Below is a quick video we put together demonstrating our technique of mounting large puzzles. In the video, we are mounting an 18000 piece puzzle by Ravensburger.
This mounting technique is also outlined on our LIFE puzzle website. Go down to the section titled "The Completed Puzzle" for a step by step including pictures.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI just finished my first 6000 piece puzzle and was wondering if you could tell me where you bought the contact paper and foam boards from? I'm having a hard time finding the right size - I need a 65" x 45" board....
Thanks!
Jeevika
Jeevika, we purchased the foam board at a art supply store called Utrecht. Not sure if they are in your area. I suppose any Art supply store might have large foam board pieces. The contact paper we use is made by ConTact. We get it at most convenience or grocery stores. I think WalMart or K-Mart has it.
DeleteGood Luck!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great how-to video! Very useful for puzzle newbies! Can you tell me what kind/ brand of contact cement you use?
Laurie, we typically use 3M spray contact cement. Get a large can or 2 because you'll end up using more than you think. The puzzle in the video took 2 large cans. Happy puzzling!!
DeleteHi Scott. Did you guys ever finish the Double Retrospect puzzle? Penny
ReplyDeleteHey Scott, I don't know if you've seen, but it looks like the same people (or copy cats) who did the Hall of Fame website for the Life puzzle have created a new one for the Double Retrospect puzzle as well. I was just looking at the Hall of Fame there and didn't see your story. I'm sure you've probably finished the puzzle by now since it's been so long. Here's a link to the website if you want to take a look. www.largestpuzzle.com.
ReplyDeletePenny
Penny... No, we have not finished the Double Retrospect puzzle yet. Way too many other things going on lately (Olympic Trials and 2 weddings). The 5th section has been sitting on our table for almost 9 months waiting to be flipped over and contact paper put on. So we still have 3 more sections to complete. At this rate I'm not sure when we'll get it done. I'll definitely be posting here and submitting an entry to the HOF when we're done.
DeleteWow....definitely sounds like you have been busy. Congrats on the 2 weddings. Is one of your children trying out for the Olympics? If so, that's awesome! What sport?
ReplyDeleteNo. They were gymnasts and I do a lot of work for USA Gymnastics so I was involved with the Olympic Trials in San Jose, CA a couple of weeks ago.
DeleteOne wedding was 3 weeks ago and then other is coming up in 2 weeks!!!
That sounds like a lot of fun, Scott. Congrats on the one wedding and good luck with the second one. I'm sure it will be beautiful. Are both of your daughters now going to be married? Hope all is well out there in Sacramento. My family is coming out to Atlanta from Sacramento this Thanksgiving. I can't wait for them to get here.
ReplyDeleteHey Scott. I see you haven't updated your blog in a long time. Did you guys give up on Double Retrospect, or just blogging about it? I am about 2/3rds done with the first section of Life. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to flip over the puzzle once it's done so that I can put contact paper on the back. How did you guys turn yours over? Whenever I try to pick up a section, it just wants to fall apart.
ReplyDeletePenny
Penny,
DeleteYes, we are still working on it. We have completed 5 of the 8 sections and are working on the 6th. The puzzle is going extremely slow because of all of the other things going on around our house the last year or so. Weddings, graduations, houses, etc. We may only work on the puzzle for about 1 hour a month, maybe less. Once things calm down I'll get around to posting some updates on the other sections we've done and some other videos I've made.
Take care!
We just finished our 24,000 piece puzzle. How do you suggest flipping each section over? I love your idea of the contact paper and the foam board. Thanks for your video and step by step instructions. Is there any reason not to glue the backside of the puzzle before putting the contact paper on? I just wondered if the sticky stuff on the contact paper will get less sticky over the years and not hold the pieces in place. Any thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 sheets of 1/4" plywood that we use. We slide a section off the table and onto a sheet of plywood. We then put the other sheet on top to "sandwich" the puzzle in the middle and then we flip it over quickly. Takes 2 people. Slide the puzzle back onto the table and put the contact paper on.
DeleteNo glue has ever been needed in the 20+ years we've been putting puzzles together. I still have puzzles hanging on my wall that were done in this fashion.
Good Luck!
Thank you so much! You have been very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on the puzzle myself. I even made a blog about it:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.puzzle24000piezas.blogspot.com/
Greetings from Chile
Charly....I just saw your blog. It looks great! I sent a comment on one of your posts and also shared a link to my blog about the Life puzzle as well. Good luck to you on yours.
DeleteHello
ReplyDeleteMy name is Tom and my wife and I love puzzles a lot too. Love your projects. We are just getting into doing double retrospect and we are thinking about starting a puzzle club and doing puzzle competitions. I have heard of such things, but have never been to one. Do you have a resource? Also, I am looking for the 9000 Wedding Feast at Cana Ravensburger, might you know of anyone with this puzzle?
We are moving to St Thomas USVI and want to do our club there.
We have a blog too: sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.blogspot.com
Thanks for your tip on making the pencil impression and mounting. I have been struggling with different glues and techniques. It will make things a LOT easier on me and the puzzle!
-Thomas
Tom,
DeleteNice blog. Looks like you guys are as crazy as we are.
I've never been to a puzzle competition so I don't have any leads for you. The Wedding Feast picture is really great. I have not seen that as a puzzle but If I see it I'll be sure to post on your blog.
I'm jealous that you are moving to St. Thomas. I'm a scuba instructor and I would love to live there and dive everyday.
We have finished 5 of the 8 sections of Double Retrospect. I need to update my blog with our progress and I have a couple more videos that I made to show our sorting techniques. Maybe I can get this done over the weekend.
It was great to hear from you. Good luck with Double Retrospect and I hope you find the Wedding Fest puzzle.
Scott Slater
Hey Scott,
DeleteWe did indeed find Wedding Feast! It's on its way from Germany. Ebay Germany is a great resource for large format old puzzles. We have added to your large puzzle mounting technique by adding cut-off dry wall anchors to the foam board and then we can use string or V brackets to mount (V brackets are the only option for large ones)
Check out these posts. I will make a video for the next one.
http://sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.blogspot.com/2013/05/mounting-technique-good-bad-and-ugly.html
http://sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.blogspot.com/2013/05/mounting-day.html
We are loving St. Thomas! The scuba and snorkeling are fantasitc. We have not managed to get the puzzle club going yet. We have been busy picking out a place to live. Its hard to find a place with enough space to puzzle and hang our puzzles that fits all of our other needs!
Looking forward to your posts on Double Retrospect! Get it going!
We are leaving for our cruise this weekend and will be in St Thomas on Wednesday. Can't wait!!
DeleteHi Scott, it's Penny again. I just put contact paper on the back of Section 1 of the Life puzzle. It still doesn't seem all that stable. I was hoping it would be solid and stiff enough for me to lift it up and put it somewhere else so that I could use the main puzzle board to start Section 2, but I'm afraid if I lift that up it will still cause major damage to the pieces. What did you guys do once you put the contact paper down on an individual section....did you leave it on your table, or somehow move it off? If you moved it...how did you do it without any pieces falling off.
ReplyDeleteI was really hoping the contact paper would make it much more stable, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Would another layer of contact paper be better?
Penny
What brand contact paper did you use? We use Con-Tact brand. After you put it on you need to use a rolling pin or old wine bottle to press it on really good. Take a look at 1:10 of the video. The section will not be stiff but you should definitely be able to pick it up and move it around, flip it over, etc. Just be careful not to bend it too much in the wrong direction or you might peel pieces off. I have a stack of sections from 5 different puzzles laying on my floor with nothing but the contact paper on the back.
DeleteIf you did not use Con-Tact brand and got a different brand that is maybe too thin and light-weight, then a second layer might help to strengthen it. We bought an off brand roll one time and it was too light-weight and I didn't like it. Now I only buy Con-Tact brand. I get the clear color. Just be sure you are using a rolling pin or something to get it pressed on really good.
Scott
Hi Scott. Thanks for your response. Yes, I did use Con-Tact brand and a rolling pin afterwards. It does say on the roll that it is "removable"....do they make one that says "Permanent"? I mean it does stick if I try pulling up one corner of the section, but because it's still seems so pliable and flexible, I'm just afraid to flip it for fear that some of the pieces will fall off.
ReplyDeleteI think what I'm going to to end up doing is leaving it face down on the table for now while I work Section 2 on top of it. Then I will flip Section 2 over, put the contact paper on it, and start Section 3. So ultimately all the sections will be built one on top of the other, but at least with them being face down, I won't have the irritation of seeing the section underneath.
I guess my last question (for now anyway) is once you pu the contact paper on each section and are ready to mount it to the foam board with contact cement spray, does the spray make the conact paper hold the puzzle pieces better? I mean I can see the contact paper and the foam board would become inspeparable, but considering that the puzzle pieces themselves are only stuck to the "removable" contact paper, I'm just not sure how stable that is long term once it's hung vertically. I'm assuming you never put anything on the front of the puzzle picture to protect it, right?
Penny,
DeleteThe contact paper I've been using lately is removable so it sounds like you are using the exact same stuff I am. I think you are overly worried about pieces falling off. I've been mounting puzzles this way for over 20 years and have yet to have pieces just fall off. I think you’ll find that the pieces stick a lot better than you think.
The benefit of building the next section on top of the previous is that you can see exactly what shape piece you need to look for. If you leave it face down you will lose that advantage. You call it an irritation, I call it an advantage.
I know you have watched my video on mounting. You’ll see that the first thing I do is remove the contact paper that was put on each section. You’ll notice that I pull it off by pulling the contact paper back on itself. This was to minimize the amount of the back of each puzzle piece that was removed too. It sticks well enough that a very thin layer of puzzle backing comes off in the process. I then put down a new layer of contact paper but this time over the puzzle as a whole. The contact paper is the only thing holding the pieces. The contact cement is only to bond to the foam board and the foam board is only there to give the puzzle rigidity.
I have puzzles still hanging on my wall that were built over 20 years ago. They have survived 4 moves to different houses. Some don't even have anything other than contact paper on the back.
Scott
Thanks, Scott. I guess I'm just a little gun shy considering how long it's taken me so long to finish the first section (almost 3 years due to life circumstances with a baby). I guess in my head I was just picturing it to be much stiffer once the contact paper was on. Even though I went over the whole thing with a rolling pin, I can now see a couple of air bubbles that popped up overnight. Do you think those will make a difference since most of it is still flat?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm still a little confused about why you need to remove the original contact paper and re-do the whole thing once the sections are connected. What I did was leave just a small strip (half an inch or so) on the side where section 1 connects to section 2 so that I can connect them easily when the time comes. Then I will just put a strip of contact paper down the length of the puzzle where it meets the next section. I don't see why you would need to remove it all and redo it when that should work, right?
And you are right....building one section on top of the other is a big advantage since you know what shape piece is next, but for some reason it bothers my eyes a bit, and also the pieces were sliding all over the place when set on top of the previous section. I had the top and bottom borders laying on top of section 1 for a little while before I flipped it over, and the top border slid right off a couple of times when it accidently got bumped very slightly. I know it would be easier that way, but I don't know, it just seemed like a huge distraction for me.
Thanks for all your advice....I really appreciate it. You are the EXPERT when it comes to puzzle mounting!
Penny
Penny,
DeleteThe contact paper is just going to hold it all together. It won't make it stiff. That is why I add the foam board later. If you have air bubbles then you need to be more careful when putting the contact paper on. I have someone help me. They hold up one end while I slowly push it down on the other making sure NOT to get any air bubbles. If you have air bubbles you can take a utility knife and slice the bubble and then press it down so there is no more air.
I'm sure you have noticed that the puzzle pieces have a certain amount of give to them. The space between each piece can expand and contract depending on if they are being pulled apart or pushed together. When you contact paper each section you are locking in the spacing between the pieces. When you try to put the sections together later they will not fit together easily. If you force it, the puzzle will look warped on the seams. I remove the contact paper to release the tension created by putting the sections together and this allows the puzzle as a whole to "settle in". Then I contact paper the whole thing as a single unit.
When you contact paper a section, try to get the contact paper as close to the ragged edge as you can without going past the edge. If you don't get close enough then those end pieces will not be held together enough and could fall off.
I understand what you mean when you say it is distracting. The Life puzzle has so much stuff in it that the pieces on top start to get lost in the picture beneath it. Using the bottom section as a guide is SO HELPFUL that I would never build a puzzle any other way. In fact, for us, the worst section is the first because we don't have that guide to work on.
Scott
Okay, now it makes more sense about ripping it off and re-doing it once they're all together. I didn't think about the expanding and contracting issue.
DeleteI did have help with the contact paper and the bubbles didn't appear until at least 24 hours later. I will go back and release the air like you suggested - great idea. Thanks. And I will try to be more careful on the other sections to make sure I don't get any more bubbles.
Yeah, the previous section as a guide is definitely a big help. I might try it again for sections 3 and 4...we'll see. I was just frustrated by the fact that the borders kept sliding off so easily.
Thanks again for all your advice and assistance. You truly are a master at this, and I'm just starting to learn!
Penny
Hey guys, what we did with Rizzi was just break it apart into even sections that fit back in the box. Then its easy to store until you are ready to reassemble the whole thing! Take a look here: http://sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.blogspot.com/2013/05/mounting-day.html
DeleteWith good quality puzzles, you should have no problem handline 1 or 2 foot sections, you can just slide it onto cardboard if you are really worried (I just pick it up by 1 corner or the most part). Also penny, look at Scotts method or using a pencil to trace the puzzle and then you can see the shape and not be distracted. He shows this technique here:
http://www.aegroup.com/puzzle/photogallery/photo00008031/IMG_0339.JPG
Good luck!
Oh, I forgot to ask....in one of your last posts before I asked my questions you said you were going to be posting more videos of your sorting process, etc. Would love to see those when you get a chance. I think my sorting process is pretty good...very similar to yours I think in that I sort by color / picture element and shape / orientation, but never hurts to see how someone else does it too.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Penny
I've been travelling a lot lately so I'm never home on weekends which would be when I would have time to do it. I'll maybe try to get it done this weekend since I finally get to ge home.
DeleteNo guarantees though! :))
LOL...I understand. Traveling can take a lot out of you, and then you have all your normal chores to do on the weekends when you're home. Do you have to travel long distances or is it just around the Sacramento area? I sure do miss California....I've now being living in other states for almost 11 years, but California will always be home!
DeleteAnyway, I look forward to seeing the new videos when you find the time.
Penny
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI saw a amazingly beautiful puzzle on your other website: http://www.aegroup.com/puzzle/photogallery/photo00020001/IMG_0394.JPG
I have to buy it! But I am not able to find it on google :) Do you know who is the manufacturer? Do you have any more info that could help me?
Kind regards,
Wallace
Wallace,
DeleteI know you left this message for Scott, but since I happened to see this post tonight I thought I would respond too. You can get the puzzle on Amazon.com and also through Ebay if you want to try and get a good deal on one. They're about $250-$280 right now on most sites. Here's a link to the Amazon one.
http://www.amazon.com/Life-The-Greatest-24000-Puzzle/dp/B000MRPNJ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368584544&sr=8-1&keywords=life+24%2C000+piece+puzzle
There are also several other puzzle websites out there where you can purchase it too. Jigsaw Jungle, Simple Pastimes, and Puzzlesforsale.com all have it I believe.
Penny
Oh, and Educa is the puzzle manufacturer.
DeleteWallace,
DeleteThe puzzle you are referring to is called "Sunday In New England". The artist is Jane Wooster Scott. I do not know the manufacturer of the puzzle but Google should help to locate it.
Scott
LOL....I guess I should have actually looked at the link Wallace posted before responding. I saw that it was a link from your website, Scott, and just thought he was talking about the Life puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. I shouldn't have responded so quickly. I was trying to be helpful because I know you're really busy and don't get much time to work on your blog, and it looks like I ended up doing just the opposite for Wallace.
Don't worry about it Penny! Easy mistake to make. I'm glad you took the time to respond to him.
DeleteBTW... I had every intention of getting a couple more posts made of our progress on Double Retrospect and a couple more videos on organization and mounting done this past weekend. It was one of the first free weekends I've had in a while. By the time the weekend was over I realized I spent the whole weekend doing everything else I hadn't been able to do for a while. Just not enough time!
Yes, sometimes there really just aren't enough hours in the day. Maybe your next free weekend you can get something posted. I will wait patiently, strumming fingers on the table as I rest my chin in my other hand saying, "hodehodeho, hmmmm, hmmm, hmmm". LOL
ReplyDeletePenny
Hey Scott, we would love to see a "tour" of all the puzzles you guys have assembled!
ReplyDeleteCheck out the very bottom of the website.
Deletehttp://www.aegroup.com/puzzle
You'll see a bunch of the ones we've done. There are only a few more that we've completed that are not listed in addition to "Life" and "Double Retrospect".
Scott, does that mean that you've completed Double Retrospect by now? That's great. I don't know if you saw on Tom's blog that he was interested in knowing what the hardest puzzle was that you guys have done...he bets its the 4 Historic World Maps. I am in the process of getting that one myself and I think he's trying to scare the crap out of me on it. LOL
ReplyDeleteNo. We are on section 6 (or 7) of 8. I can't remember right now exactly.
DeleteI did not see that question on Tom's blog. I'll have to go find it. The hardest puzzle we've done was a 5000 piece puzzle made by Falcon. There is a picture of it on our "http://www.aegroup.com/puzzle" website. Don't know the name of it.
Hey Scott, I was curious if you have any thoughts on the order of the "worlds largest puzzle". You have been at this this for a while so you probably remember the arms race. I want to put together a bit of history on large format puzzles. http://sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.blogspot.com/2013/05/arms-race-worlds-largest-commercial.html
DeleteI have been working on this A LOT: I think I have put together a list of every puzzle over 5000 ever made. I think you would enjoy it as a trip down memory lane!
Deletehttp://sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-big-boys.html
Let me know if you find any omissions or mistakes!
-Thomas
Wow, you goys must be super busy.....havent seen any updates from you in ages...hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteHey Scott, I thought you might like to see our new retractable puzzle table! http://www.sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.com/2013/07/the-retractable-puzzle-table-and-machu.html
ReplyDeleteSince the video, we redid a bit to make it sturdier and added a 2:1 pulley system but you will ge the idea. Puzzling is hard when you have a small space!
How is the puzzling on your end? You don't happen to have an Annunciation, Sacred and Profane Love or The Shootings of May 3rd laying around you want to sell?
-Thomas
Thomas,
DeleteI love the pulley table!! That's a great idea. Especially being able to tilt it.
Puzzling here is basically at a standstill. I've been on business trips for most of the last 2 months. I've been away from home more than I have been home. Looks like that will continue through August. My youngest daughter and son-in-law just moved out and into their own brand new home so they won't be contributing anymore. My wife and I do all our puzzle ourselves typically. It wasn't until the kids got older that they started helping. I want to get Double Retrospect finished soon. This is the longest we have ever taken to finish a puzzle. We've been working on this puzzle, off and on, for about 2.5 years now. That's pathetic! We did Life in 34 days and this ones actually easier!!
Yes, I have the Sacred and Profane Love 13200 piece puzzle laying around but it is already assembled.
Scott
Hey Scott. I managed to find a copy on craigslist Toronto! Man it is stunning! I cant wait to assemble it!
DeleteScott, we have been using this technique for some time. We have run into a problem that more than a few of our puzzles have peeled off the foam board. We are using 3m #44 spray adhesive. It appears to never harden and since we don't nail the puzzles to the wall, they can peel off. Just recently I was mounting the 8000pc Trionfo degli Asburgo to the ceiling (underside of our retractable puzzle table technically) and thought long and hard about the mounting. I decided on trying good old fashioned puzzle glue. I applied the contact paper (which is genius BTW if I haven't told you that before) and then used puzzle glue to mount the backed puzzle to the wood of the puzzle table. It forms a great bond that can actually be removed if need be. It seems to be the best of all worlds! Check out our project here if you have time: http://www.sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.com/2013/07/mounting-8000pc-puzzle-to-ceiling.html
ReplyDeleteHey Scott, send me an email through our blog if you get a chance, I would like to ping you from time to time without writing on your blog. (use the contact form on the left hand side or facebook)
ReplyDeleteHey Stranger....haven't seen you post anything in a very long time. Just thought I would check in on you and see how you're doing. You must be super busy. Did you guys ever finish Double Retrospect and move on to something else?
ReplyDeleteYeah, we've been busy with the new gymnastics season. The puzzle is still sitting on the table staring at me everyday. We're about to start a large remodel which is going to require that we move everything out of the house and take down all the puzzles. So, it may be a while before we get back on it.
DeleteOh wow....are you guys making your house bigger or just giving it a face lift? Either way, how fun! That stinks that you have to take all the puzzles down though, but I'm sure it will be worth it once your remodel is done.
ReplyDeletePenny
Hey Scott -- Have you seen the latest news and photos of the two new puzzles coming out this year from Ravensburger and Educa? Looks like Educa has just taken back the trophy for largest puzzle with Wild Life at 33,600 pieces. Holy Toledo! How are you doing? Haven't seen anything out of you in a couple years now....you must be super busy these days, I guess. Did you guys ever finish Double Retrospect?
ReplyDeleteHey Penny, I have seen the new Educa puzzle but haven;t seen anything from Ravensburger. I even did a quick search and didn't find anything.
DeleteWe haven't even touched DR for quite some time. In fact, everything is back in boxes right now because we just finished completely remodeling our house so we had to move everything out.
Take a look at Tom's blog. He's got a picture of the new Ravensburger 32,000 piece puzzle, and then there's also an 18,000 piece version of the famous Sistine Chapel puzzle coming out soon too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sexdrugsandjigsawpuzzles.com/2014/02/thoughts-on-new-big-boys.html
Hi
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.
Great puzzles.
I am having good time building puzzles with my 4-year old, and we are now taking on one of the 18,000 Ravensburger beasts.
I hope to finish in a couple of months, and use your description on mounting.
Eyal
Israel
Hi Scott!
ReplyDeleteVery long time, no hear. Have you gotten the new Ravensburger 32,000 piece NYC Window yet? It's down to $149.99 on Amazon...by far the ceapest it has been since it was released.
Also, have I ever shared with you the link to the Flickr group on big jigsaw puzzles? There are almost 100 members now, and I know everyone would love to see you join.
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2106384@N23/
Hope to see you join. It's a really fun group of puzzling enthusiasts.
Penny
Hi Scott
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me what foam mount thickness you use? I'm about to mount my first 13,200 piece puzzle and very nervous about!! Many thank lucy
Lucy,
DeleteCongrats on completing your first 13200 puzzle!!! We buy our foam board at Utrecht. It comes in 4'x8' sheets and is 3/16" thick. You could easily use 1/4" if you wanted.
Scott
Thanks so much for the help. May question is how did you hang the puzzle on the wall. What did you use to fasten in to the wall - screw, nail, etc. The puzzle can be heavy when all together. Did you nail every foot on top and bottom or all the way around?
ReplyDeleteI just use 1" nails with small heads. I space them about 16" along the top and try to hit a few studs but not super important. I put 3-5 along the bottom depending on how big the puzzle is and a few along the edges.
DeleteThe foam board keeps everything from sagging so the puzzle is basically hanging from the nails on top. The others are just to keep it against the wall.
I am unable to find large foam board in my area. I really did not want to use multi smaller foam boards. I didn't think it would hang well with that. Have you ever use insulation board? Do you think that would work?
ReplyDeleteThe reason I chose the foam board I did was because it was thin enough to not make the puzzle stick out from the wall too much and also because it was large. The largeness was to cut down on the number of seams and therefore the number of places the puzzle could bend. I think the same concerns you have. Insulation board may work. Can you get is thin enough and large enough? Just want to make sure it is also very rigid so it won't bend or stretch.
DeleteYea same concerns. I will keep searching. Along as I get simple plan foam board (rigid and no special siding on it) that is used for insulation I think it may work. I have put together the "Life" puzzle and going to mount it in 4 sections - so the insulation board is large enough. In is just the thickness that may take some searching. I know it goes down to 1/4 in but I don't think any smaller. Thanks for your advice.
ReplyDeleteSo I ended up using rigid foam insulation foam board 4x8 sheets. We cut them down to size to give about ½in trim on the sides and 2in trim top/bottom. We then put black contact paper around the end to give it a nice finished look from cutting the sides and the board was purple.
DeleteFor the puzzle – slide it over on a board, sandwich it between boards, clamp it, flip it over.
Use contact paper to cover the back with some overlap. Spray with 3M adhesive glue. Lay a 2in piece of wood we cut, to put on the top of the puzzle to help line up the foam board with 2in black boarder. Very carefully lay the foam board on the puzzle – lining up the top then each side and just let it fall and hope you placed it right. Only one section it off just a bit but only I will notice. We have also sealed the puzzle to keep the colors from fading.
We are hanging it this weekend. I am using screws in case I need to remove the sheets from the wall. 4 for the top and 2-3 from the bottom is the plan. Hoping hanging should be the easy part.
Thanks for all the help on this blog. My progress was very slow because of limited help but took about 2 months for this progress. Would have been 1 week of work for 3-4 hours a day. Really take your time and talk through each step. You really only get one change with this. We even practiced turning a small sheet so we understood how we were flipping the puzzle over.
Alicia
Alicia, I'm really glad you got everything done finally! Please post some pictures (or a link to them) so I can see how it came out. Good luck this weekend. Get a couple people to help you out. It's not very hard. Once you get it up against the wall, all the helper need to do is push against the wall to keep it from sliding. They don't need to lift it to hold it in place. Just push against it. Once you get some screws/nails in along the top they don't have to do anything anymore. It will stay just fine while you put the side/bottom anchors in. Good Luck!
DeleteScott
Finished product turned out great. Not sure how to post pictures. Thanks for all your help.
DeleteHi, I am a puzzle lover from Taiwan. I am so happy to find your blog to share my puzzle. Last year I finished the "WildLife" (Educa, 33600 pieces) and I posted many detail pictures on my Facebook as follows:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006812587786
Now I am preparing to start working the "Life" (Educe, 24000 pieces). I have one request and I hope I can connect with you with my e-mail address: eicheng@ncut.edu.tw
Thank you and hope to receive your response in my e-mail.
Have a nice day. Sincerely,
Jonathan Chang
6/25/2016
Thank you for sharing such a useful information. It was so useful. Please visit
ReplyDeletePuzzles
Hello Scott:
ReplyDeleteWhat are you and your family working on now?
Angela
Nothing at the moment. We were working on the Double Retrospect puzzle and got about 5/8 complete. We stopped and haven't worked on any puzzles for several years. This is mainly due to having grand kids and change of focus to other hobbies. We might come back and finish Double Retrospect one of these days.
DeleteHi Scott,
ReplyDeleteI'm really interested in using your method, but have a few questions (first time puzzle-mounter here). I apologize if you've answered any of these before - I read through all the other comments and your posts on a few other sites but could have missed something.
Questions:
1. Which of 3M's spray adhesives do you use?
2. Have you ever tried Puzzle Presto, and if so, what are your thoughts on it compared to ConTact paper?
3. Do you put anything on the front of the puzzle to protect it from light damage?
4. Is it possible to frame the puzzle using this method (either immediately after applying ConTact paper or after mounting to the foam board), or is it necessary to nail through the pieces to mount on the wall?
Thank you for your help.
Cait
Hi Cait,
Delete1. I don't recall the exact one. It's wasn't any particular one. Just a spray contact cement.
2. I have not heard of Puzzle Presto. After a quick Google search I found it. Not sure it will work for really large puzzles since the sheets look rather small. Would be better to have a roll to cover larger areas with less seams.
3. I put nothing on the front. Ever! I never wanted anything on the front that might discolor or start to peel off or damage/alter the face of the puzzle. We did have a puzzle get sun faded due to the wall that it was hung on. There was a window that got a short amount of morning sun each day and over time it got faded.
4. Once everything is mounted to the foam board, you now have a rigid piece that you could install into whatever frame you wanted. Most all our puzzles are really large. A frame that size would probably not hold the puzzle securely enough. I once thought about putting the puzzle on the wall first and then adding a decorative frame around the outside that is also affixed to the wall. This way the frame is not supporting the puzzle. It's just decorative.
Good luck!
Thank you so much, Scott! Very helpful. My puzzle is only 6,000 pieces so I may give framing it a try then.
DeleteHi Scott and congratulations on your blog and puzzles!
ReplyDeleteMy wife completed most of the largest puzzle sold around here in Europe and I wanted to glue and hanged of them being the New York view from Ravensburger 32.000 pieces.
We’re French couple leaving in Luxembourg and it is rather tough to find the materials you’re mentionning...
But still, thanks for your video and have great time puzzling!
Hello Scott, great video and explanation. Question we just completed a 5000 piece puzzle, and all is glued on the front. Can we glue the foam board to the back directly without using contact paper? Can we use rubber cement for that and will hold? or better to use contact cement spray?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Since the front is already glued, yes. The contact paper was to keep the puzzle intact before it was mounted. We did not want to put any glue on the front because we were worried that is would discolor over time. I think the contact cement will work just fine without the contact paper. Good luck!
DeleteScott thanks a lot for the quick response!
DeleteScott, I've been huge puzzle-holic since I could walk. As I got older, searched for something that would be a real challenge. When Ravensbhrger came out with the first 18k puzzles my wife and son gabe me the "Tropical Impressions" puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI finished my masterpiece & being so proud of it & it's beauty I glued it with the best puzzle glue at that time & I hung it on the wall. ( no backer - just the glued puzzle )
Now, IDK 15+ yrs later it's started warping & pireces are coming partially apart.
My newest challenge the this 40k piece Mickey Mouse puzzle.
I have intentions of putting it on a wall in our familes "game room" we added on & the family lakehouse and want this one to be right.
So gar I lkve your method best because I have found on many other 4k & 4500 pc puzzles glue can make mainly the pieces that have the rounded points or " the nipples" will bend up as they start absorbing the moisture of glue & after it dries, the puzzle is no longer smooth.
I've been tbru your video & posts over & over but cannot find or figure :
How are you peeling contact paper off the back of the unglued puzzle without the puzzle trying to come all apart ?
Please excuse my ignorance if I've missed that explanation or instruction somewhere somehow. Sometimes it's the simplest things that seem the hardest.
Hello, thanks for writing. Congrats on the 40k puzzle! I've been thinking of doing that one too. The trick to getting the contact paper off is to pull it back horizontally. Check the video at 0:14. You'll see I'm pulling the contact paper back almost horizontally to the puzzle and I have my wife and daughter there to make sure no pieces get pulled up. Go slow and you'll be fine.
DeleteExcuse all my misspellings also.
ReplyDeleteI was afraid I missed it somewhere of you showing how.
ReplyDeleteThank for taking the time to make such a prompt response & clarifying my question.
Damn that's some good part of puzzle world, really enjoyed and loved it
ReplyDeleteTHnaks for existing
Regards beneficios de hacer puzzles