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My “Signature Puzzle” on Baltic Birch

The Wood

I make my puzzles out of either 5 ply Baltic Birch or Mahogany plywood. I tried the various grades, plys and species of American plywoods but found them to have voids and irregularities in them making them ill-suited to puzzles. The birch and mahogany are solid all the way through so the pieces are sturdy and don’t break apart. I had several puzzles that I had hours of work into and a pieces would explode when I hit a void. Also the solid pieces can take more handling so you can take the puzzle apart and put it back together many times without worrying about bending or breaking a pieces. The birch is from Russia and is a light honey color. The mahogany is a deeper red.

The Pieces

I hand cut all the pieces – no molds or cookie cutters or stamped out puzzles. Folks often wonder how I strike upon how to make the pieces – I guess I just use imagination and saw away. I make 3 general catagories of pieces: traditional pieces, curly-ques, and abstract pieces. The abstract pieces are typically ones I cut out that don’t interlock, like the petals around a flower center. I can make the pieces larger for those with lesser sight or dexterity or smaller for those who really want a challenge. I also cut in figurals – pieces in the shapes of things or words. Some of my figurals are moose, deer, eagles, fish, trains, and cars. The figurals are usually directly related to the subject of the puzzles making it more interesting and personalized. I usually can cut in special figurals that folks request – say, a set of ice skates for the avid skater or song birds for the birder. I “sign” every puzzle with my own personal figural – a 1960’s Land Rover that has my initals and the puzzle number on the back.

small “fern” puzzle

Subjects of the Puzzles

I enjoy making difficult puzzles so I often use repetative patterns for subject matter. This may be from wrapping paper, or pictures of moss covering the forest floor, fields of black-eyed susans, or a shore of seashells. I also have woodburned maps into mahogany and cut them out – very tricky to put together. Many of the pictures I use are taken by my daughter. The pictures are afixed to the plywood using a special glue that does not release when the pieces are cut. I can also use pictures you select or provide. Many of my puzzles are shaped. For example, a good Christmas puzzle is Christmas wrapping paper cut out in the shape of a sleigh. Wavy edges eliminate corner pieces. Ovals seem to be buggers, particularly if another oval shape is cut deeper into the puzzle. The combinations of size, shape, and subject of puzzles are almost limitless.

Planning Your Puzzle

If you are intersted in a custom created puzzle, I would be more than happy to oblige. Perhaps you have a favorite picture that you think would make a wonderful heirloom puzzle. Contact me and we can discuss a size, layout, shape, number and type of figurals, and number and size of pieces. If you are thinking about a puzzle as a present, make sure the person you are giving it to is a puzzle person. People who don’t like doing puzzles seldom get far with them even it is a picture that interests them. All puzzles are shipped in an upholstered bag I make that has a label with the name of the puzzle and number of pieces. The bag is closed with velcro. As an upholsterer, I usually have somewhat of a selection of fabrics around that I can email you a picture of if the bag fabric is a big deal. The bag is included in the price. I also make puzzle boards. These can be any size. They are plywood boards covered in a deep knap velvet to prevent the pieces from sliding and trimmed along the edges to hold the pieces on the board. They are designed to stand on a table at a slant so that you are looking straight at the puzzle and pieces, not down at the table all the time. Contact me with what size board you are intersted in and I can get back to you with an estimate and colors of velvet I have available.

Puzzle Board with some Puzzle Bags