Care and Maintenance

General Care Recommendations

Wood puzzles are generally quite sturdy. Any narrow sections of wood will always be a little more vulnerable to breakage from stress, pressure, or dropping. Avoid dropping individual pieces or the assembled or disassembled puzzle from more than 18 inches. Through normal use, the edges of prints, photos, and fabrics may begin to peel up from the wood puzzle pieces. To prevent this handle all pieces with care and avoid excess upward force near the puzzle top. 

Most photos, prints, and fabrics will eventually fade in direct sunlight. While some prints may be made with archival quality inks, eventually UV exposure will eventually break them down. To keep your puzzles looking great long into the future, store them away from direct sunlight and if on display, behind UV protected glass or plastic.

Wood is a porous material and vulnerable to water damage. Some wood varieties are more porous than others and every wood will react slightly differently to water exposure. Tighter grain woods like maple may not have any immediate discernible reaction, while looser grains like pine or birch may have an immediate swelling reaction. The protective beeswax finish will provide additional protection against water but repeated exposure will wear on this finish and may require sanding to smooth the wood and renewal of the finish with additional coats.

It is generally advisable to avoid any water exposure to puzzles that are topped with a photo, print, or fabric as these materials are also very porous. Despite any protective coating applied to the print or fabric which will protect the top from minimal water exposure, these materials will wick moisture in from the cut edges of the pieces. This will undermine the glue used to attach the material and the protective top coat. It will also damage the material itself with discoloration/staining, wrinkling, or tearing which may not be fully repairable.

Renewal

Stand-up puzzles and other bare, stained, or painted puzzles that were originally coated with homemade beeswax finish may need to be renewed occasionally in order to maintain the best appearance and protection. Additional beeswax finish can be purchased from Jen's Jigsaws to renew the finish. Alternatively, any cutting board oil/wax finish may be used instead.

Re-Gluing

Occasionally, the mounted material of a puzzle may peel up and separate from the underlying wood. In these cases, any white craft glue can be used to glue the peeled material back down. To do this, use the tip of a toothpick or pin to dab a small amount of glue onto the puzzle piece or material and press the peeled section back down onto the piece. If the peeled section came loose of the piece entirely, ensure that it is lined up as close as possible to the edges of the piece. Apply firm pressure and using a clean toothpick or pin, remove any excess glue that squeezes out.

Sanding

Sanding may be required if the puzzle has been exposed to enough moisture that the wood has swelled and become rough or if the wood has been marked or discolored. If the damage is significant, you may want to start with a 120 grit sandpaper, but most minor marks or moisture swelling can be sanded down with 220 grit. Once the initial damage has been reduced, you can sand even smoother with 400 and 600 grit sandpapers. For stand-up, bare wood, and other puzzles which were previously finished with beeswax, you can apply a new coat of wax (see Renewal section above).

Repairing

If a puzzle piece breaks, any wood or craft glue can be used to repair the break. This is more common with soft woods like pine, but may occur with any hard wood and even plywood if enough pressure/stress is applied or if there are particularly thin areas on the piece where the grain runs perpendicular. Wood glue will create a stronger bond between the broken sections, but may result in a more obvious repair if there is excess squeeze out. White craft glue is often easier to clean if there is excess squeeze out, but will not form as strong of a bond between the broken sections and may deteriorate faster in high humidity.

Apply a very small amount of it with a toothpick or small brush to the break. Realign the two sections back together as closely as possible and apply firm pressure. A small clamp may be necessary to maintain firm pressure while the glue dries. In some cases, a small knob may break off of a puzzle piece and may not be able to be successfully reattached. If this has happened, it may be necessary to attach the broken knob to the adjoining puzzle piece instead of where it was broken off from. Apply the glue to the outside of the knob and seat it carefully into the puzzle piece it fits into. Try to avoid getting glue onto the top of the puzzle - you may want to seat the piece first and then use a pin to insert glue into the gap from the backside. Rest the puzzle piece on wax paper on a level surface to dry.