I love jigsaw puzzles. So, of course, I had to try to make one.
It’s not as easy as it sounds…
But now I have a fairly reliable method and have found some measure of success with it. I started with the image, which I engraved, coloured and varnished. Then I cut out the shape and the puzzle pieces. I decided to make a tray to build the puzzle in and it works beautifully.
I used 1/8" Baltic birch for the puzzle and the tray. I coloured it with regular old felt markers and let it sit for a couple of days before I varnished (front and back) it to keep the colours from bleeding. With the varnish, there was very little scorching from the laser when I cut out the puzzle pieces and what was there, just wiped away.