Over-oversized jigsaw puzzle

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artfolio

artfolio

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Posts
3,581
Loc
Perth Western Australia
I have fielded an enquiry from a customer who has just completed a huge jigsaw puzzle.

This is the email:

Hi Guys,

I have just recently completed construction of a 24000 piece jigsaw puzzle
entitled "Life".

It's a project that I, along with some help, have been working on for some
time now, with the goal to donate it to Telethon for the kids in 2014.

But before I do I'm looking for someone or a business to come on board and
donate some time and resources to either frame or mount the puzzle.

The puzzle measures 4000mm long and 1600mm high. It comes in 4 parts consisting of 6000 pieces each.


Is this something that you would be interested in helping with?


There is no way I could take this on, especially as a freebie as my workshop is not big enough but Telethon is a good charity and I would like to give him a few clues to hopefully steer him towards someone with a bigger setup who could do it.

Glazing seems to be out due to the weight factor and of course laminating over an uneven surface would look pretty horrible and finding a large enough substrate and actually mounting it would be another nightmare as would finding or making a long enough moulding.

Has anyone ever seen or done anything like this?
 
Something to to consider:

If this is to be auctioned off for charity, whoever wins the bid will need to have the space to hang it.

Given its size, is it possible to cut in three and frame each panel and offer it as a triptych?? Three manageble pieces is a lot easier to move around than one big frame, for both the framer and the new owner. If the four panels are rectangular, offer it as a 4pc poliptych!
 
I did a huge one like that years ago that I believe came in 6 parts each of which were 6000 pieces.

My suggestion to the customer was first to consider how to transport and get it into whatever room in the house - which was impossible. The solution was to frame in sections and the hang with slight gap between. A thin sectional metal frame was chosen and the cost is not to high.

I would not donate this if the customer were only thinking about donating it to the charity as it might wind up staying in his possession, I would want to see the donation certificate first.



Another point to consider. Just because the person that did the puzzle thinks it is so cool. Bidding on it might bring far less that the cost of framing, as not everyone wants or needs a huge puzzle hanging in their house.
 
Being metrically challenged I had to convert to inches.

4K by 1.6K is 157 by 63 inches. Where are you gonna get glazing that big? And will it fit into the trunk of an SUV? Will it get out of your shop? Sure it'll fit out a door but can you get it to the door in the first place? A 13 foot long 5 foot tall plank of wood is pretty cumbersome to maneuver around a shop. Or into the buyer's home...

I'd pass, especially if the person proposing this is looking for me to donate the time, labor and materials. :)

If you are looking for someone that might have done a similar sized project I would suggest contacting Small Corp in Greenfield MA. This sounds like it is the equivalent of a museum display. A carpenter or cabinet maker may be a better choice of craftsman for a project this big.
 
If it comes in 4 parts and you want to support this project, just frame the 4 parts separately with thin metal frames. They could hang together as you would with a separately framed tryptich. Wall buddies would allow them to hang flat - improving the illusion.
 
prospero said:
Be cheaper to donate $500 and skip the framing. :icon11:
Click to expand...

Ditto


I applaud you for wanting to help, but this would be one job I wouldn't be able to do myself. I also wonder if the charity will be all that pleased with it to be honest. Can you imagine anyone having the space to put up such a beast? More even, can you imagine anyone willing to bid on a framed puzzle?

I have never understood the framing of puzzles and probably never will. I only know that if I had a wall big enough to put something like this on it, it would definitely not be a puzzle, done by someone else.
 
What's the betting that if you did do it, it would be stuck in the shop like an iceberg in a shipping lane for weeks on end while they try to figure how to move it.

:p

No good deed goes unpunished.

One of the truest sayings ever said.
 
Be careful on how handle these jigsaws, they can break anytime. Talking from experience.
 
Pat, it's 13 feet and change by 5 feet 3 plus inches. In 1/4s its still 3 1/2 feet by 5+ feet, so your looking at 4 sheets of oversized plexi and oversized fome or gatorboard. Or masonite. It's bigger than 60" so it'll stick out of most presses, so mounting will be a bear.

If you forego the plexi or any glazing then chances are almost guaranteed that pieces will fall off in transporting :) So a piece that you are doing to show off your framing skills is going to be unweildy, ungainly and flawed. I'd give this opportunity to a competitor before i tackled it myself! :)
 
I've been talking with another framer in the area that is faced with a similar problem, a jigsaw puzzle that is about 60" X 168". The corporation that wants the puzzle framed has a budget though, so he is researching the possibilities. One major difference is that the one he is working with has been mounted to a very heavy fabric, and rolled, face out, for storage and transportation. The initial budget figures are just shy of $30K.
Logistics and engineering are a major concern. A short term rental on a climate controlled space will be required. Acrylic glazing will have to be seamed at some point, and the wall where it is going will have to be fortified before hanging something of this size and weight on it. The frame itself will have to be greatly modified to support the art, mount and glazing.
It is an unreasonable expectation for someone to think that this might get framed for free.
 
This sounds more like a large wall mural. Think outside the (picture frame) box. How about mounting it directly to the wall with contact cement. Then trim the entire piece with moulding or wood trim nailed to the wall....sort of like you'd trim out large window. It not like it's a valuable piece of art....it's just a puzzle. I'd sure figure out a way to do it, this sounds like a fun challenge and neat job to tackle.
 
hangupsgallery said:
This sounds more like a large wall mural. Think outside the (picture frame) box. How about mounting it directly to the wall with contact cement. Then trim the entire piece with moulding or wood trim nailed to the wall....sort of like you'd trim out large window. It not like it's a valuable piece of art....it's just a puzzle. I'd sure figure out a way to do it, this sounds like a fun challenge and neat job to tackle.
Click to expand...


Now that is brilliant!

They could display a picture of the finished item at the auction then go to the purchaser's house/office with a tube of glue and a couple of spare weeks and assemble it in situ. (Wouldn't it be a blast if they got three quarters of the way through and realised they were running out of wall??:faintthud:)

I also like Bob's comments - I have no intention of doing this job myself but I can't think of a competitor I hate enough to recommend.
 
Thanks Art ;)

Not sure that I have a competitor I 'hate' enough to recommend but I know a couple that could be convinced to try this job :) and one who, if he heard I was considering it would jump at the chance to steal it from me... Maybe I do know one I'd recommend after all.... ;) psst hey bill henry ever framed a puzzle.....
 
Thank you to everyone who helped out with advice on this.

The customer was appreciative but is still determined to somehow get this thing framed in one piece so he is researching other possibilities.

I think I have dodged a bullet by ducking this one.
 
Do you know what their budget is for framing this? They may ed up going to a handyman who will patch together four sheets of plywood and then use flooring cement to glue it down... :)
 
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