Trouble Making 'Square' Paper

[Arnold K]

I have been folding for a long time now and I have been making double tissue and tissue foil for a little less than a year. Recently however, I have run into a snag. I need to make a big sheet of square paper. Something like 50 cm X 50 cm. The problem is, I cant seem to make it perfectly square. I used to be able to do it...but now I cant. I can't figure out why either.

So I come to you, can a few of you please post your methods for making a square? I have several straight edges, a t-square, a 30-60-90 triangle, and the obvious pencils, paper, and razor blades. This is starting to get really frustrating.


An before anyone says so, I know that the larger a sheet you make the less accurate it has to be.

[cjbnc]

I use a 24x36 inch (60x90cm) ruled, rotary cutting mat, a 24 inch (60cm) steel ruler, and a rotary cutter. The mat has lines in both directions, so it's usually pretty easy to line up and cut square, even with larger double tissue.

[kevin89]

I also have a rotary cutting mat and cutter, but I don't use the lines on the mat, because Ive never really used them and therefore have never become comfortable with them. And I have a 12 by 12 inch and a 6 by 24 inch clear acrylic grid/ruler that I use for most things. I also will occasionally use my dad's 48 inch (4 feet) straight edge and his 16 by 24 inch L ruler. (I can't think of their name right now...)

What I do to make sure my super large squares are actually squares is I fold them in half in multiple directions before I cut it and make sure the edges line up. You can also measure the diagonals to make sure they are the same length.

Also, with rulers, you don't have to measure them to know how long they are

[mummykicks]

for large sheets I fold it diagonally, and then fold the resulting triangle in half so that all the edges of the paper are on the same edge of the now smaller triangle, and the original diagonal fold is now two edges that I align while making the second fold.
I then go to a paper cutter and align the diagonal folds on the diagonal of the grid of the paper cutter so that when I cut I'm cutting all 4 edges at the same time. As long as you're careful about aligning the folded edges to each other (while folding the triangle in half) and holding them in place while you cut, you will get a 'perfect' square with diagonal folds more precise than you can normally fold a sheet that big...

[Washi]

I usually fold diagonally and then cut, but sometimes (while not exactly accurate) I use the square edge of my ruler as a protractor and line it up with an edge to get a 90 degree angle..

[Froy]

Fold diagonlas and measure a X distance from the center and conect the 4 points. Dont cut the square from the folded triangle.

[mummykicks]

Fold diagonlas and measure a X distance from the center and conect the 4 points. Dont cut the square from the folded triangle.

I've used the method I described above with excellent results on sheets up to 80cm square. It has the added benefit of reducing the cut length so it fits on a decent sized paper cutter without measurement and only requires a single cut. The error introduced by the fold is very small, and would be much less than measurement errors on larger sheets.

[mike352]

You can also use some kind of square template and use a rotary cutter to cut around the template. Some people use cardboard to make the template. If you live in the US, you can go to a store like Lowes or Home Depot and ask them to cut you a square sheet of plexiglas at whatever size. I've used plexiglas as a template and it works well enough for me at a size of 18 inches (45 cm).

[dinogami]

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8392&p=93671#p93671

[Arnold K]

I am at my wits end. I have wasted four days trying to make a square 55cm on one side. I dont know what the deal is, but I when I finish cutting it, it is square. When I wake up the next day, I try to fold it, and all of my references line up, but then when I start folding, the creases dont line up!

I am starting to think it is a weather phenomenon. So far I have only ever made my paper in the fall winter and spring. Now that it is summer, and where I am, it is very hot and humid. I wonder if that could be affecting the paper...it doesnt seem likely. I really have no idea what I am doing wrong.

[kevin89]

Its very likely that the humidity is making the paper expand, but it doesn't make sense that it is expanding after you cut it. Maybe store it out in the open before you cut it, or store it in the same place after you cut it.

[gordigami]

I tend to cut an obscene amount of paper, various sizes. ( almost a hundred per month)
I have a RotaTrim Pro 24" slide cutter, a 36' contractor's stainless steel " L " square, several large adjustable blade cutters, 6 foot ' T " square, along with plexiglass templates of various sizes ( only used for roughing out size ) .
Large, organized cutting surface helps. Keep angle of blade straight with hand cutters.
By and large, cutting an exact square is still always a challenge, requiring continual refining of technique.

[Arnold K]

Yeah, I have been using an increasingly warped piece of plywood (36"X 24") as my cutting surface. Also, I bout a T-square from AC Moore and it was a bit of a bust. The arm of the 'T' was a bit of plexiglass sandwiched between two thin bits of wood. the result was that I couldn't hold it square and use the plexiglass as a cutting guide because the razor blade could skip underneath the plexiglass. I entirely forgot about the L squares! Those are really good to have.

Also, what do you do with all of that paper?

[gordigami]

Sure, it's better to have accurate tools.
I look to blueprinting firms for accurate L squares, because hardware store ones may be off by 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch or more.
Many sliding or guillotine cutters aren't "exactly" square, so tests and adaptions need to be made.
Good light is important, 'cause shadows can throw you off.
When you make a measurement mark, be as exact as possible, take your time, then cut exactly in the middle of the pencil mark.
I fold quite a bit, I like to have quite a variety of textures from around the world, and supplement my stockpile of sheet paper with rolls of paper, so that I can cut any size possible.

[bethnor]

all this said, the larger the square, the less "perfect" it needs to be.