I helped my son build one of those wooden puzzles with all of the tiny, intricate little pieces that pop out of a flat sheet of basswood. You know, the kind with all of the wee little parts that slide together to form a dinosaur skeleton or whatever. I was amazed at how perfect the parts were, and how easily they popped out of the sheet of 1/4" wood with just fingertip pressure.
That got me thinking…how the hell do they cut those? With a laser? With a giant, high pressure die? What? It’s obviously a mass-production method, most likely computer assisted.
I’ve worked with wood as a hobby for years, and there is no way in hell I could ever cut anything even remotely that tiny, intricate, and mathematically perfect with any of the standard tools at my disposal.
If the pieces are die cut you should be able to see compressed wood near the edges of each piece.
If laser cut, you’ll likely see some charring at the edges:
I don’t know about puzzles, but I recently saw a Christmas ornament with a fairly intricate image cut through a chip of wood. I was told it was cut with a laser, and it only cost a few bucks.
The mass produced puzzles are either die-cut, or done with a laser, as already mentioned. On the other hand, I know several people who do very inticate work with scrollsaws, and few who still use fret saws or coping saws. They are certainly capable of doing puzzles.
I followed the link to the Ayers site, and I have to say that I don’t care for the look, nor could I subject someone else’s pictures to that process. I have a hard enough time framing original oils.