I was asked to make a simple wooden puzzle, Piggy.
I usually draw a pattern on the computer and then print it on paper, easily changing the size of the image depending on the size of the workpiece. This time I found myself without a printer, so I drew it directly on a piece of birch board. The thickness of the workpiece is about 18 mm. For sawing with a hand jigsaw this is a lot, but just right for a jigsaw machine (pictured). Option homemade machine showed October in this thread
Next stage- drilling holes - eyes. It is better to do this before sawing, as small parts can easily be split with a drill.
Then sawing. I use German Flying Dutchman files. There are files different shapes and thickness. I prefer FD-UR (ultra reverse) files. They are very sharp, maintain this sharpness well when working and give a clean cut, which often requires almost no further grinding. The exception is that when sawing along the fibers, rags remain, as in this photo on the belly of a piglet.
The thickness of the file may vary. I choose depending on the thickness of the parts and further finishing. It is better to saw thick workpieces with thick files, since with a small gap the parts are then difficult to disassemble and assemble.
Also further painting and varnishing require thicker files, since the paint layer is also thick.
Upon completion of cutting, grind all parts. And my customer will do the painting.
How to quickly make a simple wooden puzzle? For example, like this:
Let's start with a sketch. I usually draw on paper and then stick the drawing onto a piece of wood or plywood using tape or glue. Universal contact adhesive (Moment, rubber No. 88, BF-6 and others) or an adhesive pencil will do. But not at this time.
I sketched the sketch directly on a piece of birch board 18mm thick
First - the general outline, then I outlined the mouth, eyes and tail. Next, we divide it into pieces. Special attention I draw attention to the fact that there are no too narrow jumpers across the wood fibers in order to ensure the strength of the parts.
The sketch is ready. It is better to drill the eyes in advance, because finished parts can easily be split when drilled. Now I start cutting. As always - jigsaw machine (scrollsaw) Jet JSS-16, blades Flying Duchman FR-UR№5
If you do not plan to make a standing toy, you can use thin plywood and a hand jigsaw.
An important stage of work is grinding. Every detail is carefully sanded sandpaper. And here is the result:
It looks like it turned out to be not a domestic pig from a farm at all,
But rather, this is a wild boar, judging by its powerful fangs - a real boar-cleaver.
Here is my drawing for cutting a puzzle out of plywood or wood. You can freely download and use the puzzle pattern for your own work. I'll be interested to see photos of the resulting boar.
MATERIALS AND TOOLS
- workpiece for sawing up to 20 mm thick;
- files #5 or #7;
- fine-grained sandpaper;
- drill with a diameter of 1.5-2 mm;
- double sided tape;
- printed diagram;
- preferred finishing composition.
Original wooden puzzles from the archives of Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts magazine are a stylish and easy-to-make project that will be appreciated by... professional craftsmen, as well as those who are just starting to master. Mosaic puzzles have smooth and uncomplicated cutting lines, without sharp turns, making them easy to make not only on a power machine, but also with a hand jigsaw.
Both softwood and hardwood pieces are suitable for sawing this project. Instead of a glued board, it is advisable to use a solid mass or scraps with a single texture pattern. This will preserve the visual appeal and design brevity of the project. Optimal thickness workpieces – 13-15 mm. Puzzle sizes may vary depending on individual wishes.
To cut the workpiece, cut out the main shapes and create cuts, it is appropriate to use jigsaw files #5 or #7. In a good puzzle, all elements should fit perfectly together. You should not rely on finishing grinding of the ends; the quality of the cut should initially be as high as possible. To do this, choose files with an increased number of teeth per inch (higher TPI value in the marking). When working on the machine, it is also important to correctly select the optimal speed, since an excessively high stroke rate can lead to the formation of burns on the cut.
When cutting out a puzzle with a jigsaw, the printed diagram can be pasted onto wooden blank any in a convenient way, but the experience of the masters shows that the most practical solution in this case is to use double-sided tape.
Eyes are made into the cut out elements using a 1.5-2 mm drill for animal figures. After this, peel off the tape and sand thoroughly front side every detail. Cutting out educational puzzles with a jigsaw is completed by applying decorative finishing, chosen at the discretion of the master.
How are plywood puzzles made? Today, many of you have seen on the Internet many sculptures created using intersecting ribs. In our humble opinion, the Japanese company d-torso has been most successful in this matter. We will tell you how such masterpieces are created in this article.
There are several ways. The first and simplest is creating drawings using special software. Of the programs we know, this is Autodesk 123d make: you load a 3D model, set the parameters of the sections, and as a result you get a layout in vector format. Disadvantages of Autodesk 123d make are a section only in two selected planes (this is normal, since the algorithm cannot work otherwise) and a problem with loading many 3D models. The program is still raw and the last update was from 2014. There is also a plugin for the SketchUp program, which we will talk about later, and it is called Slice modeler. A common disadvantage of such programs is the manual modification of models and the throwing out of a huge number of unnecessary parts. It may take the same amount of time as the third method, which will be discussed later.
The second method is to create vector drawings in a graphics editor with the calculation of sections in different planes. For this method, you must have at least minimal artistic skills and good spatial thinking. The contour can be drawn in the same CorelDraw. This is where you cut with planes. Anyone who studied engineering graphics well at a university will immediately catch on. We don’t see any downsides to this method; with experience, such models can be made quite quickly. Plus there is a creative component to this. A minor minus is the inability to see the 3D model in isometry already in assembled form without preliminary cutting.
The third method is to create a puzzle from the original 3D model “by hand”. This method combines the advantages of the previous two. You can decide for yourself where to divide the model by planes, how far the contour of the element will extend into the model. You can immediately see the overall picture when creating planes. The disadvantages of this method are the mandatory presence of a 3D model, as for the first option. We will tell you about this method using the example of making an elephant's head.
The main manufacturing process is working with the SketchUp program. Moreover, there is free version this product (although this method can be modeled in almost any program for creating 3D graphics). Find a 3D model that you want to make into a puzzle and load it into SketchUp.
... we copy with a certain step in the right direction.
The next stage is the intersection of the model with planes. It is necessary to carry out such operations with parallel planes or with planes that do not intersect each other. Before doing this, be sure to create a reference point in order to correctly group elements from different planes in the future.
Select the planes and use the Intersect Faces command to intersect the model in the right place.
After executing the command, which can take quite a long time depending on the PC, you can see the outline where the plane intersects the model.
After this, remove the model along with the section planes and you should be left with the outlines of future puzzle elements. Be sure to first copy the model along with the reference point for subsequent sectioning with other planes.
We have a set closed loops, which form future puzzle pieces. In order to form sections, we close each of the contours with a line.
Some contours may lose segments after removing the model and cutting planes. In this case, you need to manually close them. All this, of course, depends on the original model.
All that remains is to remove the small “garbage” and the final picture will look like...
The next stage is similar to the previous one. We just cut the model along a different axis. If the first axis was conditionally X, then now we take Y.
Subsequent operations are repeated.
Don't forget about the anchor point. On bottom photo you can see the overlap of sections from different planes when using an anchor point.
Let's crop our future model and remove unnecessary elements.
As you can see, the lower sections of the trunk hang in the air. Let's make a section between the two previous ones and “link” the elements of the trunk into a solid structure.
All that remains is to add sections along the Z axis. The whole process is familiar to you.
Later it turned out that two sections along the Z axis would be enough and the middle ones were thrown out. We added tusks and drew the ears to scale in Corel. The vectors were imported from Corel into SketchUp and combined with our elements.
Next, using the Push/Pull command, we add volume to the sections. We pull to the thickness of the future material. If you plan to cut from 4mm plywood, then accordingly you will use this value. We advise you to immediately make the entire model on a real scale to present the overall picture in the future.
Final 3D model
Creating grooves for joining puzzle elements is done manually and this is a rather long and monotonous process compared to the previous one. Anyone familiar with SketchUp will do this without any problems. Let us demonstrate this operation using the example of two trunk parts. Important point: in the process of creating elements, even at the stage of creating sections, be sure to group each element separately.
Select one of the elements and go into editing mode. We draw the outline of the intersection of our elements.
For convenience, using the Hide command, we hide the “unnecessary” element for now and close the contour of the groove.
Using the Push/Pull command, we extrude a groove in the element.
We carry out a similar operation with another puzzle element.
Creating grooves can be done faster using the same Intersect Faces command, but you will still have to modify it manually. Next, we carry out similar operations with the remaining parts of the puzzle. And ultimately, we lay out all the elements on one plane for subsequent export to CorelDraw.
Let us immediately clarify that exporting 2D graphics from SketchUp is still poorly implemented and some files can only be exported using installed plugins. The most suitable file format for export is dxf. You can try both dwg and eps. In general, any format will do to achieve the goal. When exporting sections, be sure to make sure that they lie in the same plane and that you have selected the appropriate camera (view) mode. The camera (view) should look strictly perpendicular to the elements. Otherwise, unnecessary curves will be exported.
Actually, at this stage the creation of a model for vector cutting of a 3D puzzle is completed. Next is the actual production of the puzzle on any CNC cutting machine or manually using patterns. We also promised to talk about the “Slice modeler” plugin for SketchUp. This plugin allows you to do the above work automatically, but as with any automation process there are some drawbacks. Slice modeler works great with simple three-dimensional shapes, as well as simple 3D models. With all the models that we imported into SketchUp, it worked a bit crookedly.
When you start the plugin, it pops up a window in which you select the section step, axis direction, thickness of the final element, color and layer. For example, we will select the X axis. The plugin provides information about the number of sections and carries out the process itself.
After some time, it produces finished sections of the model and requests information about the other axis. For example, the Z axis is selected.
The result of the plugin working with this model is not very good, since many sections need to be corrected and brought to mind. At normal operation At the end of the process, Slice modeler places the puzzle elements in one plane, and also numbers each part. This plugin cuts in two planes; sections in the third plane must be completed manually or in a cunning way– carry out the process in pairs in two planes, and then superimpose them (for example, XY and XZ). The bottom line is this: Slice modeler can be used with simple 3D models or with models made on high level(example). This process can take even longer than manual cutting.
Now let's move on directly to the manufacturing process of our parts. We will cut out the puzzle elements on this beauty.
Laser engraver A3+SPLIT in tabletop version. This is already the second generation of A3+SPLIT. The working field size is 300x450, the actual engraving speed is 550 mm/s. Cutting 4mm plywood at a speed of 12-15 mm/s. After suffering with the K-40 engraver, working on this machine is a pleasure. Made here in Ukraine, the guys always have the components in stock and the support is at a high level. By the way, there is a package with a “pin” table. Anyone who has worked with plywood in large quantities knows all the “delights” of washing the edges of the knife table from soot.
The actual work process comes down to installing plywood on the desktop and launching a program for cutting contours, which is closely integrated with CorelDraw.
In total, the entire model required five sheets measuring 300 x 500 mm. This is even taking into account the base of the shield, which was already completed in CorelDraw. Be sure to check the thickness of the plywood before cutting and adjust real drawings taking into account the laser cut thickness of 0.1 mm.
Dimensions finished model amounted to 50x50x40 cm.
And finally, the finished result.
Total by time this work took one full working day. Of course, for beginners this time may be a little long, but with experience comes automation of the process. We would like to emphasize that this manufacturing method similar products don’t be the only one, and if you have the desire and time, then go for it.
No animals were harmed during the making of the 3D puzzle.
How to quickly make a simple wooden puzzle? For example, like this:
Let's start with a sketch. I usually draw on paper and then stick the drawing onto a piece of wood or plywood using tape or glue. Universal contact adhesive (Moment, rubber No. 88, BF-6 and others) or an adhesive pencil will do. But not at this time.
I sketched the sketch directly on a piece of birch board 18mm thick
First - the general outline, then I outlined the mouth, eyes and tail. Next, we divide it into pieces. I pay special attention to the fact that there are no too narrow jumpers across the wood fibers to ensure the strength of the parts.
The sketch is ready. It is better to drill the eyes in advance, since the finished parts can easily be split during drilling. Now I start cutting. As always - Flying Duchman FR-UR#5 blades
If you do not plan to make a standing toy, you can use thin plywood and a hand jigsaw.
An important stage of work is grinding. Each part is carefully sanded with sandpaper. And here is the result:
It looks like it didn't turn out to be homemade at all,
But rather, this is a wild boar, judging by its powerful fangs - a real boar-cleaver.
Here is my drawing for cutting a puzzle out of plywood or wood. You can freely download and use the puzzle pattern for your own work. I'll be interested to see photos of the resulting boar.