Post by wilmanric on Feb 8, 2014 3:54:16 GMT
I hate measuring. It's not that I'm not good at it. I know the old "measure twice, cut once" mantra. I just don't like spending the time measuring, drawing lines, cutting straight lines, etc.
I'd rather build a tool to do it for me.
Here it is. It's made from two pieces of wood I bought at Lowes. I think the total cost for wood was $12. The little blades (I got 5 in the pack) were $2. I had screws around the house. (As an aside -- I am responsible for the dirty dishes, not my wife. It had to be said.
The narrow board serves as a rail. You push the cardboard along the rail and the little blade cuts *HALFWAY* through the cardboard. Then you flip the cardboard over and cut the other way through. If you try to cut the cardboard all at once, you will need to exert A LOT more pressure AND you will have a blade exposed above the cardboard.
DANGEROUS!
The little blade has a hole in the center. It is held flush against the edge of the board. The other screw keeps it upright. I pre-drilled the holes to make sure the wood didn't split.
I hold the rail on with two wood screws. I have marked where the rail goes at 3", 6" and 9" (this is the scale of the tiles I'm making) Your measurements may be different.
Here's the pile of cardboard I cut in about 90 minutes.
The 90 minute time frame includes moving the rails. START BY MAKING THE BIG PIECES FIRST! Your scraps can be cut into the smaller pieces. I also hand trimmed some of the pieces using a tri-square. That takes time, but I was trying to maximize the number of pieces I could get out of 3 boxes.
Hope this post is helpful to you, if you like building "tools" like I do.
I'd rather build a tool to do it for me.
Here it is. It's made from two pieces of wood I bought at Lowes. I think the total cost for wood was $12. The little blades (I got 5 in the pack) were $2. I had screws around the house. (As an aside -- I am responsible for the dirty dishes, not my wife. It had to be said.
The narrow board serves as a rail. You push the cardboard along the rail and the little blade cuts *HALFWAY* through the cardboard. Then you flip the cardboard over and cut the other way through. If you try to cut the cardboard all at once, you will need to exert A LOT more pressure AND you will have a blade exposed above the cardboard.
DANGEROUS!
The little blade has a hole in the center. It is held flush against the edge of the board. The other screw keeps it upright. I pre-drilled the holes to make sure the wood didn't split.
I hold the rail on with two wood screws. I have marked where the rail goes at 3", 6" and 9" (this is the scale of the tiles I'm making) Your measurements may be different.
Here's the pile of cardboard I cut in about 90 minutes.
The 90 minute time frame includes moving the rails. START BY MAKING THE BIG PIECES FIRST! Your scraps can be cut into the smaller pieces. I also hand trimmed some of the pieces using a tri-square. That takes time, but I was trying to maximize the number of pieces I could get out of 3 boxes.
Hope this post is helpful to you, if you like building "tools" like I do.
I agree, the full-sheet labels are not the cheapest option. Don't let me put you off, though. If you have ideas on how to do things, please share. Folks are always coming up with better ideas on how to build stuff. That's what I love about this site. Cheers!
Cheers!
Cheers!