I was just involved in a quite lengthy discussion about how to cut cardboard. My first instinct is to recommend a utility knife and straight edge, but I was asked about alternative time and effort-cutting methods. To be honest, I’m stumped here.
It was suggested that a Dremel type tool with rotary cutting blade can be used, but I thought this would be extremely inefficient. Plus, it would be damn near impossible to cut longer pieces straight enough.
Well what about other types of saws? In my opionion, other saws would tear away at the coardboard, leaving a jagged edge.
I would think that an oscillating tool with a fine cutting blade might work, and Sonicrafter’s SiniShear attachment would definitely work, although longer lines would again be difficult to cut straight.
I reiterated my initial recommendation – a utility knife with sharp new blades and a straight edge. I’m relatively certain that heavy duty rotary paper cutters might work as well, as would large shears, but my colleague is looking for a low-budget solution.
What would you recommend for making many straight cuts in cardboard?
Cutting cardboard with a circular saw is a ridiculously good time, but make sure you’re outdoors. Think plywood makes a lot of sawdust?
I had to cut up a clothes washer box this fall and I was surprised how clean a cut it made.
Low budget would be a utility knife with sharp blades. There are some nice battery operated scissors out there but the price goes up dramatically.
If you want a clean, straight cut, then a sharp knife + straight edge is the best way to go. If that’s too much work, then you shouldn’t be doing this project in the first place. Just go back to the sofa and open another beer.
I use a drywall t-square and box cutter with good results. I just made a cardboard skylight insert shade out of a HDTV box.
I’ve never thought of using a saw, but my ryobi trim saw with a ply blade would probably work great, might try that out the next time.
My first job required me to cut some heavy wall (1/2″ thick) cardboard boxes. They would cut 100 boxes or so every week and had a dedicated bandsaw setup for this. Worked well, was fast and left decent cuts with a little bit of fuzzy edges.
The guys in the shipping dept for my company use utility knives when resizing cardboard boxes or creating unusual shipping boxes.
What can be more ‘low-budget’ than a utility knife and straightedge? That’s also the best and fastest method to cut cardboard.
My mom used to work on a lot of crafts projects using cardboard, and she would always use a very sharp circular rolling cutter. She thought that an exacto or utility knife would always start to pull and tear the cardboard. She usually used some kind of pad underneath. Always worked for her!
Are we talking corrugated or just paperboard? Depending on the sizes I think I’d fire up the table saw with a zero clearance insert. It works great for foam board, multiple layers of corrugated cardboard is similar.
Sawzall!
Gonna have to try a circular saw though – thanks Alan.
Seriously, utility knife and straightedge. Can’t really get any more low budget than that, and works like a charm every time.
The easiest way to cut cardboard is with a jigsaw (saber saw) and a knife blade. They actually make a knife edge blade for them but they are hard to find. This setup works effortlessly, although if you cut much the blade will get very hot, so its good to let it cool off often. I have made a number of cardboard chairs with this method.
Black & Decker SZ360 3.6-Volt Ni-Cad Cordless Power Scissors
Skil 2352-01 3.6-Volt Lithium-Ion Multi-Cutter
ZipSnip Cordless Cutter
We use our panel saw with a diamond tile blade to make packaging for our products. Works great.
I have to cut lots of boxes down to flat pieces frequently. I’ve used scissors, what a pain. The Black & Decker battery operated scissors work on thinner cardboard but tend to bind a lot. Utility knife requires a lot of muscle and gets old after a few boxes. I’m going to try to find the jig saw knife blades mentioned earlier. The thing that works best so far is an electric knife, like a turkey carving knife. Least amount of effort of things I’ve tried.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYkk9yaF0H4&feature=youtube_gdata_player