How does this community cut squares?

General discussion about Origami, Papers, Diagramming, ...
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ccortner
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Joined: October 27th, 2010, 3:32 am
Location: USA

How does this community cut squares?

Post by ccortner »

I hate cutting large squares. I am awful at it, so awful that the thought of cutting a square out of a lovingly crafted, newly minted sheet of double tissue or tissue foil and subsequently ruining it is enough to keep me from folding anything of consequence very often. In fact I haven't folded much at all in the last two years because of this. What am I doing wrong? No idea! It's probably a combination of paper slippage, improper tools and bad eyesight. Typically I use a large triangle, ruler, cutting mat and an exacto knife. Somehow the paper comes out skewed at least half the time. This is absolutely maddening to me. I have several sheets of beautiful unruyu staring at me right now, mocking me, daring me to make the cut. :\

So I wanted to poll you guys/gals to see what methods you use to create that perfect square. Hopefully enough of you will post that I and others can find a method that works for us. :)

Much appreciation!
Chris
fncll
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Re: How does this community cut squares?

Post by fncll »

See
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9186&p=102002

A thread *this* Chris started a while back.

I've gotten pretty good at it now, thanks to a few things: while I use a square for measuring (sometimes I just measure points), I use a ruler that is made for cutting (it has one thick edge, all steel) and--this is the most important thing--I switched from x-acto and others of those ilk to a rotary cutter (larger really is better in this case).

I've also had pretty good luck using the "fold in half and use the triangle to determine two cuts" method.
mummykicks
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Location: Tucson AZ

Re: How does this community cut squares?

Post by mummykicks »

This is what I do. The thinner the paper the better this works. I use a bone folder and run it down the inside of that second fold to get all the layers tight a few times as I flatten from left to right while keeping the edges all aligned. Another benefit of this is that large sheets become small enough to cut on regular sized paper cutters, which almost always have a grid you can use to get the alignment.


Image
Paper square -1 by mummykicks, on Flickr
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Kundalini
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Joined: November 24th, 2014, 1:13 am

Re: How does this community cut squares?

Post by Kundalini »

i am going to do an CPR in the chest of this thread, because i have re-discovered a technique pretty useful. Also someone in this forum discovered the same than me in another country* before i could find the topic. When this happend in science is the best solution. At least, in my opinion, is the best and fast solution, but i am open minded so maybe there is a better solution.
*the thread where i find it today is close.

I have ordered a laser cut to an acrilical stuff, the result is a perfect square made of plastic. So its like a ruler but square, I use a cutter and a cutting mat.

I hope people that have discovered this before me could contribute with pics of the acrilics squares.

ImageSquare Perfect Origami by Kundalini Zero, en Flickr

Imagelaser_cut_square_origami by Kundalini Zero, en Flickr
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