cardboard lumber

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Cardboard Lumberby theRIAA on May 2, 2009

Table of Contents

Cardboard Lumber ............................................................................................................

Intro: Cardboard Lumber .....................................................................................................

Step 1: Types of Saws ......................................................................................................

Step 2: How to get Cardboard .................................................................................................

Step 3: Prepare the Cardboard ................................................................................................

Step 4: Stack the Cardboard ..................................................................................................

Step 5: Get some Glue ......................................................................................................

Step 6: Glue! ..............................................................................................................

Step 7: Wait... .............................................................................................................

Step 8: Cut! ...............................................................................................................

Step 9: Honeycomb Plywood ..................................................................................................

Step 10: Build!!! ............................................................................................................

Related Instructables ........................................................................................................ 1

Comments ................................................................................................................ 1
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Author:theRIAA

Hunter Frerich

Intro: Cardboard LumberHow would you like an incredibly strong, cool, and cheap building material for making lightweight tables, chairs, shelves, or anything else you can think of. Reusingcardboard to make furniture has always been a good idea, but the results I've seem have been either incredibly complex, or shoddy looking.

By laminating sheets of cardboard together into a large block and cutting this up with a table, or circular saw, you can create cardboard lumber of any dimensions youwant: 2x4s, 2x8s, 4x4s. If you alternate the grain of the corrugations you can create plywood. If you glue your lumber together end-to-end you can create strong

honeycomb-like boards.

You will only need three things to create cardboard lumber:1) A Saw2) Lots of cardboard3) Glue... lots of glue

Image Notes1. I cut some over-sized mortise and tenon joints with a jigsaw so the legscould bend out, adding to the stability if I didn't glue it.

Image Notes1. after splitting down the middle and cutting the ends square. One will be thebench top and the other will be cut in 1/2 as the legs. The outside is dry but themiddle is still soaked. They need a day or two in the sun to become rigid again.
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Image Notes1. finished. You can see the holes filled in on top. I stained it with just danishoil. It adsorbed nicely and dried very shinny. I did not seal it with anything.

Step 1:Types of SawsTable Saw: The best saw you could possibly use to do this is a table saw. You can adjust a table saw's fence to help you cut perfectly uniform lumber out of yourcardboard block. This allows you to easily mass-produce cardboard lumber. Because of a table saws fence, you should be able to cut lumber twice as thick as the ma

height of your blade by cutting once, and then flipping your cardboard block over and cutting through entirely.

Circular Saw: If you're really good at cutting straight lines and have no other option then I guess you could give it a try.

Hand Saw: Possible, but too labor intensive for me.

Band Saw: If your band saw is as powerful as a circular saw than go for it, this could open interesting options.

Chain Saw: Messy...

No Saw: Unfortunately for people without access to saws, this instructable is not for you. I know it looks cool and all , but it's just not gonna work out.

Image Notes1. about 1 and 3/4"


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Step 2:How to get CardboardSuper Moral and Totally legal free cardboard:Save up cardboard from boxes your family uses. You'll be surprised how fast it adds up.Go around town and ask any businesses if they have any cardboard you could take. It will likely be already broken down for you.

Super moral and Mostly legal free cardboard:If you're in a hurry, or just lazy, you can drive around the back of stores and look through their recycling dumpsters for cardboard. Be warned though that dumpster divis a crime, but most people will be fine with you hauling away some of their trash.

Maybe legal and moral free plasticcardboard:Those corrugated plastic advertising and campaign signs scattered around your neighborhood are considered litter/unclaimed property in *some* areas. Snatch a bunof them up fast and you'll have an awesome start to rock solid, corrugated plastic lumber (Be sure to use glue designed for plastic though. Wheatpaste won't work.)

Most of my cardboard came from my school cafeteria and my family's recycle.

Step 3:Prepare the CardboardI will be making a large solid block of cardboard with all the corrugations pointed the same way. If you want to make classic plywood, alternate the corrugationsthroughout the block. The second way could be stronger, but I'm going to make it this way because it looks nicer.

You have to cut your cardboard so that each single layer lays flat, and is completely filled with cardboard. The look and strength of your lumber will all depend on howwell you cut your cardboard layers up. It would be best to have all cardboard meet at hard, squared off corners.

To prepare your raw cardboard boxes, you have to cut all of them into flat rectangles, removing all tape and anything you can to make them just cardboard rectangles


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Step 4:Stack the CardboardBefore you glue everything together, stack the cardboard in a neat pile. It's okay if there's a couple little gaps, we're just making sure we have enough. I wanted to maa 4'x4' square of cardboard the thickness of how deep my saw could cut.

Now is a good time to estimate the sq. ft. of cardboard and see how much you can build.

Image Notes1. this pile is only 2'x4' and I wanted to overshoot to be sure.

Step 5:Get some GlueYou have a couple options here, and by a couple I mean exactly two:

Wheatpaste: At less than a buck a gallon, this is what I will be using. You can view my wheatpaste instructable here , or basically heat 1:4 part flour/water until it get'sthick. Wheatpaste, when made properly and applied correctly will be pretty much as strong as the glue that holds the corrugations of the cardboard together (they usestarch glue, white flour is starch...). It's used by paper machers and also graffiti artists to post paper pictures to concrete walls and create a rock hard irremovable postwould recommend adding any bacteria deterrents you have (see instructable).

1:1 Wood Glue: You might be able to find a gallon of wood glue at your local hardware store for about $10 if you're lucky. This should be diluted with water 1:1 becau

we're covering such a large area, and only want a thin coat, and also to help the glue soak into the cardboard. This comes out to $5 per gallon. The advantages of thisit's much stronger, the corrugations will always rip before the wood glue seams, and is easier to make and apply (but not much). After doing this with wheatpaste, I worecommend this way, simply because the wheatpaste is not as sticky as it needs to be.

Note: You could also use Wallpaper paste I guess; it comes in a powder at the hardware store.

You will need a minimum 2 gallons of either to properly glue the amount of cardboard I am doing.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Wheatpaste/


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Step 6:Glue!Lay our your cardboard on a flat surface and get your first layer ready. Apply a VERY large amount of glue to one section by POURING it on the surface and spreadinevenly. If you think you used too much, then you almost have enough glue on. Now apply glue to the piece to be put on for the second layer. Don't think of this as gluecardboard together! Think of it as paper mache WITH cardboard!Lots of glue! Continue fitting cardboard together neatly and gluing it until you reached your last layer you're out of cardboard.

My 4x8ish block was a little thin, so I cut it down the middle and doubled it up.

Image Notes1. these gaps must be fixed soon! work fast!


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Image Notes1. cutting the pile down the middle before I dump glue all over everything and putthem together.

Step 7:Wait...Clamp down your pile, or stack a bunch of things on top. I would wait at least a couple hours in the sun. Overnight if it's indoors.

Image Notes1. clamp2. clamp3. clamp4. clamp5. clamp6. clamp7. pile of scraps8. pile of good pieces for later9. 50lbs of weight on top of plywood

Image Notes1. while it's clamped you can check the thickness

Step 8:Cut!I used a circular saw and a T-square to cut three even sides. I was pretty surprised with the f irecracker-like sounds the cardboard made when i cut it.

Then I used a table saw to cut everything into 1.5" strips. I would highly recommend a partner to help you cut up the block. It's heavy and unwieldy.

Image Notes1. these six layers will be doubled up to make 12 layer sticks.

Image Notes1. 12 layers. 1.5"x1.5"x3.5'


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Step 9:Honeycomb PlywoodOnce you have your lumber, you can either use these individual pieces, or you can glue them, edge-to-edge and create a very, verystrong block of cardboard suitablea tabletop or seat. Because the corrugations are all vertical (as a tabletop) and not horizontal, it has much greater strength.

Image Notes1. all glued end-on-end and ready to clamp2. high spots came from un-even table-sawing. a partner help will eliminatethis!

Image Notes1. during compression

Image Notes1. final compression and wait...

Image Notes1. after saturating with another 1/2 gallon of wheatpaste. This will take a WHILE tdry but should be as hard as glass when it is. my total cost so far has only beenfrom the 1/2 bag of flour I've used up2. the wet glue gives the cardboard nice rounded edges

Step 10:Build!!!Use your imagination! This is an entire new building material that you have to figure out how to use.

To further strengthen your projects, you can seal the whole thing in wheatpaste like i did in the previous step.

Ideas for using this stuff, suggest anything you want to add :Scapile (my original inspiration for all of this)A cardboard playhouse made by Piersga MASSIVE amount of completed woodwork projects (search with the "view more tags" link)lots of lumber plan blueprintsAndy Lee coffee tablenice table designcool sitting benchanother benchand anothersnap together table from instructablesPano Chair

Please rate and comment...But Note:
http://www.studiolodesign.fr/p_mobiliers.htmlhttp://www.instructables.com/id/8x42-2-Tables-from-1-sheet-of-plywood/http://lumberjocks.com/projects/7134http://lumberjocks.com/projects/6849http://lumberjocks.com/projects/431http://lumberjocks.com/projects/16105http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol09/?pg=131http://www.buildeazy.com/fp_start.htmlhttp://lumberjocks.com/projectshttp://pdaddy.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/cardboard-cubbyhouse-3-construction/http://scrapile.com/home.html


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Can we stop talking about the environment guys? I wasen't really trying to make any point that this would help the environment anywhere in my instructable. If you haveasy access to cardboard, flour and power tools, then you might be interested in making this. Go ahead, try it and tell us what happened. If you don't l ike this idea, theplease suggest better alternatives. Please calm down the comments on your assumptions about how cardboard and wheatpaste effect the environment.

Image Notes1. finished. You can see the holes filled in on top. I stained it with just danishoil. It adsorbed nicely and dried very shinny. I did not seal it with anything.

Image Notes1. after splitting down the middle and cutting the ends square. One will be thebench top and the other will be cut in 1/2 as the legs. The outside is dry but themiddle is still soaked. They need a day or two in the sun to become rigid again.

Image Notes1. I cut some over-sized mortise and tenon joints with a jigsaw so the legscould bend out, adding to the stability if I didn't glue it.

Image Notes1. You can see it easily holds 50 lbs and I sat on it and it felt like a rock, but it'sstill very wet inside, I could tell when cutting the tenons. Even so, I will put agallon of wheatpaste over everything tomorrow and let it dry for a week or so fora lifetime of durability.


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Image Notes1. putty made with wheatpaste and cardboard sawdust. I used this and somecompressed cardboard wedges to glue the table together.

Image Notes1. the putty worked really well.

Image Notes1. saturating the holes with hot wheatpaste before I put the wedges in.

Image Notes1. in the drying jig saturated with wheatpaste.

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Comments

50 comments Add Comment view all 188 commen

rrrmanion says: Nov 13, 2010. 10:20 AM REPhard as glass? technically, glass isn't hard, because in fact, glass is a liquid... though this may just be an expression, but i've never heard it.

chello2k9 says: Feb 1, 2011. 5:42 PM REPGlass is a liquid....ok.

rrrmanion says: Feb 3, 2011. 3:50 AM REPglass is what's known as a super cooled liquid. if glass was a solid, it would be opaque.. apparently anyway..

Bob_of_Mars says: Feb 23, 2011. 6:51 PM REPI'm afraid that is not true. Here, allow a physicist to explain:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omr0JNyDBI0

rrrmanion says: Feb 24, 2011. 1:06 PM REPwell, some say it is, others that it isn't, I like the idea that it is because it's sound cool.

kgrove-1 says:Feb 23, 2011. 4:01 PM REP

For everyone saying just use wood, that is for ppl who dont care about what materials they need just the end project which is fine. I, on the other hand am a competition to make the most epic house out of cardboard only to win a cruise and to help raise homeless awareness so this is perfect!!!!

Almasy says: Jan 25, 2011. 6:45 PM REPhas anyone ever tried using a router to cut the cardboard? Just curious if the shape of the bit will hold or if it ends up looking like crap.

hardlec says: Aug 8, 2009. 6:22 AM REPThere is a product called PC Petrifier that is designed to restore dry rot. When applied over paper or cardboard, it makes the cardboard much sturdier. In thVictorian era, Boiled Linseed oil was used to reinforce paper machie. I'd like to know more about either, but I really like the idea of using cardboard. What isthe cost ratio to wood when all the glue is taken into account?

Sequimania says: Dec 16, 2010. 5:01 PM REPI've used a product called Wood Hardener on all kinds of weakened/open-grained wood that was either too valuable or dif ficult to replace. Love it but I

think cardboard might soak up an awful lot of this stuff and it isn't cheap.

Boiled linseed oil used to be used as a finish for antiques but I 've heard that it isn't recommended any longer. It does have a strong smell that lingers,sometimes for years.

A neuron just fired - Is there a new type of boiled linseed oil on the market that dries faster and has anyone used it?

theRIAA says: Aug 8, 2009. 9:33 AM REPI guess I paid $8 for flour, but I wasted a lot. I think they have a different starch glue that they use that is much cheaper though. A much sturdier stoolcould be made from $3 worth of 2x4s.

99Samus says: Jun 11, 2009. 9:23 PM REPCan you get splinters from this? I'm scared to do this right now because of my phobia of splinters

Sequimania says: Dec 16, 2010. 4:52 PM REPHa ha! Cardboard should be perfect for you.

PKTraceur says: Jul 22, 2009. 9:17 PM REPNo offense, carboard splinters? I think my main worry would be paper cuts... :)
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theRIAA says: Jun 12, 2009. 12:57 AM REPno, but the glue makes the cardboard hard, and could be sharp.. no splinters though.

nate71173 says: Aug 13, 2009. 9:20 PM REPwhile i wouldnt build furniture with this stuff, it is interesting for crafts, and maybe fashioning some organizational tools, and whatever else. good idea. id alslike to point out that if you were to take this to a conventional RECYCLER, it would be milled down to a pulp, and be combined with MORE glue (than u useto make paper, and...... MORE CARDBOARD! all u people citing the terrible use of glue need to think about it before you condemn it.

Sequimania says: Dec 16, 2010. 4:51 PM REPThere are companies that specialize in furniture made out of cardboard. Couches, chairs, tables, bookshelves, you name it. More popular in Europe I

think. It is very sturdy and when one tires of it or the dog takes a liking to the glue that's been used it can be recycled.

I recently found out that you can fuse fabric to paper with fuse-able interfacing (sewing store). Don't see why you couldn't fuse fabric to cardboard if youwere using it for furniture. For that matter you could just glue it on after fusing clear vinyl to the right side of the fabric. (Fuse-able clear vinyl = sewingstore.) I think it comes in matte as well as shiny vinyl.

fzumrk says: Dec 4, 2010. 6:47 AM REPIf you are going to make a structure out of this and want to waterproof it and or fireproof it, how about this: Just treat it like it is a normal wood structure. Fogarden sheds, they typically are not fireproofed in any way, so I don't know that you have to worry about it. If you do want fire resistance, you could drywallthe inside of the structure. This is all that residences use for fire protection.

For outside water protection, ice shield or another type of adhesive roofing membrane would probably work. Roof edges would still need flashing as this isthe most likely place for water to get in. You could make flashing out of recycled aluminum if you are trying to keep the project green.

Walls could be waterproofed like normal residential walls: Tyvek and adhesive flashing around around openings. I'm not sure how you would fasten theTyvek to the cardboard though.

I wonder if you could make your own insulated structural panels like this? You could build them with a layer drywall on the bottom and a layer of plywood otop with multiple layers of cardboard in the middle. They might be too heavy to handle though.

quark43 says: Jun 11, 2009. 7:54 PM REPif you painted it with Kilz or regular paint would that waterproof it. Im thinking of building a shed with this. thanks for the ideas

rrrmanion says: Nov 13, 2010. 10:04 AM REPi would put layers of plastic in somewhere, or put wayyy too much glue on the outside layer(s)

glorybe says: Nov 13, 2010. 6:16 AM REPPaint and other surface finishes do little to stop water intrusion. There are leak sealers that might work. Fiberglass and resin are known to work well assheet metal.

smutjeuk says: Jun 13, 2009. 1:38 AM REPJust use marine ply (thin sheets wil l do) for the ouside and you got yourself a shed that IS waterproof. I raised my 'cardboard shed' with treated 4x4garden poles (The shed walls are 4" thick as well and are sitting fine on it) on the ground to protect against standing water but just used thin sheets ofmarine ply (got offcuts from a local boat builder and had them overlapping, Just used 8x4's for the roof together with 'roofing tar sheets'. Total Waterproand better insulated then my house in the winter. You just have to be careful with open fames or high heat as you are having a building made fromflammable material. Maybe someone could come up with some cheap, home-made flame-proof material that could be painted on? Also I used waterresistant wallpaper paste, it works really well and I have got no problems with rot or damp/moisture (and my shed is coming in to its 4th year by now. Ifyou can not get marine ply you could use one layer of Fiber glass, it would do the trick as well but would be more expensive and would not look that weAll in all I paid no more than 100 for everything bit for that I got a 16x20 shed/workshop That looks the job and is better from what you can get in anyGarden Centre, let alone the savings compared to a garden shed/house you would pay in any of them or DIY stores. Hope that helps.

Amon-100 says: Sep 3, 2009. 7:14 PM REPA cardboard shed sounds like a cool idea. I just have a few questions: 1. What did you use to water proof the cardboard? 2. What sort of adhesivedid you use to glue that cardboard together and 3. Would it be possible to get a picture of the shed.

xenor says: Jun 17, 2009. 9:26 PM REPI'm thinking that the only way to safely fireproof this stuff would be to mix some sort of fire retardant in with the glue. That way it's all the way througthe material, rather than just a coating. Does anyone know what they treat cellulose fiber insulation with to make it fire resistant?

a4great says: Dec 22, 2009. 3:16 PM REPyou could add something fireproof inbetween or in the cardboard.
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shantinath1000 says: Aug 29, 2009. 1:48 PM REPActually this is fairly fire proof as it is- and that is for the same reason hay bale houses are fairly fireproof. the material is so densely packed thais difficult for combustion to take place. don't forget that the combustion triangle is fuel, oxy, and heat. this method packs the insides so tightly thOxyis the limiting factor.

Speedmite says: Jun 20, 2009. 9:58 AM REPGood idea.

quark43 says: Jun 16, 2009. 4:49 PM REPIt does help i like your ideas though im not sure i can get marine plywood but im going to look. My shed wont be that big only about 8x8.

theRIAA says: Jun 12, 2009. 12:58 AM REPnope, not waterproof. I would only keep this inside.

Silence says: Jun 13, 2009. 10:16 AM REPNot being waterproof can be fixed... you could glue a flat sheet to al the exposed corrugation and then paint the whole thing with a waterproofcoating. paint or varnish. would add extra strength too.

lukej says: Mar 21, 2010. 4:54 AM REPJust find something similar to clear nail polish

biondosmith says: Oct 6, 2009. 5:09 AM REPWould this be any stronger if you cut the cardboard into strips and "basketweaved" them together, and then layered basket weaves? Maybe that would betoo much work?

glorybe says: Nov 13, 2010. 6:14 AM REPA basket weave would probably be weaker as the shape invites voids between the layers.If one wishes to fill the honeycomb edges drywall compound or "Spackle", plaster of Paris, or even a white cement mixed with nothing but a bit of watercould be used.If unusual strength is desired it is hard to beat a torsion box for strength to weight ration. A torsion box is essentially a much larger version of thehoneycomb pattern already seen in the center of cardboard. Building torsion boxes is slow and challenging. You my have seen Japanese beds with nolegs where one edge is part of the wall. Those are torsion boxes and they hold a man's weight for decades without loss of shape or strength.

theRIAA says: Oct 6, 2009. 12:00 PM REPthat would not be stronger. less surface area would glue together and the corrugations would mostly all be crushed.

dueymack says: Mar 13, 2010. 8:32 AM REPExcellent !!

pedla says: Feb 20, 2010. 8:18 AM REPFair enough idea, why not try visiting local cabinet makers and asking for some of their waste sawdust to mix with glue, save on glue, add strength, savelandfills and if you sieved it and tamped into corrugations after cutting to size,coated with glue then sanded you would end up with flat surfaces that couldeasily be painted with a waterproof varnish. I tried this on a small sample the effect of hundreds of squares is neat the cardboard waslighter colour thanthsawdust so it stood out. You wi ll have to repeat the sanding tamping and varnish several times to get it smooth but effort can be i ts own reward

1234Becka says: Jul 14, 2009. 1:11 PM REPI love the idea...save big with cardboard!! Even wood don't last long if you don't waterproof it every year. I been using cardboards for my solar cooker andsolar dehydrator. Hmmm...I guess you use wood screws when you make a table or bench. And it should hold up a few years if you waterproof your project

a4great says: Dec 22, 2009. 3:05 PM REPhow do you make wood screws???!!!?? (instructable?)

scarabeetle101 says: Jan 6, 2010. 7:11 AM REPIt's just a normal metal screw, designed for wood. Not a screw made of wood.
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14/14

biondosmith says: Oct 6, 2009. 5:12 AM REPthat looks really good - I bet if you laminated some thin wood veneer on this, you would have a product that you could finish just like oak but cost only afraction. good work!

theRIAA says: Jul 27, 2009. 12:23 AM REPyea.. just like you cant go into safeway and walk behind the register to look through the drawers for things you want, you cant go in back and look throughthe cardboard.

ipisors says: Sep 12, 2009. 1:38 PM REPYou don't go in "the back", you just go in the main store while they are unpacking and take them. Almost any store in the US will let you take emptyboxes from them, every day. it's trash. yes, they get maybe a penny a box for recycling them, but it's about equal to the work you're saving them from

baling and processing it.

rimar2000 says: Aug 18, 2009. 4:57 AM REPThis is very interesting, thanks.

hardlec says: Aug 8, 2009. 5:45 PM REPSturdy is good. A sturdy stool can be made of scraps at no cost but labor. There is value in versitility and creativity. The pleasing shape of your piece givesvalue Where I live the price of plywood has quadrupled in the last 5 years. I like to build things, but "new" wood is getting too expensive.

Warlrosity says: Aug 5, 2009. 3:32 AM REPWhoop de doo! IT"S CARDBOARD!!!!!!!!!!

Ironman97 says: Aug 1, 2009. 7:06 AM REPThis is a good project, but be warned, it's harder than it looks.

threecardmonty says: Jul 30, 2009. 1:02 PM REPHow is this on weight versus wood?

theRIAA says: Jul 30, 2009. 5:19 PM REPI would say half the weight of wood, volume-wise, and 1/4 the strength of wood weight-wise. aka, i think you could make something stronger and lightewith wood.

Matt21497 says: Jul 30, 2009. 9:10 AM REP

enter in the cardboard contest

klaskitchen says: Jul 27, 2009. 5:04 AM REPI work in a grocery store. Very politely ask at the front desk for cardboard boxes or cardboard. Most places are happy to give you boxes for moving or craftprojects. Ask what time of day is best to collect them. Be sure to collect them on time. At my store boxes get baled at a certain time every day. Small storesare best because they don't have corporate policies etc to stop you. And the employees are poorly paid so will be sympathetic to such projects. Also,cucarachas like the glue in cardboard, so, exterminate regularly and BE CLEAN!

sonipitts says: Jul 26, 2009. 8:17 PM REPActually, dumpster diving is NOT a crime in most areas, as long as the dumpster is not on private property, locked or fenced up. YMMV, depending on wheyou live, but the law generally considers trash to be abandoned by the owner and therefore free game. OTOH, most cardboard storage dumpsters are gointo be on store property. So ask first, and leave the place at least as clean as you found it, if not more so.

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