Solving Puzzles for Dummies

July 9, 2019 3:03 PM

As a family activity while with the grandparents, we took a family photo, made it into a puzzle, constructed the puzzle, and want to glue it and frame it! Unfortunately, we solved the puzzle right on the dining room table, and we don't want to glue the puzzle to the table. How do we transfer the puzzle onto something else, so we can glue it?

Other pertinent information: Puzzle is 1000 pieces, measures 20" x 30", we have two pieces of poster board (thick card stock) of ~22" x 28" (which we are willing/hoping to glue the puzzle onto before framing). The table is glass.

We have tried to slide the poster board underneath the puzzle, but it gets caught underneath.

We have a couple of days, access to craft and hardware stores, and immeasurable hope.

Thank you in advance for helping us, so we don't have to redo the whole puzzle.

posted by China Grover to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

Can you slide the puzzle onto the poster board (does the table have a lip to it?)
posted by raccoon409 at 3:04 PM on July 9, 2019

I would tape some thin card along the edge of the poster board, then slide that under the puzzle. The card will form a sort of wedge or ramp.
posted by pipeski at 3:16 PM on July 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure I'd lead with this, but you can trim down one end of the posterboard to a point or something near it. That will make sliding it under much easier.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:17 PM on July 9, 2019

According to this site, you’ll want to:

1. Slide wax paper or parchment paper under the puzzle
2. Spread a special jigsaw puzzle glue all over the puzzle, which will dry clear
3. Trim some poster board or foam core to be the size of your puzzle
4, Glue the puzzle to the board with spray adhesive
posted by ejs at 3:21 PM on July 9, 2019 [4 favorites]

I had the same problem. I was able to slip a sheet of butcher paper ( or maybe cheap wrapping paper) between the puzzle and the glass. The paper would occasionally slip over the 'nub' of one piece. I'd back up and try again. Eventually worked.
posted by tayknight at 3:23 PM on July 9, 2019

And, for reference. I did what ejs suggested with the foam core. For some reason the whole foam-board-puzzle-glue curled just a bit. It was enough of a curl to make it look funny if I hang it on a wall. I left it under of slew of books to dry, but I maybe should have let it dry/cure for longer.
posted by tayknight at 3:25 PM on July 9, 2019

Take it one small section at a time and reassemble it upside down on the poster board. If the pieces have a reasonably snug fit this should be pretty easy.
posted by SLC Mom at 5:07 PM on July 9, 2019

We would do this by sliding the puzzle on to a cookie sheet (like off of the table bit by bit) and then back on to whatever we were going to glue it on to. You could try this approach with the posterboard.
posted by jessamyn at 5:13 PM on July 9, 2019

Best answer: You can just paint puzzle glue on one side of the puzzle and it should not soak through to the other side. The glue is water soluble enough that I would risk it on a glass table. Slip paper under each corner as far as you can and use a light touch for the first coat. Once you have done the first coat on the front, it should hold together enough to flip it and do the backside. You don't have to glue the puzzle onto anything. Puzzle glue holds the pieces together by themselves. Assuming you want to frame it, you would then sandwich the puzzle between the frame and the backer board.

If you don't want to chance the glue on glass, Divide the puzzle into six pieces, each roughly ten inches square. Disassemble the join lines between these pieces. You may have to actually remove one line of pieces, but you can do it slowly enough to not mix them up. Then you can slide each one off the edge of the table onto a large book or something that doesn't bend but is larger than 10x10 inches. You can now slide the pieces onto cardstock or anything else.
posted by soelo at 7:16 PM on July 9, 2019

I'd cover the front of the puzzle with masking tape. Your now one piece puzzle can now be flipped over to apply whatever adhesive you'd like to use. Once the puzzle is adhered to the permanent base of your choice the masking tape can be peeled off.
posted by Mitheral at 9:25 PM on July 9, 2019

If all else fails, move/flip the puzzle in sections. That way, it's easy enough to put the puzzle back together. (This is what we pretty much always resort to.)
posted by stormyteal at 12:28 AM on July 10, 2019

Response by poster: Thank you all for your help! We ended up putting a light coat onto the puzzle, enough to keep it stuck together while we slid it onto the poster board, ready for mounting.
posted by China Grover at 7:14 AM on July 12, 2019