Hi. (I’m still working on a salutation that feels right.)
So when I make a ten-piece 1/8th-inch thick puzzle that fits into a mini matchbox, I round the edges of the uncut picture before I cut it. But why?
There are reasons. There are always reasons. We are always thinking through things here. One reason is it feels better. I love the feel of wooden puzzle pieces. But I’m not fond of sharp edges. I know it can’t always be helped when I cut the pieces. It makes even sharper points when I start cutting in at a less than 90° (because the other side is then greater than 90°.) Either way, one side is very pokey. And that’s icky.
Another reason is it helps with lifts. Lifts are when the lamination and paper pull away from the board. I want these things to last a lifetime. And not just any lifetime. My lifetime. And your lifetime. I want these things to last at least our lifetimes. So we glue down any lifts we find. If you find a lift, you have my permission to glue that sucker down.
A third reason is I think it looks better. It’s done by hand. You can tell a machine didn’t just stamp it out. It varies. Look at the corners in the first picture. They aren’t all the same. Can you tell? You can’t? Well, I can’t either, but I bet if you had one in your hand you could.
So I round the corners. Mostly. I might not always. But I do now. Some stuff even has irregular borders. I do that on some of the big piece puzzles already. I’m thinking I might start doing that on some of the other puzzles too. I could do it on the mini matchboxes too. I don’t mind doing one more step to get the puzzle the way I think will be the best for it.
Thanks for reading.
Craig
Claimer (See, it’s the opposite of a Disclaimer):
You can find the puzzles featured on our blog at larkwalkpuzzles.etsy.com or under the “shop” heading of this website (Hint: it’s less expensive here rather than there). Any puzzles you can’t find at either place can be quickly made to order. Just get in touch with us at either store site.