much dust, so I tried the ply and it works really well. When I paint them, and I paint the entire piece, I thin the first coat of paint about 50/50 (50% water, 50% paint) after I put this on and let it dry really well, I give all the pieces a good sanding with a coarse sanding sponge. The thinned paint acts as a wood sealer, lifting the grain so it can be sanded back down to a very smooth surface. Then 2 more coats of paint sanding in between each coat, I use a medium sanding sponge after the 2nd coat and a fine sanding sponge after the final coat. After I sand each piece, I use a tack cloth to clean it off and assemble the snake as I go, making sure each piece goes together both ways. Once the painting is all done, I apply the lettering using a black permanent marker, (sharpie is the one I like) and a pre-cut stencil. I highlight the letters with white paint and a very thin artists brush. When you're finished lettering the front turn the snake over and paint the numbers 1-0 on the back, try including the childs name, or some different shapes to fill in the rest of the pieces.
When cutting any puzzle it is very important to make sure the blade is square to the top of the table, I use a steel L bracket to check mine.
Alphabet Snake puzzle 002.jpg
This pattern is a John Nelson pattern available in SSW&C magazine issue # 17.
Sorry this turned out to be a bit longer post then I anticipated, but I think this is a great puzzle for kids and a great project for beginner scrollers.
Marsha

[eendreno]

hello- i make alot of kids puzzles, and the previous posts give great advise. if they are going to be used by kids bb ply is the choice. i've tried dipping in polycrylic. i did not have much luck. pine swells like a tick, and don't go back together. bb ply is not as bad using a fd-sr #7 creats a kerf that can handle a slightly thinned acrylic poly. i have not tried to use the stains, and dyes used by some in this forum. i make fish puzzles from exotic hardwoods. they easily command 4-5 times what their plywood counterpart will do. i finish these in oil. have fun doug

[JohnB]

I'd have to agree with everything that Sue and Marsha have said.
I tend to cut my children's' puzzles more along the line Sue does though.
I use a 7 or 9 blade and cut them from 6 - 9mm MDF.
After sanding the face with 240g I put 1 coat of paint on the face and edges.
I then sand the face with 280 - 320g paper and put another coat of paint on the face.
When dry a coat or 2 of clear acrylic gives them a nice hard wearing gloss finish.

[jigsue]

Hey John

We could go into production, we appear to work so similarly. Only thing ... one of us would have a rather long commute!!!

Sue

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by jigsue

Hey John

We could go into production, we appear to work so similarly. Only thing ... one of us would have a rather long commute!!!

Sue

G'day Sue,
We could have week about