Scrollsaw Christmas Puzzle

Projects, Woodworking Crafts

Fred and Julie Byrne bring some festive cheer with this puzzle that doubles
as a Christmas decoration

Wooden Nativity scene shaped like a Christmas tree.

This is an ideal scrollsaw project for Christmas as it can be given as a gift to play with or displayed in the home as a festive decoration. We have used three different types of wood: sycamore with its creamy white colour for the Star and Jesus in his crib; walnut for Mary, Joseph and the tree trunk; and lastly we chose tulipwood for the tree tiers, as this wood has a greenish tint to it which enhances the overall look of the piece.

You Will Need

Scrollsaw – No. 5 Blade
Drill – 1mm drill bit
3 different hardwoods
4 pattern copies, self-adhesive paper or paper and glue stick (optional)
Sanding block
Sandpaper 180–240 grit
Tack cloth
Acrylic matt varnish
Artist’s brush and cloth
Clear wax polish

Getting Started

Christmas tree outline on paper with wooden boards — 1. First enlarge the pattern to approximately 190 x 160mm and make four copies; these will be sufficient to separate each piece of the pattern

Person cutting Christmas tree paper stencil. — 2. Cut the pattern into 10 sections

Wood templates with cut-out paper patterns — 3. Position the pattern pieces onto your wood selection and align the directional arrows with the grain of the wood

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Hands peeling patterned paper from wood — 4. Peel the backing from the self-adhesive paper or attach the patterns using the glue stick

Drilling design templates onto wooden board. — 5. Next, drill a small blade entry hole (referringto the pattern) for the inner cut within one of the tree tiers to take Jesus in his crib

Cutting out

Hands cutting wood with a stencil pattern. — 6. Start by cuttingout Mary, Joseph and Jesus from the walnut

Wood pieces with cut-out paper patterns on saw. — 7. Cut the star from the sycamore

Cutting paper with a saw. — 8. Then move on to the pieces of the tree. To make the deep V cuts on the tree, first make the cut into the corner of the V then back the blade out, then cut back into the V from a different direction to remove the waste

Tracing Christmas tree design on wood with templates. — 9. Before cutting an adjoining piece, check the cutting line with the previous piece and draw in a new cutting line if necessary

10. You may find it easier, as we did to cut and fit all the tree pieces together first following the dotted lines going through Mary and Joseph on the pattern

Hands assembling wooden nativity jigsaw puzzle. — 11. Check the fit of each piece as you go

Hands assembling Christmas tree puzzle piece — 12. Then place the inner pieces in position and check their outline against the pattern. Trace around the piece before making the cut

Hands carving wood with fine saw. — 13. To make this enclosed cut, thread the top of the blade through the pre-drilled hole and reattach it to the scrollsaw in the usual way

Person using jigsaw to cut wooden shape — 14. Make the inner cut

Hand tracing nativity outline on paper Christmas tree — 15. Double check the fit

Hands folding origami paper sculpture — 16. Remove the paper pattern from all the pieces

Sanding wooden puzzle pieces on green surface. — 17. Use a sanding block to sand the flat surfaces …

Sanding a wooden piece by hand. — 18 … and then remove any burr from the edges

Polishing wooden shapes with tack cloth. — 19. Wipe over with a tack cloth to remove the fine dust

Finishing

Hand painting wooden puzzle pieces — 20. Now you’ve made your cuts, all that’s left are the surfaces. Give the pieces a light nib in between coats

Polishing wood surface with cloth — 21. Remove the excess varnish with a soft cloth before it dries and then allow it to dry thoroughly

Person crafting wooden Christmas star ornament. — 22. For a really silky smooth finish, apply a coat of clear wax polish and buff to a nice shine

Hand placing star on wooden nativity puzzle — 23. Adding the last piece to the puzzle!

Wooden nativity tree decoration with star and figures. — 24. The piece can be played with as a puzzle or displayed as a 3D Christmas ornament

Further Reading

Mitch Peacock builds a tilting stand for jigsaw puzzles

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