Author Archives: bob@fivefrogswoodworking.com

Rainbow Heart Kitty

In August, I started a puzzle for a customer. It was a print she ordered from a website and sent to me to cut into a puzzle. I started cutting but had some problems with the outer veneers of wood … Continue reading

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Something A Little Different

Not every puzzle order has to be innovative or spectacular in some new way. Sometimes, it might just be a number of small puzzles as a memento to commemorate an event or activity. I was corresponding with a client about … Continue reading

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Double-sided Pocket Watch (part 2)

Second Challenge – reducing or preventing tear-out roughness on the backside Once the alignment issue was resolved, next was to reduce the amount of tear out on the backside of the puzzle. At first, I attempted to do this by … Continue reading

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Double-sided Pocket Watch Puzzle (part 1)

I have wanted to create a double-sided puzzle for a number of years. The first one I ever encountered personally was from the 2012 Puzzle Parley. It was created by Fools Gold Puzzles and has a reverse image on it … Continue reading

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Mounting the image to the wood

I am going to walk through the steps I use to mount an image to the wood. This is my next project to cut. The customer emailed me with a digital file she wants cut into a puzzle. It is … Continue reading

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Dry Mount Press Issues and Maintenance

In this post, I will discuss some issues I have encountered with my dry mount press. I will also review the manufacturer recommended maintenance on these. My particular press is a Seal Masterpiece 210M. This unit was designed for mounting … Continue reading

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Scrap Pieces

In my “Bronco Buster” post, I mentioned some scrap pieces that might be useful for making follow on puzzles. The skinny scrap was used to make a puzzle for a customer that wanted something to remind her of the beach. … Continue reading

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Audrey

This post is about a custom puzzle that highlights a number of difficulties I ran into while cutting it. I had previously cut a puzzle that was cut into four sections and each section had a different piece style. Meeting … Continue reading

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The Bronco Buster

I have a gorgeous photograph of a sunset I took in the Powder River country of southeastern Montana on a cold November evening in 2013. We were driving back to our camp, and it was getting dark. The colors were … Continue reading

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The Boxes I Use for My Puzzles

There have been numerous postings about boxes on several puzzle related Facebook groups. Some people insist that custom puzzles deserve a wooden box, others detest wooden boxes. One fellow indicated that if the puzzle comes in a wooden box, he … Continue reading

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