Square template idea

[origamimasterjared]

I had this idea for a possible metal template for cutting squares of various sizes. The concept is to have a large square, say 18 inches on a side, and then to have 17, 16, 15, 14....6 inch squares inside as shown.

Also, you could make squares of .5 inch increments by using a corner from the outside, and a corner on the diagonal that goes through it. And you could do the same sort of thing in metric, by starting with 50 cm and working your way down...

It would look something like these:



What do you think? Would it be difficult to have one made?



Another idea would be to have those cuts instead be .5 inches wide so that you could use the inside and outside edges, giving you even greater precision.

[Jonnycakes]

What about the spots in between the corner slits? It seems to me that just having several square skeletons of different sizes that stack inside each other would be more practical.

[Daydreamer]

The way I understand it, those templates are not for cutting, but for marking the edges/corners on the paper (with a pencil f.e.) and then afterwards cut them with a straight edge and a cutter. That's also the better way, because you won't wear out your template with the cutter that way.

origamimasterjared, I think your template is a nice idea, but it will be a bit hard to produce with enough precision. Of course with the right tools it should be possible. What material have you thought to use for this template?

[perrosaurio]

well, the blank spaces between the edges I think are material (steel or whatever he is planning to use) and the skyblue lines are thin holes where the cutter runs.

It's difficult to get exact 90 deg angles for a solid rigid structure, I think it will demand a lot of wrong pieces. My own tool that I use is the next: A mobile two armed steel angle, which is two straight pieces of metal fitted together with a screw. You can give it any angle you desire (I have marked it every 10 deg), cut the angle (meaning both edges) or mark them and cut them with a cutter, and then fold the main diagonal and follow the edges for the other two sides. You can mark the arms with inches or cm and use them as rulers to mark the paper and use the angle in the opposite corner to make the other two edges. You can use any size for the arms but as long as you make them to get accurate 90 deg will be harder, or you can weld the arms forever.

It works pretty well...

regards

[Mel_in_Oz]

This may sound a little odd, but have you tried looking a quilting templates?

The other thing to try looking at is quilting rulers.

[qtrollip]

Origamimasterjared, I think that is just genius!
The only thing is that it's gonna take up some space, being un-upfoldable(?). But now adays you get precision laser cutting, and I think if you pursue this, you could make alot of money. And you will make alot of people happy, including me! I hate preparing paper!!!

[origamimasterjared]

The way I understand it, those templates are not for cutting, but for marking the edges/corners on the paper (with a pencil f.e.) and then afterwards cut them with a straight edge and a cutter. That's also the better way, because you won't wear out your template with the cutter that way.

Exactly. The way I always cut my squares now is to use a square template and mark off the corners, with just a little bit of elbow, as the second template shows, then cut corner to corner. Also, using this method, the template could be made of a softer material, like plastic, without worry of cutting into it and ruining the square.

I think your template is a nice idea, but it will be a bit hard to produce with enough precision. Of course with the right tools it should be possible. What material have you thought to use for this template?

Thanks. I was thinking aluminum or steel about 1/12-1/8 inch thick. Plastic would work too, but it would definitely preclude people from using a knife directly, and I think it would be too lightweight.

well, the blank spaces between the edges I think are material (steel or whatever he is planning to use) and the skyblue lines are thin holes where the cutter runs.

Yeah, the grey is the metal, and the white lines inside are the basic idea for the slits. However, as Daydreamer said, it would be better to use a pencil or something to mark. Don't wanna damage your awesome template!

Origamimasterjared, I think that is just genius!
The only thing is that it's gonna take up some space, being un-upfoldable(?). But now adays you get precision laser cutting, and I think if you pursue this, you could make alot of money. And you will make alot of people happy, including me! I hate preparing paper!!!

LASER CUTTING!! That's it! That makes accurate square angles pretty easy! Apparently they use CAD so the machine can be ultra-precise. And any idiot (even me) can CAD a square I assume . Thank you QTrollip!

Yes, it would take up a little space, but since it's a pretty sturdy piece of metal, I would think you could just stand it on its edge and stick it behind your desk or something if needed.

Making money and making people happy?? Sweet. That would make it a bit easier for me to buy all the books/papers/conventions I want... Of course I have to find out if/where I can have it done and the price. Hopefully it's not too expensive.



So far the basic idea is having a 1/12-1/8 inch thick laser-cut aluminum square around 20 inches (50.8 cm, so a 50 cm version would be a great idea) with the corners of squares decreasing an inch at a time down to around 6 inches (15 cm).

[Rdude]

That is a really good idea. If you could find someone you know who has access to a machine shop (i.e. an engineer or such) you could probably get it done for free. Good luck and post some pics if you do make one. It would be worth it!

Rdude