What is the best way to fix down a Jigsaw?

[Dave]

I have a mangle, sorry cold laminator. I also have a bottle of PVA and a roller, from your collective experience, what works best.

Dave

[Bill Henry]

Staples!

Sorry, it’s the end of the week and I’m a little punchy.

If a customer wishes glass to keep it clean, we generally sandwich the jigsaw between the glass and foam board – no adhesives.

If the customer wishes to be able to “feel the texture”, then we usually dry mount it with a reversible dry mount tissue.

Both PVA and cold mounting (PMA) will work, but both a little messy. I would opt for the PMA because you won’t have to wait until the glue dries.

[Roboframer]

If a customer wishes glass to keep it clean, we generally sandwich the jigsaw between the glass and foam board – no adhesives.

If the customer wishes to be able to “feel the texture”, then we usually dry mount it with a reversible dry mount tissue.

Both PVA and cold mounting (PMA) will work, but both a little messy. I would opt for the PMA because you won’t have to wait until the glue dries.

Well, I recommend that everything on paper is glazed - and the surface of a jigsaw, is paper.

I also recommend that anything glazed does not touch the glass.

Therefore a jigsaw is a 'challenge' - read 'money earner'

There was a time, when if a jigsaw came in not already stuck down, I'd either make a readymade-to-order or turn it away - and I'm pretty sure it was Bill that inspired me to deal with the problem one time on TFG - and now I do!

In fact, if it IS stuck down - I won't trust what it's stuck to and will improve on it, piece by piece if need be, and if it's not - I'll put a piece of glass over it, and the board it's on, flip the lot over, remove the board and replace it with a PMA'd (or whatever) board of my own.

If it's not too big though - and already stuck down - I'll maybe do a melinex overlay. Bottom line is I'll try and end up with something looking the same regards mount/frame, at first glance, as if it were all in one piece, and not 10,000 - or whatever.

I wouldn't put a cheap poster against the glass (generally) and nor would I drymount it with no glass (ever) - so, a jigsaw, and I mean your average jigsaw, as there is such a thing as a collectible jigsaw - is at least one up from that mass produced print, as time has been taken to put it together.

I hate jigsaws - as in putting them together, but when they come in for framing I see them as prints with compulsory framing upgrades .............. or the customer can go the readymade-to-order route and either slap it against the glass or take the risk of their self adhesive board failing if the thing is spaced from the glass - not my problem, as long as their choice was an informed one - and it'll be detailed on the order form too!

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

Most, if not all the jig-saws I have framed have been the massed produced type that are made from grey board.
I will always stick them down onto mount board with PVA (thinned down a little). Cut a bit of mount board a couple of inches bigger all the way round, lay the jig-saw upside-down and apply the glue to the mount board (thinly, not too much). Place the mount board on the back of the jig-saw and leave something heavy on it to keep it flat. After an hour or two it should be dry and ready to go.
If its not having a mount the excess mount board can be trimmed. But try and go with a mount if you can.

Just a small tip – If the jig-saw is not stuck down when the customer brings it in, stick it down right away as then you have less chance of dropping it and having to put it back together.

[foxyframer]

Good tip Jolly.

How many bring in loose jigsaws - too many ? Who wants to stay up all night, all week, fitting bits of blue sky together. My idea of a complete nightmare!

Framing them is a good little earner, but I hate bloody jigsaws anyway; what a waste of time. I would as my daughter says: 'I'd sooner stick pins in my eyes' .

Foxy

[Roboframer]

My mother was a jigsaw nutter - the worst ones I saw her do were as follows.

A load of nails
A load of baked beans
A circular one - hundreds of cats' heads - but it was double sided - each side the same!

(How'd you frame that to see both sides then?)

Oh, and a holographic one - sod that!

[Dave]

Once again some sterling advice. Love the staples suggestion, brightened up a gloriously wet August day. Thanks.

Dave

[RobinC]

We take a deposit and give the customer a piece of Perfectmount to stick the jigsaw down to. When it comes in we then stick it under the press to consolidate it before framing it. I have found that most of the jigsaws are not expensive and the customers are usually not looking to spend that much on having them framed ( I know there are exceptions, but not many!), so we look at the least time consuming way possible - I don't want to be paying my staff to be sat down assembling jigsaws!

Occasionally they come in in one of the jigsaw carrying portfolio type things, again we use perfectmount, turn the jigsaw upside down, square it up and put the SA board on top. In the press and you have an uncle Robert!

RobinC

[prospero]

I don't get them that often. Usually they come in complete with the board the customer assembled them on. I tend to forget to give them the boards back. I have accumlated nice collection of jigsaw boards over the years.

The last one I did I mounted onto black mountboard about 2" oversize using drimount film slightly under the size of the jigsaw. Fixed down the film first, then slid the puzzle on. Checked it for squareness and then gave it a quick squeeze in the press. After that I trimmed the board slightly so that the borders were parallel with the puzzle and framed it with spacers made from two thicknesses of scrap blackcore board to keep the glass just off the surface. I think they look better with the edges showing.

[Roboframer]

.................Checked it for squareness and then gave it a quick squeeze in the press. After that I trimmed the board slightly so that the borders were parallel with the puzzle

With that method - i.e the item is placed central by eye or otherwise 'roughly' and then the board the item on is trimmed to match - you get one chance. Maybe you'd also make the board slightly larger than req'd to compensate for that trimming to make square/equi-distant (sp?)

Prevention is better than cure - grab some foam board offcut strips - you want 3" around the item? Then make the strips 3". Make everything - put the backing (mount) in to the frame, place your 3" strips in the frame and place your item in the space they make and fix in place - allow to dry/otherwise 'go off' - remove strips. No trimming req'd.

and framed it with spacers made from two thicknesses of scrap blackcore board to keep the glass just off the surface.

Have you tried econospace? far more convenient for things that don't require that much spacing (up to about 10mm)

I think they look better with the edges showing.

Flirted