Jigsaw Puzzle Tables for the Disabled and Elderly

Sept. 21, 2009 - PRLog -- It may well be that jigsaw puzzles can provide endless hours of entertainment but for many disabled and elderly people the prospect of bending over an uncomfortable table for long periods is just too painful to contemplate. The recently released puzzle table from Jigthings means that puzzles can now be made in absolute comfort.

Lisa and Colin King have long-term experience of managing jigsaw puzzles and their inventions have made their Company the World leaders in the field of jigsaw puzzle accessories. Lisa said "Colin and I have now reached the age when our backs don't bend as easily as they used to do and our arms don't seem as long as they used to be! Loving jigsaw puzzles as we do, we thought we would try and make the hobby a little more comfortable."

The result of their deliberations is a combination of a puzzle table and a puzzle board that is a joy to use.....

The first design priority was that it must be possible to do a jigsaw sitting in the most comfortable chair in the home, whether that be a wheelchair or an armchair. Given that armchairs are cumbersome to move around, the decision was made that the puzzle table must come to the chair and not the other way around.

The second design consideration was that it must be possible to sit back in the chair to do the jigsaw sooner than have to lean forwards; a term was invented for this - the "Tele-position". In essence, the most comfortable position for a person sitting in a chair is the position in which they normally watch the television! Another decision was made - if you couldn't use the puzzle table from the Tele-position then the design wasn't good enough.

The third and last major consideration concerned space (or lack of it) in the home. It was recognized that very few people have the luxury of devoting a table solely to a jigsaw puzzle for a matter of days or even weeks whilst it is being completed. What was needed was a multi-purpose table that could be used as a jigsaw table for some of the time but easily converted for use as a table to eat from, read on, write on and be readily available for the multitude of other jobs that a table is called-upon to do.

The resultant design accomplishes its task perfectly....... The table itself has four castors that allow it to be moved around freely. It is adjustable so as to slip just over the top of the arms of a wheelchair or armchair and pulled towards the jigsaw-doer who can then lean back in the chair. A further adjustment enables the surface of the table to be tilted to a comfortable angle - much like an artist's easel.

A separate very light puzzle board (the Jigthings "Jigboard") is then placed on top of the puzzle table in order to do a jigsaw. When the table is required for other purposes it is a simple matter to take the jigsaw board, complete with developing puzzle, and place it on a chair, a sofa, another table or even on the floor in a corner until it is required again. Two sizes of board are available - for 500 piece puzzles and for 1000 piece puzzles.

At just over £100 for a complete set of puzzle table and puzzle board, it is not cheap but the combination can be used with any number of jigsaw puzzles for the rest of your life. And as Lisa points out - think of all the money you will save by not having to buy back-ache cures!

For true jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts, Jigthings also have puzzle cases (Jigsorts) that pack-away jigsaws, puzzle frames (Jigframes) that frame them for hanging on a wall and puzzle stores for keeping completed puzzles.

Details of the complete Jigthings range along with videos showing how they are used can be found at http://www.jigthings.com.  

Details of the Jigthings Puzzle Table can be found at http://www.jigthings.com/JigsawTABLES/ and details of their Puzzle Board (Jigboard) can be found at http://www.jigthings.com/JigsawBOARDS/

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Jigthings are the World leaders in the development of jigsaw puzzle accessories. The company sells direct to consumers in the UK via its website. Products include puzzle boards, puzzle cases, puzzle frames, puzzle mats and puzzle tables.