Greetings everyone! I hope everybody has found some indoor fun over the holiday weekend and that 2024 is full of maker adventures! You know we are always up to something here!

We did some jigsaw puzzles several years ago, some cardboard from Amazon and some laser cut wood puzzles from a company called Nautilus Puzzles. We told ourselves that we would mount them but literally years passed and they sat like layers of cake on the basement island. Sewing projects, home improvement projects, and uh, that Rezo laser build and ALL the ensuing ideas for creations that sprung from that, then the CNC router…did I mention I just bought another sewing machine? We are drinking from a fire hose over here. It’s lots of fun but things do fall through the cracks. Soooo, when Cameron suggested we tackle the puzzles this weekend I jumped at it!

Knowing that cardboard and wood would respond to epoxy differently we went to YouTube for advice and learned some helpful tips, particularly for cardboard puzzles. There are of course other ways to preserve puzzles but I love me some epoxy.

Cameron measured and cut both plywood and MDF mounts for the puzzles. He also attached the hanging hardware to avoid damaging the puzzle or finish once the epoxy was set. We coated the puzzles in thick layers of Modpodge to “seal” them, and after they were dry we covered the wood mounts with Tite Bond 3 wood glue, then let that dry overnight before shimming and leveling the puzzles to prep for the epoxy pours. You really want to get what ever you’re pouring onto LEVEL.

This video is longer than any others I’ve posted. Cameron has spliced four videos into one.

Some stills of the process and end result.

In other fun, our refrigerator died on Friday night. I trust that most of our US based subscribers have been in deep freeze this weekend so here are a few chuckles for you. Worry not, we do have another refrigerator in the basement but if we HAD to, the porch would do the job given the weather. We are in wait of the repair/replacement costs.

Stay safe out there and hey, go make something!

Dana