As it happened (from my Journal archives)

November 29, 2004

7:15 pm - In several work sessions today, I designed the figural sets for #569, #571 and #572. I also designed the precise pathway for an interior wavy border for #569 as this puzzle has an outer "Monopoly Board" like set of squares with shops surrounding a large tourist map of Sanibel & Captiva. The narrow pathway where the interior border is being placed is not exactly a rectangle, so modifications to the design had to be made to compensate for the variations. I hoped to get to cutting today, but did not. The initial cutting of this large 30" by 24" puzzle will be difficult. Cutting starts tomorrow morning.

November 30, 2004

10:02 pm - Cutting marathon in progress. This morning I started cutting #569, Sanibel & Captiva, finally. I cut the interior wavy border separating the outer "shops" from the interior picture - this was extremely difficult as I had to contort myself to turn the board while trying to see where the cutting was going on, particularly when going around the interior corners, while at the same time trying to feed the huge board into the blade at the correct angle, all without breaking the superthin blade! No show stopper problems, and somehow I did the interior border without a single blade break. After that was done, I began work on the "shops" and cut about 150 of the planned 200 "shop pieces". I had hoped to get all 200 done. Each "shop" is being cut in one of my various cutting styles, averaging about 5 pieces per regular sized "shop". Eventually I'll have pictures. Tomorrow I'll be starting early as I'd like to complete the puzzle on December 2; the puzzle will have around 600 pieces. The interior picture is a large puzzle on its own, about 24" x 20" and will have around 400 pieces, including one large "sprawling" Creative Style piece, per customer request, and one large Treat Piece (a cut out of a sitting pelican). The thin semi-glossy litho paper is cutting well.

Puzzle #569, Sanibel & Captiva, 30" x 24", prior to any cutting
The outer shops are being cut as mini-puzzles connected together by large knobs
The outer edge was trimmed to a thin inner black line, this morning
The shops are separated from the large interior picture by a wavy border within the white border

December 1, 2004

7:54 pm - Cutting marathon continuing. Combined with very harrowing initial cutting of the large interior section of the puzzle today, super cold temperatures in the shop (high 50's with space heater at full blast, that the large interior section is mostly Creative style and that the wood is 5-ply instead of my usual 4-ply, I only achieved another 130 or so pieces today. It's clear that it is going to take two more full days of cutting to finish it. The backlog is still very doable, but I've lost another slack day. The December eBay puzzle is expendable before Christmas and I've now moved it to the bottom of this year's queue. Once Sanibel & Captiva is done, and it WILL be done on Friday, the pace of puzzle completions will pick up dramatically.

December 2, 2004

10:03 pm - Cutting marathon continuing. Got up early and worked on Sanibel & Captiva all day, close to nine hours of cutting. I'm now at around the 3/4 mark and I should complete the puzzle tomorrow, but it will take another long day and I've committed to see someone in a Christmas play in the evening. The 1/4" Finland Birch is hard to cut, some blades wear out very quickly, or have to be rejected out of hand, they simply do not "want" to cut the wood. Yesterday was so cold in the shop that when I got home I broke out in shivers and had to put on lots of layers to recover. Today was cold too, but with thermal underwear, wool socks and wool knit hat, I was actually quite toasty. Temperatures in San Diego have been running well below normal this week and there has been frost inland.

December 3, 2004

5:57 pm - Cutting marathon ended. Long day of cutting today and just a few minutes ago completed #569, Sanibel & Captiva. I suspect I made the interior section somewhat denser than planned, and I'm estimating the total pieces at 700 instead of contracted 600. The puzzle is impressive. I have just finished four grueling days at the saw and need a break from cutting.

By the way #569, contains a "Penta-curl", and per customer request, a "Hexa-curl" and a "Hepta-curl" (5, 6 and 7 converging curls with the 6 and 7 ones new). I cut these today and they came out fine. Pictures coming.