About the puzzle « The World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle – by Royce B. McClure

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About the puzzle

LIFE: The Great Challenge - by Royce B. McClure
Number of pieces: 24,000 !
Finished Puzzle Size: 428cm x 157cm (14ft 0.5 in x 5ft. 1.8in)

The official homepage for the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle is here: www.worldslargestpuzzle.com

26 Responses

on February 10, 2008 at 1:41 am | Reply SevenOut

Hey all… Just wanted to drop in and say what a great experience it was to do this puzzle. First to finish!! My wife and I have done many large puzzles over the years but this one was the most memorable. 24000 pieces!!

If you’re interested, you can check out our website to see how we put it together and the techniques we used to complete and mount it on the wall. Lots of pictures!

Happy Puzzling!
July 12, 2007 10:21 AM

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on February 10, 2008 at 1:52 am | Reply AniK

Bonjour amis puzzleurs du monde entier,

J’ai été enchantée par ce puzzle. Il est maginfique et super chouette à faire… C’est vrai qu’il est un peu grand mais l’avantage, c’est que vous avez plusieurs jours de plaisir en perpectives! Surtout, n’hésitez pas à envoyer vos commentaires et photos.

A bientôt et surtout, bon amusement!!!
July 13, 2007 5:01 AM

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on February 10, 2008 at 1:56 am | Reply Bibliomaven

Well, this is quite an undertaking. Almost done with the first quarter. Very enjoyable. Very different from the Heye and Haasteren puzzles I usually do.
July 13, 2007 6:32 AM

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on February 10, 2008 at 1:58 am | Reply Sheila

Hi Everyone,

I have finally finished the puzzle. What an amazing and enjoyable experience!

The first 3 sections were completed relatively quickly, but due to other commitments during the summer, I could not spend much time on the last section.

I would recommend anyone who like puzzling to try this one. You do not need a great deal of space. I used a table 3.5ft x 4ft.

I look forward to the next one, and reading more comments.
October 8, 2007 11:48 AM

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on February 10, 2008 at 1:59 am | Reply Carrie Babcock

It looks like people who have put the puzzle together uses a strategy. Has anyone tried just flipping the pieces over and putting it together? I love doing puzzles and that is the only way I have ever done them, even big ones.
October 9, 2007 3:14 PM

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on February 10, 2008 at 5:18 pm | Reply puzzlefan

I was wondering: is there a poster of this beautiful image available, other than the picture that is included on the box? If so, I might be interested in purchasing it (depending on size and price)?
on February 12, 2008 at 4:41 am | Reply wlplife

Yes, there is a poster that comes with the puzzle.
It is 38.5 inches wide x 14.25 inches tall
(980 mm wide x 36 mm tall)

It is folded flat into four neat folds – NOT rolled up, as the weight of the puzzle pieces would crush it otherwise.

I laminated the poster for durabilty since it was going to be handled a lot while being used for reference for assembling the puzzle. I used a matt laminate and the creases are barely noticable.
on April 13, 2008 at 5:29 pm | Reply Tony

i just finished the puzle and am looking for the best way to mount it on the wall
Please email me with any suggestions
Thanks
on May 8, 2008 at 7:40 pm | Reply brenda

Hi, I am almost finished with the puzzle and am going to be mounting it on luan plywood and framing. Can someone please tell me what is the best preserver to use on the front and what is the best glue to use to adhere it to the board. I have read all about the different ones who have complete the puzzle, but as to the actual sealing of the puzzle and the gluing, the information is a little sketching. Would appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks.
on May 8, 2008 at 9:31 pm | Reply WLPLIFE

Thank you for writing. As soon as you are complete on the puzzle we would love to get your details and photo for our Hall of Fame.

As far as to specifics of actual brands of glue, I’m sorry but I do not have that information. We have not assembled the puzzle ourselves
( too busy at the moment creating new art for new puzzles and other products ) and so I cannot give first-hand experience. I can only relay what others have told us, and for
that we have put write-up’s in our tips and FAQ.

http://www.worldslargestpuzzle.com/mounting.html

Educa the manufacturer of the puzzle does not recommend putting anything onto the surface of the puzzle. However I do know that some have written and said that they used special puzzle fixative on the front – however because of the size of this puzzle that could be costly. Certainly anything that you try should be tests
on a smaller ‘old’ or cheap puzzle, and then cautiously used in a corner of the Life puzzle and if it passes these tests then go ahead.

I know that a local puzzle shop owner used the white wood glue (like Elmer’s ) to glue an 18,000 piece puzzle, with satisfactory results except he did not know to glue it as a whole and glued it in the four sections as he completed them…unfortunately they didn’t join up!! You MUST use a glue that takes a while to dry so that you have time to position the sections together. However you do not want to use a glue ( i.e. like wallpaper glue) that is too
wet that would make the cardboard of the puzzle swell.

I hope that this helps.

Keep in touch. And congratulations on getting this far!
on August 3, 2008 at 2:56 am | Reply macaroli

Hi, I just finished the second section, but there’s a missing piece, what can i do?
on August 3, 2008 at 7:26 pm | Reply Linwood Small

My wife and I just recently finished the puzzle. I went to Home Depot and purchased three 4′ x 8′ sheets of foam insulation board. We cut and taped the foam boards so the area was 6′x 16′. We put the sections of the puzzle on it and glued the pieces using Elmer’s Craft Bond glue. We glued the entire outside edge of the puzzle first, gave it a day to dry and removed sections 4 pieces by 4 pieces at a time, applied glue in the area and slid the pieces back into position, working row by row, with my wife starting at the top and me at the bottom and meeting in the middle. (It took about a week). The glue was EXCELLENT in that it dried quickly, dried clear and most importantly, was flexible to allow the puzzle to be put on the wall with any pieces falling away. We did not use any sealer for the front of the puzzle because we liked it the way it looked.
on September 20, 2008 at 9:24 pm | Reply James Huffman

Hi all,
We are a small family group from Salt Lake City, Utah. We just finished the puzzle after nearly 7 months of working on it on and off!! This really is exciting for us, as the largest puzzles we had done before this one were only about a thousand pieces. We have yet to mount the puzzle, but we have been using sheets of contact paper to keep the pieces together once we finished each section. Thanks to everybody who posted tips online for this puzzle!! You all really helped us out! We plan on mounting it in the coming weeks and will be posting pictures soon.
on September 21, 2008 at 5:29 pm | Reply WLPLIFE

Dear James,

CONGRATULATIONS on completing!

We look forward to receiving your details so we can put you in our Hall of Fame!

I’m curious to know if you did it in 4 sections or if you mixed all the pieces before beginning.

Write soon, even if you don’t have the photo’s yet.
on September 22, 2008 at 5:50 am | Reply Laura

I really want to get this puzzle, but i can’t afford the almost 300.00 price tag, i am going to try and save for it but am having trouble, can anyone tell me where to find it at a very inexspensive price, Thanks!!

Laura.
on October 8, 2008 at 4:29 pm | Reply Laura

Wooo Hooo,

I found a website that has the puzzle for 279.00, I ordered it and it should be here friday(10-10-08) or monday, i can’t wait till it gets here, so now i can hopefully finish it as quickly as some people have, maybe i can find some friends to help, wish me luck.

Laura
Tacoma,WA
on October 16, 2008 at 3:10 pm | Reply Laura A

I finished the puzzle earlier this year and on all my puzzles for years I have used Mod Podge on the front ( I prefer the gloss coating as i think it keeps the puzzle bright) . It glues the puzzle and dries clear so that you cannot tell that it has been applied. Other glue like elmers will leave a filmy appearance.

Hope this helps…
on November 27, 2008 at 3:20 am | Reply Scott and Dawn

We just purchased our puzzle today, We are so excited and wanna start like NOW..lol We are planning on Mixing our pieces together to become “Florida Hall of Famers”..LOL We’ll take pictures of our progress. Wish Us Luck! and Thanks for all the good advice on here!!
on December 4, 2008 at 8:15 am | Reply Aad

I just started again making jigsawpuzzles. Now I made a 1500 pieces puzzle. (see my weblog). Who knows when I get retired, I can make a very large jigsaw.
on January 24, 2009 at 2:01 am | Reply dawn

Just found this website — I did the WLP in 2007. My previous largest was 8,000 pieces (Heye NYC). I wish I’d mixed the pieces together on this one, but I did it in 4 sections. I worked alone, starting mid-July and finishing December 5th (about 5 months). It was a treat, beautiful graphics, bright colors and a joy to piece together. I love the whole puzzling process and redo my favorites over and over, so I have no desire to mount or frame it. After several photos, it went back in the box.
on February 17, 2009 at 3:05 am | Reply kim

I am looking for any advice and tips on how to mount this puzzle. My sister in-law spent many months on completing this puzzle and she recently passed away. we are hoping to display this wonderful puzzle so her children will be able to admire their mothers hard work. The only problem is that it has to be flexable in order to get it up and down the stairs in case we move. If anyone has any tips please let us know. *It is in the four sections placed between large cardboard sheets as of right now. thanks so much
on March 12, 2009 at 9:27 pm | Reply Scott and Dawn

Well we Started our Puzzle on Jan 1,2009 we are half way through now,, what a job, we DID mix our pieces… but
We did get the hard parts out of the way first,,, we no longer like clown fish..lol And Atlantis should remain lost….LOL Scott looks weekly on the site hoping no one else from Florida has mixed the pieces and finished before we get there, he is so funny.
So far its been real fun, we work on it most nights for 3-4 hours but have taken breaks for lifes daily issues. We were hoping to have it done by baseball season, looks like that ’s not gonna happen, thank God tVs are portable.

As of mounting we are gonna try using Contact paper on the back then set it to light weight insulation board to mount on the wall,, any other solutions?
on April 15, 2009 at 3:15 pm | Reply John

Ok here’s a toughy.

I want to get this for my mother’s 60th (coming up in May). As a family we’ve all been pretty keen on puzzles, so doing it won’t be too much of an issue.

But.

Displaying it.

I have the perfect position to mount it and what not, only catch is, it’s outdoors. (Along the front brickwork of the house as you walk up to it).

Has anyone ever mounted a jigsaw outside? I was thinking could you lacquer it or something. I plan to do a few test runs with an old scraped jigsaw.. just looking for some starting advice.
on July 14, 2009 at 11:20 am | Reply Dave

Puchased 2 years ago, had it half done and something got spilled on it and ruined lot of the pieces, what a disaster, packed it up and i guess i have to get a new one someday! Yes i planned on framing it in four sections so it can be taken apart and moved if needed with 1/4 inch plywood then puzzle and thin clear plexi-glass, enclosed in a frame.( no glue or varnish)
on July 25, 2009 at 9:37 am | Reply Margit

Hi @all!

I received the puzzle to my Birthday several weeks ago from my family.
As I don’t have a place to do it right now, I startet up with the little one (3.000 pieces) and finished it yesterday after 10 days! *smile*

I hope to start with the WLP next week by mixing up all pieces… I found a place to do it (my neighbours carport )
But I’ve to finish it befor winter… so I’m in hurry.

I loved doing the small one with all the details… and I’m looking forward to doing the big one…
on September 15, 2009 at 7:32 pm | Reply Melody Gamble

Two co-workers and I recently completed our world’s largest puzzle project. We are emplyees of an elementary school and knew it would be a beautiful addition to our school. You can view the puzzle at the website listed above. We reside in Shelby, North Carolina and would like to be added to the “Hall of Fame.” We would love a copy of the certificate that shows it’s the world record largest puzzle…is it possible to get one?

We had a wonderful time putting this together. We have found that framing puzzles is a wonderful way to add works of art to our school, yet it is economical. We look forward to starting another project in the near future.

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