135. Simple DIY - working with corrugated cardboard - part 3

[@OLDCHEMIST1]

Ha! Ha! My respects to you, you are a very honest man, most people would edit out a mistake. It's useful to see, to be aware of how easy it is to make such a mistake.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thank-you. I appreciate your comment. I have made tons of mistakes while making all kinds of stuff over the years. I started making videos because I wanted to share what I had learned (I started way back in 2017 with a 3-video series reviewing the Rockwell Bladerunner). From the very beginning I wanted to share the mistakes as well as the successes. I have found that I often learn MORE from the mistakes than from the successes. Thanks for your comment and for watching. I plan on doing more cardboard projects in the future so stay tuned.

[@OLDCHEMIST1]

@@ImaginethenMake I am impressed because you are far more honest than the "here's one I made earlier" type, who actually makes many more mistakes than you do, but makes themselves appear amazingly competent through not showing us their mistakes! I think your style, trying something, finding it didn't work, then working out a better way is excellent!

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thank-you. I find I learn far more by making mistakes and then correcting them. Thanks for watching.

[@Blessedpb]

I loved this video. My favorite part was when you glued to the wrong side. Ah, just like real life!! Learned a lot and put in my favorites for when I've got time. Blessings, p

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thanks for your comment and for watching. I tend to leave my mistakes in my videos hoping that others won't make the same one.

[@Blessedpb]

@@ImaginethenMake Said the excellent teacher. Still haven't had time but granddaughter is coming to visit soon and I'll share with her. Thanks again for keeping it real! Blessings, p

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thanks for your response. Enjoy your time with your granddaughter.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

The printed side has a thin plastic film on top of the ink. That plastic makes it water resistant (try leaving some drops of water on that side: do they soak in or just sit there evaporating slowly?). If you are painting anyway, having that surface outside might be okay, and save you from applying sanding sealer or shellac: the plastic provides the seal.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Agreed. As it turns out, in the video, I preferred the matte finish. If I had the matte finish on a project, I'd probably spray on a sealer of some kind (polyurethane or shellac or lacquer). Thanks for your comment and for watching.

[@calysagora3615]

I was thinking the same. That gold paint would have looked much more like real metal if the smooth printed side was turned outwards.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Good point. The next time I need something that looks like gold metal, I might try this.

[@cymeriandesigns]

I like the idea of using cereal box-type cardboard for surfacing. It would be worth trying out a veneer trimmer to cut it flush to the face of the box. This is a tool used in woodworking and it has a razor sharp blade in it that does a perfect job on veneer. No idea if it would work on this type of cardboard, but if/when I ever do this, I'll try mine and see what happens.

[@ImaginethenMake]

I have never tried using a trim router with a flush cut bit to trim the surfacing cardboard; I usually just use a razor blade of some kind; as I explained in a different reply to you, these days, I prefer hand tools over power tools. I have used a type of cardboard called chip board to surface corrugated cardboard projects. Chip board is similar to cereal box cardboard. Chip board is very inexpensive and generally, I buy it from Amazon. There is a range of thicknesses available. I find that I can also sand chip board using 220 grit sandpaper (or finer). If I can find cereal boxes to use, that's even better (and free). Thanks for your comment and for watching. Good luck with your next project.

[@cymeriandesigns]

@@ImaginethenMake I think the way KZbin works you probably won't know I replied, but I'll leave this here anyway. The veneer trimmer I was talking about is not a power tool like a router but rather a specialized (yet inexpensive) sharp-bladed hand tool thingy that you slide along the edge and trims the veneer flush with that edge. It works really well with veneer. It may or may not be as effective with chipboard because veneer is stiff and shears cleanly, whereas chipboard is weaker and might tear. But I'm certainly going to try it if the opportunity ever presents itself. Thanks for answering.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thank-you. Feel free to reply here if you try it. I'd like to know about your results either way it works out.

[@philipptux4086]

Bonjour, et merci de nous montrez, vos expériences sont intéressantes . Elles nous permettent de faire de grand pas grâce elles. Et bravo d'avoir réaliser ces vidéo, j'en suis impressionné. Voici des réflexion que m'inspire votre vidéo. A) En collant les faces de finition avec de la colle en spray vous amélioreriez encore l'état de surface (on ne verrai plus l'épaisseur, et la forme des cordon de colle chaude), et dans le même temps la surface encollée serait supérieure la surface protéger avec pour conséquence que lors de l'arasement la colle rempli déjà les trou de matière entre les deux faces. B)Peut-être qu'en mettant le montage sous presse durant le séchage, ne résultat serait peut-être encore plus agréable en terme de qualité de surface C) Pour l'arasement j'utiliserai de préférence (à une paire de ciseaux dont la ligne de coups se trouve au milieu des 2 lames -> donc éloignée du bord de la surface de référence), une longue lame de cuter ( sa longueur doit être supérieur à l'épaisseur de la surf ace de référence) que je plaquerai totalement sur la surface de référence pour limiter la distance entre le point de coupe et la surface de référence. D'ailleurs y réfléchir un ciseaux bois, ou encore mieux le fer d'un rabot manuel bois , serait encore mieux adapté car en les plaquant contre la surface de référence le plan de coup serait confondu avec le plan de la surface de référence. Et donc plus de précision, moins de temps d'usinage , tout en réduisant la quantité de matériaux utilisé. Quel est votre avis ? Avez depuis la création de votre vidéo des retours d'expériences concernant le sujet traité ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, thank you for showing us, your experiences are interesting. They allow us to take big steps thanks to them. And bravo for making these videos, I'm impressed. Here are some thoughts inspired by your video. A) By gluing the finishing faces with spray glue you would further improve the surface condition (we will no longer see the thickness and the shape of the hot glue bead), and at the same time the glued surface would be upper the surface to protect with the consequence that during the leveling the glue already fills the holes of material between the two faces. B) Perhaps by putting the assembly under press during the drying, the result would perhaps be even more pleasant in terms of surface quality C) For the leveling I will preferably use (instead of a pair of scissors whose line of strokes is in the middle of the 2 blades -> therefore far from the edge of the reference surface), a long cutter blade (its length must be greater than the thickness of the reference surface) which I will flatten completely on the reference surface to limit the distance between the cutting point and the reference surface. Besides, think about it with a wood chisel, or even better the iron of a manual wood plane, would be even better suited because by pressing them against the reference surface the plane of the blow would be confused with the plane of the reference surface. And therefore more precision, less machining time, while reducing the amount of materials used. What is your opinion ? Have you had any feedback on the subject since the creation of your video?

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thanks for your comment. A) I have used spray glue (Super 77) before and found that it really works great! However, I try to only use the spray glue when I'm working outside or can have my garage door open (for good ventilation). When I have to work indoors, I usually use hot glue because it sets up very quickly, but sometimes there's glue squeeze out or gaps left between the surfaces. I have tried using Titebond wood glue when gluing cardboard; it works but takes a lot longer to dry. I have also used glue sticks which also work well and dry quickly. Contact cement would probably also work pretty well (I haven't tried it) but I would only use that outside (or in a well ventilated area). Regular white glue (Elmer's glue) would also probably work pretty well but would probably take longer to dry than using the hot glue. B) Yes, I often use weights or clamps to apply pressure to the pieces I'm gluing. Hot glue sets up so fast that I'm not sure if I could get the weights or clamps in position quick enough. I tend to use hot glue when I want to work quickly and test out an idea I have. C) Yes, I have used a utility knife or hobby knife to trim cardboard before and both tools work well. In this case, I used the scissors because it was convenient. I have never tried using a chisel or a hand plane iron but that's an interesting idea. Check out this video of me making a prototype tablet stand out of cardboard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i32zZGiZrtWgfpY . In the video you'll see me using hot glue again but also some Super 77. I also use some other tools when cutting that cardboard that you might find interesting. This was a very successful project! My wife continues to use this prototype stand everyday. Someday, I'll make another one (probably out of cardboard again) that has a finish on it (and is not just plain cardboard). Thanks again for your comment and for watching. I hope my responses make sense. Please leave me a thumbs up so I know you read this. thanks

[@miriamhawkins7825]

My mom built stuff out of cardboard when I was a kid in the 60’s. - she used shellac to seal it

[@ImaginethenMake]

I have not tried shellac probably because of the smell while working with it. When it gets warmer outside, I'll try some then. I bet it will work out great. Thanks for your comment and for watching.

[@cchemmes-seeseeart3948]

When one side bows after spackle or painting, even though the 1st side is dry, you can still apply it to the opposite side to get it to straighten out. You could also spackle all sides at once, by simply doing something like sticking bobby pins in a couple corners, with light string or fish line attached, then hang it from a clothes hanger or something.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Interesting ideas. I'm also thinking about sealing the cardboard with something like shellac before applying the spackle. Maybe I'll try that and if I learn something interesting, I'll make a video about it. Thanks for your comment and for watching.

[@cathrynmartin4395]

Sanding sealer is very similar to shellac. Several artists who love to create on a budget use shellac to paint it on cardboard before using gesso. That way they can paint on recycled cardboard.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thanks for the tip! I've done a fair amount with sanding sealer but very little with shellac. As the weather gets warmer here and I can paint outside again, I'll have to try to do more with shellac. Do you have favorite budget creators that you follow? Thanks for your comment and watching.

[@rwind656]

Thanks for sharing your experiments. Do you think you could now test the durability for us? (Suppose it takes a bang/bump? On edge, on flat? ) And as you started finishing, I was surprised you used sanding sealer -- what do you think of a spray-on poly? Also, my thought about spackle was immediately that it would be too wet applied to one side... but it's been a little bit between videos, and I'd forgotten you used it on the edges so successfully. Would like to see if spackle still warps the block which is thicker, and if it's applied to both sides of a thick ply simultaneously will it still warp. Thanks for sharing the whole process so successfully!

[@ImaginethenMake]

You're welcome and thanks for your comment. Can I test the durability? Absolutely! My ultimate goal here is to prove to myself (and those watching) that for some projects, cardboard is a reasonable material to use. Why did I use sanding sealer instead of spray on poly? The truth is that the sanding sealer is what I had on hand. I am planning to try using the poly. I will try applying a thick coat of spackle to both sides of a thick cardboard block to see if the block warps. If it works, it will open up some new possibilities for paints. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned....there's more to come.

[@rocki_bb]

The type of cardboard needed for the outside with this method really limits the size of projects.

[@ImaginethenMake]

Thanks for your comment and for watching. I think I understand what you mean; the chip board you saw me use was from a box used for food from the recycle bin - FREE. If you had the need and you wanted to spend the money, you can purchase much larger sheets (although in bulk) from here: www.uline.com/BL_1852/Chipboard-Pads?keywords=chipboard . I'm sure there are other places as well. (At my day job, the company buys a lot of this material to be used for packing, masking when painting, or protecting sensitive surfaces.) If you needed to cover a larger area with free chipboard, I would try tiling many smaller pieces. In the end, you might see the seams between the tiles so then perhaps you could use those visible seams to create some kind of interesting repeating pattern on your surface. Hope this helps!