Great Ideas For Boards

So as mentioned previously, I use foam boards for the majority of puzzling. However, puzzles are not all standard in size. But a good portion of puzzles are, approximately 20” by 30” , which is basically the same size as foam poster boards. That surely makes them convenient and the boards are very lightweight. Now if you need a board that is bigger than one board, you can easily cut and adjust to a bigger size foam board. Cut the foam boards to the size you would like or require and simply use a solid wide packing tape on the front and back.So if you discover that your puzzle is 40” x 50” , you would need at least two foam boards to custom cut that size. Depending on how many cuts it takes you to customize your puzzle board size, you would lay it out flat and use the wide clear (or something similar to clear) packing tape to tape the front and back seams of the pieces you are joining together. Once that is assembled together you can use door insulation foam tape around the outer edge of your customized cut board to prevent pieces from sliding off. Be gentle moving your new custom board so it does not bend. Some creativity may be required to locate a jigsaw puzzle board that would be user-friendly. Here are some ideas that can be used for jigsaw puzzle boards.

Large foil baking trays have edges

Picture frames with or without the glass but has the backboard still available

School Bulletin boards made of cork usually have an outer edge

School Whiteboards usually have an outer edge around it

Plexiglass (hard plastic) with foam insulation around the outer edge

Large appliance boxes with door foam insulation on the edge

Cloth mats

To board or not to board…or just use a cloth mat? What works better? To answer that I just have to look at what I have been doing constantly for the past 10 years to determine what works for me. I use foam boards. I tried the cloth mats and I reviewed them too. Cloth mats have some positive and negative points. PROS: very light to move pieces stick quite well to the cloth uses a roll up feature for storage CONS: no edges around the matt the assembling area is limited pieces do not slide pieces stick too well sometimes mat may be wrinkled-the puzzle does not sit flat

Hmmmm...I see more cons than pros...sorry, cloth mats are out for puzzling for me, however I still have a few non-completed puzzles rolled up in a cloth mats, ha! So I do use them for storage.

Foam Boards

As I said above I use foam boards from the Dollar Store. Here ’ s why….

Here ’ s how…

‘Sandwich’ the completed puzzle in between 2 boards, so the one the puzzle is assembled on and place the 2nd one on top. The assembled puzzle is in between or ‘ sandwiched’ with a foam board on the bottom and one on top.

Next, secure with some type of clips, preferably the Westcott Black Fold Back Clips. Use at least 8 clips as in 2 on each side of the 4 sides.

Then, carefully flip the foam boards over. Remove the clips and foam board. Voila! The back of the puzzle can then be taped with wide clear packing tape or glued if you choose to use the glued method on the back as well as the front. Some puzzlers do both sides.

they cost petty cash they are lightweight they are easily moveable they can be custom cut then taped to the size of any puzzle 2 foam boards can be taped securely to double the size easily Great to use for flipping puzzles over