Puzzles for the kids

I love making stuff for the kids. As a child I spent too much time in the hospital and I remember it - unfavorably. As a "participant" at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and VA Medical Center San Diego I see too much of what I do not want to see. How do you make the day better for those you do not know? Make a guess, you may be right, you may be wrong but it bets doing nothing.

These puzzles are all from recycled / repurposed wood in two layers at right angles to each other for strength. There is a "base plate" for fitting the puzzle and holding the parts. The animals are all hand painted with acrylic paints for coloring. Enamel paints ran when top coated. The cuts are made on a jig saw at 900 strokes per minute with a spiral cut blade so the kerf is very small. All edges were sanded smooth. The finishing coats are polyurethane with sanding to bring the grain down each time. That resulted in five finish coats on most and six on a couple. Now they are smooth.

To hold all the little pieces I took scrap boards and drove a lot of pin nails in them in a matrix of about 3/4" x 3/4". The pin nails hardly affected the paint and held them very well. Lots of little pieces in the manufacturing mix.

The end count was ten. One went to the three-year old next door neighbor on his birthday.

Kind of fun and good therapy.

Thanks,

Rex