My daughter’s class is doing some sort of maker project and the teacher asked for students to bring in stacks of cardboard. To be helpful I grabbed a few shears from my personal makerspace and sent them in. The next day I was looking through a bin of odds and ends and ran into a pumpkin carving kit. I grabbed the saw and checked that it could cut through some cardboard and tweeted out a picture. What started as a simple Tweet about a use for a junk box item turned into a leap down the cardboard cutting rabbit hole.
It is really easy for maker educators to obsess over stuff and lose track of the why of MakerEd/FabLearn. We use cardboard because it is cheap, ubiquitous, forgiving, sustainable. Scissors are a poor tool for the job and box cutters and hobby knives aren’t safe without proper training. Which one you have, isn’t as important as students access to tools that can quickly and safely cut and shape cardboard to make their projects.
Pumpkin carving kit saw
Need a tool for cutting cardboard in your #makerspace? Use those leftover pumpkin carving tools. #FabLearn #MakerEd pic.twitter.com/zuuIrj4wHq
— Design Make Teach (@DesignMakeTeach) January 11, 2017
YES! That's what I give students too!
— Kelly Dawson (@tsarina206) January 12, 2017
EMT/Medical Shears
Have ether of you tried medical shears? https://t.co/TJGHG2eZkk I really like them as a cheap, non-powered option
— Andrew Carle (@tieandjeans) January 11, 2017
Canary Knife
I am using six dollar Canary knives for cardboard and they are amazing.
— Tracy Rudzitis (@wagongrrl) January 15, 2017
Hacksaw blade with tape handle
Nice. I use the hacksaw blade with tape wrapped handle. Works great too.
— Jason Mickelson (@jasontmickelson) January 11, 2017
Klever Cutter
wait until you try this one — we'll never go back to saw type cutters https://t.co/XxfjeQ7uI6
— The Tinkering Studio (@TinkeringStudio) January 12, 2017
ZIP Snip
this is my personal favorite tool for cutting #cardboard #zipsnip #powertools #classroomtools #makerspace #safeforkids pic.twitter.com/A8odP2b9EF
— Vicki Spitalnick (@vspitalnick13) January 11, 2017
Dremel Moto-Saw
Here's is one of our favorite makers and the Moto-saw. @gravescolleen @vspitalnick13 @DesignMakeTeach https://t.co/hObWrgo8dn
— Maker Ready (@makerready) January 15, 2017
And teachers love the Moto-saws too. @gravescolleen @vspitalnick13 @DesignMakeTeach @amazon pic.twitter.com/UMFLTNbix6
— Maker Ready (@makerready) January 15, 2017
Clauss Corsage Snips
One more @DesignMakeTeach. Clauss calls the corsage snips. We call them Cardboard Scissors. https://t.co/rL10FhMQH0
— Maker Ready (@makerready) January 15, 2017
Where do you get stuff in Europe?
this is great! But I can't find it anywhere in Europe 🙁
— Per-Ivar Kloen (@___pi) January 11, 2017
Have a favorite cardboard resource? Leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.
This is a very cool documentation of a cool topic! Thanks!
I love posts like this! I, too, have the electric cutters, but have ordered both the Uline cutters and the medical shears to check them out. We also require students to wear cut-resistant gloves (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015J5I4T4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) with whatever tool they are using.