The Origami Forum

So I got tired of trying to make large sheets and cut them square using a standard paper cutter (I've got access 42" version, but it really doesn't do that well). So I decided to make my own paper cutter/maker that I could use to both create large sheets and cut them. Since commercial versions are really expensive, I figured a slightly simpler approach should work. So I've got a 48" square surface to MC paper, and the ability to cut a sheet that size easily. Practically speaking I should be able to get 46" squares if I need them...


Paper maker 6000 by mummykicks, on Flickr

Cost is about $100-$150 depending upon what piece of acrylic/plexiglass you buy. The basic idea is to use two straight edges with a gap slightly larger than a razor blade to act as a blade guide, use another one as a paper clamp. Details are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61599104@N ... 463394231/

I got a 48" square piece of plastic coming that will cover the entire area. If you can't find .012" shim stock you can sacrifice a feeler gauge from an auto parts store, or just use a razor blade and a piece of double tissue MC, which is right around .002" thick.
My reference mark paper was printed on a 42" printer (engineering has it's perks), but a 48" drywall square could be used to create lines on the board for alignment purposes.
I got most of it from home depot, the straight edges were around $9, the board $18 (they cut it to size for free), clamps were $8 a piece or so. Plastic is the most expensive, I ordered a 48" square 1/16 sheet of hdpe from mcmaster carr but got nailed on the shipping. Home depot or ace might have 4' x 8' sheets, the ideal thickness is 1/8" same as the straight edges, but you end up paying $90+. Either way it's the most expensive part so some legwork might save you some money. I suppose you could use a glass surface if you want, I'd rather have something that won't break...

Wow

That's really awesome Mummykicks. Where do you find paper that big?

i must agree...that is very impressive...thank you for sharing the information

Sroge4 wrote:Wow

That's really awesome Mummykicks. Where do you find paper that big?

Umm, I make it

So I'll use the 48" x 48" surface to make double tissue MC, or in this case 8lb tracing paper + tissue. I bought a 36" x 150' roll of it from blick's art supply online, the MC is Elmer's art paste from amazon or the like.

I've been searching in vain for rolls of tissue paper that wide, so I just buy the standard 20" x 30" or 20" x 26" tissue paper variety packs at craft stores or wallmart. Then just overlap them by 1/4" or something and MC them together to get something bigger than 36" x 36". I like the properties of the tracing + tissue, it's a bit thicker (.0025" vs. .0018"~.002") but is a lot tougher and seems to hold creases and reverse creases better. It is more difficult to MC, and is a bit more difficult to wet fold with...

Anyway, I always do 1 layer at a time, let it dry, and then if I'm doing double tissue I just lay the next layer on top and stagger the overlaps so they happen in different places than on the first sheet, and MC them together. Tracing paper + tissue is more involved because the tracing paper doesn't like the MC as much as the tissue. Next time I make some I'll take pics and add it to the set...

The 36" x 48" piece of acrylic that's in the pictures was what I was before using meant I could never really get a 36" piece because of how the edges of the plastic messed the paper up and such (not that I must have that size, it's the principle of the matter ). I wanted a bigger work surface and a paper cutter for the large sheets without having to spend $500 for it, so I ended up designing this. This could easily be scaled down to 36" x 36", and truth be told there are very few models that would require much bigger than that since you could consistently get 34" squares...

The key is a very small gap and then being able to hold the paper on either side of it. If you do that it will cut very cleanly and easily because the paper has nowhere to go. 4 straight edges and some clamps work quite well for this...

Is tissue paper + tracing paper good to fold? I also got a large roll of tracing paper from Dlick Blick, and haven't used much of it yet.

Sroge4 wrote:Is tissue paper + tracing paper good to fold? I also got a large roll of tracing paper from Dlick Blick, and haven't used much of it yet.

I think I like it better than double tissue. I definitely like it for when I'm doing a first fold of a model/cp just because it can take quite a bit more punishment than double tissue before it can't fold anymore.

Depends what weight of tracing paper you have as well, 7-8lb is as thin as they make it as far as I can tell, anything thicker will get you equivalent to kraft paper thickness when add the tissue to it.

It doesn't take MC as quickly as tissue, but is very tough. I mc the tissue first, let it dry, pull it off, back coat and roll the tracing paper out smoothing as I go, mc the tracing like crazy and get it flat, then roll the tissue out on top of it while it's still wet and then mc again. I've played around quite a bit with the process and this seems to get the best results.

Cool, I might give that a shot