3 Prints merged to make one large leaf puzzle

I have made a number of these pin oak leaf puzzles from one 13 x 19 print. I wanted to make one puzzle as wide as possible, which would be the 19″ width for me. To do that, I needed three prints to make it work. I used two 13 x 19 prints with one 8.5 x 11 print for the tip of the leaf.

Here they are laid end to end on the work bench.

This will be the first merge that I make. Notice the alignment marks printed with the image. These are so I can stack these on top of each other and have them perfectly aligned.

The first step is to take a smaller piece of the middle print to make it easier to handle on the saw.

I did not realize it initially, but this very first cut had a bad blade that had a bent tooth or something. It made this cut a little wonky, as can be seen when compared to neighboring cuts later. It just stands out a little more and is a slight visual discrepancy on the puzzle.

So, now that I have a smaller piece to work with, it is time to cut out pieces so I can use the alignment marks to prepare for stack cutting.

Next is to stack this piece on top of the other one, and align the marks and then glue the two together.

Now, you make a double stack cut on both panels at once so you can join them together and not see they were two different panels.

Next, you do the same thing on the bottom of the leaf.

And there you have one big leaf puzzle!

Next, cut away the white waste. Check out all the debris on the floor.

Now you are left with one big puzzle from three prints!

I decided I wanted some dropouts in the leaf. I picked some other leaves from the yard: a different pin oak, red oak, birch, lilac, currant, tulip tree, two different maple trees, and a grape leaf.