Framing a jigsaw puzzle

January 8, 2005 1:44 PM

Has anyone framed a jigsaw puzzle before? [+]

I've seen references to kits that you can buy but it shouldn't be that complicated right? Likewise, I've seen refernces to people putting clear glue on the front to people putting glue on the back and affixing the puzzle to a piece of cardboard or posterboard. Previous experiences that people have had would be great and oh, the puzzle is about 2' x 3' if it matters.

posted by mmascolino to media & arts (9 comments total)

My wife used to have a puzzle framed. I think she just squished it against the plastic and cardboard.

At one point, I bumped the puzzle hanging on the wall while vacuuming, I think. Puzzle fell down, go boom, and broke into (literally) 1000 pieces.

That was a bummer. I suggest glue.
posted by ajpresto at 2:05 PM on January 8, 2005

Posterboard and a small dab of Elmers works fine for me. Use a paperweight to make the piece flat before it dries, and draw guidelines beforehand, if your posterboard is larger than the puzzle.
posted by AlexReynolds at 2:07 PM on January 8, 2005

Oh, and if you do the glue trick, work from one side to the other. Do not build the frame first and work from the outside in, or you may find that pieces don't quite fit at the end.
posted by AlexReynolds at 2:12 PM on January 8, 2005

My parents hung many puzzles, but didn't actually frame any of them. My mother slathered the front of it with Mod Podge; after it dried, she turned it over and glued the back. Punch a hole through the top of it and hang. Or you could easily get a frame for it.

We could never take it down to re-do it, but it also wouldn't break if (when) it fell.
posted by rhapsodie at 3:02 PM on January 8, 2005

AlexReynolds, are you suggesting gluing the puzzle before it's completed? I don't think that's a good idea.

The one time I wanted to frame a puzzle, I built it first, and then followed rhapsodie's mother's method of brushing Mod Podge (or something similar; I might have even used plain old Elmer's glue) on the front, and then flipping it over once dry and doing the same thing to the back. Because my puzzle had somewhat unusual dimensions, I had to get a frame custom-made, but once that was done it could be hung just like any painting.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:21 PM on January 8, 2005

a hobby shop that sells jigsaw puzzles should also carry jigsaw puzzle glue ... something like this ... disclaimer ... i have never used this particular product and have no opinion about it ... it's one of the pages i came up with when i did a search ... but you should be able to get something similar locally
posted by pyramid termite at 3:48 PM on January 8, 2005

AlexReynolds, are you suggesting gluing the puzzle before it's completed? I don't think that's a good idea.

No, I'm not sugggesting that. I don't think that's a good idea, either.
posted by AlexReynolds at 7:57 PM on January 8, 2005

No, I'm not sugggesting that. I don't think that's a good idea, either.

I must have misunderstood you. Sorry about that.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:35 PM on January 8, 2005

Oh, and I really should have mentioned this: Before brushing glue on the front of the puzzle, slide some newspaper underneath it. You don't want the glue to go through the cracks and glue the puzzle to the table.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:37 PM on January 8, 2005