The Origami Forum

Hi All! -

Does anyone know of a good source for inexpensive square plastic templates to use for cutting out squares from large sheets of paper? I had a couple made at http://www.customlasercutting.com/ a couple years ago (one 12" and one 17.5"), and while I love them -- they are very, very square -- those two ran about $50. Now I'd like to get some smaller and larger ones, too, and am curious if there is a source for similar templates but less expensive...! Thanks!

Occasionally, and for minimal fee, you can find a hardware store that will cut plexiglass to size for you. Now, I make no guarantees about the mathematical prowess or cutting expertise of migrant workers, but it may be worth looking into.

I used wooden templates für a long time. they are very expensive here and square enough for me.

Christian, the word is "cheap", "expensive" means teuer

and I thought "cheap" is the sound made by birds

"Cheap" is only squawked by the blue-breasted penny-pincher...

"Cheep" is what little birds say, possibly as they try to wake the blue-breasted penny-pincher in the morning....


(not all of my humor is funny .... but you get what you pay for... cheep....)


- Hank Simon

Dinogami,
To locate sources of templates, you might want to try two sources that I know of.
1. http://www.olipfa.com/
2. Omnigrid- http://www.save-on-crafts.com/omolrul.html

I have several of these, in varying sizes, and enjoy them.
I glue 4 thin cork strips to the corners of one face, to avoid shifting or slipperiness .
They are generally found in quilting, sewing or architechural sections .

In the United States , they may be found at Joannes Crafts, as well as at Michael's Craftstores .
In San Diego, Ridout Plastics http://www.ridoutplastics.com/prodlinforri.html can custom produce any square or polygon shape that you like, but it's quite costly !

Hi All! - Thanks so much to everyone for the tips! I've looked at the quilting type of things (my wife is an avid quilter), but they're too thin -- my rotary cutter keeps rolling up onto them. So I splurged and got more from the laser cutting source I cited before. In case anyone is interested, I got a set that includes 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 24 inch squares for a total of about $100 (not including about $10 shipping). Coupled with the 12 and 17.5 inch squares I got before, I'll have 8 templates for about $150 or so. That's probably expensive, but I love them and would recommend the company and its products to anyone looking for similar products!