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Cardboard Lumber
by theRIAA on May 2, 2009 Table of Contents Cardboard Lumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Cardboard Lumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Types of Saws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: How to get Cardboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Prepare the Cardboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Stack the Cardboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Get some Glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Glue! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Wait... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: Cut! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 9: Honeycomb Plywood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 10: Build!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 8

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Author:theRIAA
Hunter Frerich

Intro: Cardboard Lumber

How would you like an incredibly strong, cool, and cheap building material for making lightweight tables, chairs, shelves, or anything else you can think of. Reusing cardboard to make furniture has always been a good idea, but the results I've seem have been either incredibly complex, or shoddy looking. By laminating sheets of cardboard together into a large block and cutting this up with a table, or circular saw, you can create cardboard lumber of any dimensions you want: 2x4s, 2x8s, 4x4s. If you alternate the grain of the corrugations you can create plywood. If you glue your lumber together end-to-end you can create strong honeycomb-like boards. You will only need three things to create cardboard lumber: 1) A Saw 2) Lots of cardboard 3) Glue... lots of glue

Image Notes 1. I cut some over-sized mortise and tenon joints with a jigsaw so the legs could bend out, adding to the stability if I didn't glue it.

Image Notes 1. after splitting down the middle and cutting the ends square. One will be the bench top and the other will be cut in 1/2 as the legs. The outside is dry but the middle is still soaked. They need a day or two in the sun to become rigid again.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Image Notes 1. finished. You can see the holes filled in on top. I stained it with just danish oil. It adsorbed nicely and dried very shinny. I did not seal it with anything.

Step 1: Types of Saws

Table Saw: The best saw you could possibly use to do this is a table saw. You can adjust a table saw's fence to help you cut perfectly uniform lumber out of your cardboard block. This allows you to easily mass-produce cardboard lumber. Because of a table saws fence, you should be able to cut lumber twice as thick as the max height of your blade by cutting once, and then flipping your cardboard block over and cutting through entirely. Circular Saw: If you're really good at cutting straight lines and have no other option then I guess you could give it a try. Hand Saw: Possible, but too labor intensive for me. Band Saw: If your band saw is as powerful as a circular saw than go for it, this could open interesting options. Chain Saw: Messy... No Saw: Unfortunately for people without access to saws, this instructable is not for you. I know it looks cool and all, but it's just not gonna work out.

Image Notes 1. about 1 and 3/4"

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Step 2: How to get Cardboard

Super Moral and Totally legal free cardboard: Save up cardboard from boxes your family uses. You'll be surprised how fast it adds up. Go around town and ask any businesses if they have any cardboard you could take. It will likely be already broken down for you. Super moral and Mostly legal free cardboard: If you're in a hurry, or just lazy, you can drive around the back of stores and look through their recycling dumpsters for cardboard. Be warned though that dumpster diving is a crime, but most people will be fine with you hauling away some of their trash. Maybe legal and moral free plastic cardboard: Those corrugated plastic advertising and campaign signs scattered around your neighborhood are considered litter/unclaimed property in *some* areas. Snatch a bunch of them up fast and you'll have an awesome start to rock solid, corrugated plastic lumber (Be sure to use glue designed for plastic though. Wheatpaste won't work.) Most of my cardboard came from my school cafeteria and my family's recycle.

Step 3: Prepare the Cardboard

I will be making a large solid block of cardboard with all the corrugations pointed the same way. If you want to make classic plywood, alternate the corrugations throughout the block. The second way could be stronger, but I'm going to make it this way because it looks nicer. You have to cut your cardboard so that each single layer lays flat, and is completely filled with cardboard. The look and strength of your lumber will all depend on how well you cut your cardboard layers up. It would be best to have all cardboard meet at hard, squared off corners. To prepare your raw cardboard boxes, you have to cut all of them into flat rectangles, removing all tape and anything you can to make them just cardboard rectangles.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Step 4: Stack the Cardboard

Before you glue everything together, stack the cardboard in a neat pile. It's okay if there's a couple little gaps, we're just making sure we have enough. I wanted to make a 4'x4' square of cardboard the thickness of how deep my saw could cut. Now is a good time to estimate the sq. ft. of cardboard and see how much you can build.

Image Notes 1. this pile is only 2'x4' and I wanted to overshoot to be sure.

Step 5: Get some Glue

You have a couple options here, and by a couple I mean exactly two: Wheatpaste: At less than a buck a gallon, this is what I will be using. You can view my wheatpaste instructable here , or basically heat 1:4 part flour/water until it get's thick. Wheatpaste, when made properly and applied correctly will be pretty much as strong as the glue that holds the corrugations of the cardboard together (they use a starch glue, white flour is starch...). It's used by paper machers and also graffiti artists to post paper pictures to concrete walls and create a rock hard irremovable poster. I would recommend adding any bacteria deterrents you have (see instructable). 1:1 Wood Glue: You might be able to find a gallon of wood glue at your local hardware store for about $10 if you're lucky. This should be diluted with water 1:1 because we're covering such a large area, and only want a thin coat, and also to help the glue soak into the cardboard. This comes out to $5 per gallon. The advantages of this is it's much stronger, the corrugations will always rip before the wood glue seams, and is easier to make and apply (but not much). After doing this with wheatpaste, I would recommend this way, simply because the wheatpaste is not as sticky as it needs to be. Note: You could also use Wallpaper paste I guess; it comes in a powder at the hardware store. You will need a minimum 2 gallons of either to properly glue the amount of cardboard I am doing.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Step 6: Glue!
Lay our your cardboard on a flat surface and get your first layer ready. Apply a VERY large amount of glue to one section by POURING it on the surface and spreading it evenly. If you think you used too much, then you almost have enough glue on. Now apply glue to the piece to be put on for the second layer. Don't think of this as glueing cardboard together! Think of it as paper mache WITH cardboard! Lots of glue! Continue fitting cardboard together neatly and gluing it until you reached your last layer and you're out of cardboard. My 4x8ish block was a little thin, so I cut it down the middle and doubled it up.

Image Notes 1. these gaps must be fixed soon! work fast!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Image Notes 1. cutting the pile down the middle before I dump glue all over everything and put them together.

Step 7: Wait...
Clamp down your pile, or stack a bunch of things on top. I would wait at least a couple hours in the sun. Overnight if it's indoors.

Image Notes 1. clamp 2. clamp 3. clamp 4. clamp 5. clamp 6. clamp 7. pile of scraps 8. pile of good pieces for later 9. 50lbs of weight on top of plywood

Image Notes 1. while it's clamped you can check the thickness

Step 8: Cut!
I used a circular saw and a T-square to cut three even sides. I was pretty surprised with the firecracker-like sounds the cardboard made when i cut it. Then I used a table saw to cut everything into 1.5" strips. I would highly recommend a partner to help you cut up the block. It's heavy and unwieldy.

Image Notes 1. these six layers will be doubled up to make 12 layer sticks.

Image Notes 1. 12 layers. 1.5"x1.5"x3.5'

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Step 9: Honeycomb Plywood

Once you have your lumber, you can either use these individual pieces, or you can glue them, edge-to-edge and create a very, very strong block of cardboard suitable as a tabletop or seat. Because the corrugations are all vertical (as a tabletop) and not horizontal, it has much greater strength.

Image Notes 1. all glued end-on-end and ready to clamp 2. high spots came from un-even table-sawing. a partner help will eliminate this!

Image Notes 1. during compression

Image Notes 1. final compression and wait...

Image Notes 1. after saturating with another 1/2 gallon of wheatpaste. This will take a WHILE to dry but should be as hard as glass when it is. my total cost so far has only been from the 1/2 bag of flour I've used up 2. the wet glue gives the cardboard nice rounded edges

Step 10: Build!!!

Use your imagination! This is an entire new building material that you have to figure out how to use. To further strengthen your projects, you can seal the whole thing in wheatpaste like i did in the previous step. Ideas for using this stuff, suggest anything you want to add : Scapile (my original inspiration for all of this) A cardboard playhouse made by Piersg a MASSIVE amount of completed woodwork projects (search with the "view more tags" link) lots of lumber plan blueprints Andy Lee coffee table nice table design cool sitting bench another bench and another snap together table from instructables Pano Chair Please rate and comment... But Note:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Can we stop talking about the environment guys? I wasen't really trying to make any point that this would help the environment anywhere in my instructable. If you have easy access to cardboard, flour and power tools, then you might be interested in making this. Go ahead, try it and tell us what happened. If you don't like this idea, then please suggest better alternatives. Please calm down the comments on your assumptions about how cardboard and wheatpaste effect the environment.

Image Notes 1. finished. You can see the holes filled in on top. I stained it with just danish oil. It adsorbed nicely and dried very shinny. I did not seal it with anything.

Image Notes 1. after splitting down the middle and cutting the ends square. One will be the bench top and the other will be cut in 1/2 as the legs. The outside is dry but the middle is still soaked. They need a day or two in the sun to become rigid again.

Image Notes 1. I cut some over-sized mortise and tenon joints with a jigsaw so the legs could bend out, adding to the stability if I didn't glue it.

Image Notes 1. You can see it easily holds 50 lbs and I sat on it and it felt like a rock, but it's still very wet inside, I could tell when cutting the tenons. Even so, I will put a gallon of wheatpaste over everything tomorrow and let it dry for a week or so for a lifetime of durability.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Image Notes 1. putty made with wheatpaste and cardboard sawdust. I used this and some compressed cardboard wedges to glue the table together.

Image Notes 1. the putty worked really well.

Image Notes 1. saturating the holes with hot wheatpaste before I put the wedges in.

Image Notes 1. in the drying jig saturated with wheatpaste.

Related Instructables

Wheatpaste by theRIAA

Cardboard Christmas Tree by Aleksandr Skotbot

Giant Fn Computer Key Stool/Chair by caitlinsdad

Santa's Elves Yard Display by blipvert

Cardboard Cantilever Chair 2.0 by wholman

Dragon Egg by woofboy111

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 188 comments

rrrmanion says:

Nov 13, 2010. 10:20 AM REPLY hard as glass? technically, glass isn't hard, because in fact, glass is a liquid... though this may just be an expression, but i've never heard it.

chello2k9 says:
Glass is a liquid....ok.

Feb 1, 2011. 5:42 PM REPLY

rrrmanion says:
glass is what's known as a super cooled liquid. if glass was a solid, it would be opaque.. apparently anyway..

Feb 3, 2011. 3:50 AM REPLY

Bob_of_Mars says:
I'm afraid that is not true. Here, allow a physicist to explain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omr0JNyDBI0

Feb 23, 2011. 6:51 PM REPLY

rrrmanion says:
well, some say it is, others that it isn't, I like the idea that it is because it's sound cool.

Feb 24, 2011. 1:06 PM REPLY

kgrove-1 says:

Feb 23, 2011. 4:01 PM REPLY For everyone saying just use wood, that is for ppl who dont care about what materials they need just the end project which is fine. I, on the other hand am in a competition to make the most epic house out of cardboard only to win a cruise and to help raise homeless awareness so this is perfect!!!!

Almasy says:

Jan 25, 2011. 6:45 PM REPLY has anyone ever tried using a router to cut the cardboard? Just curious if the shape of the bit will hold or if it ends up looking like crap.

hardlec says:

Aug 8, 2009. 6:22 AM REPLY There is a product called PC Petrifier that is designed to restore dry rot. When applied over paper or cardboard, it makes the cardboard much sturdier. In the Victorian era, Boiled Linseed oil was used to reinforce paper machie. I'd like to know more about either, but I really like the idea of using cardboard. What is the cost ratio to wood when all the glue is taken into account?

Sequimania says:

Dec 16, 2010. 5:01 PM REPLY I've used a product called Wood Hardener on all kinds of weakened/open-grained wood that was either too valuable or difficult to replace. Love it but I think cardboard might soak up an awful lot of this stuff and it isn't cheap. Boiled linseed oil used to be used as a finish for antiques but I've heard that it isn't recommended any longer. It does have a strong smell that lingers, sometimes for years. A neuron just fired - Is there a new type of boiled linseed oil on the market that dries faster and has anyone used it?

theRIAA says:

Aug 8, 2009. 9:33 AM REPLY I guess I paid $8 for flour, but I wasted a lot. I think they have a different starch glue that they use that is much cheaper though. A much sturdier stool could be made from $3 worth of 2x4s.

99Samus says:
Can you get splinters from this? I'm scared to do this right now because of my phobia of splinters

Jun 11, 2009. 9:23 PM REPLY

Sequimania says:
Ha ha! Cardboard should be perfect for you.

Dec 16, 2010. 4:52 PM REPLY

PKTraceur says:
No offense, carboard splinters? I think my main worry would be paper cuts... :)

Jul 22, 2009. 9:17 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

theRIAA says:
no, but the glue makes the cardboard hard, and could be sharp.. no splinters though.

Jun 12, 2009. 12:57 AM REPLY

nate71173 says:

Aug 13, 2009. 9:20 PM REPLY while i wouldnt build furniture with this stuff, it is interesting for crafts, and maybe fashioning some organizational tools, and whatever else. good idea. id also like to point out that if you were to take this to a conventional RECYCLER, it would be milled down to a pulp, and be combined with MORE glue (than u used) to make paper, and...... MORE CARDBOARD! all u people citing the terrible use of glue need to think about it before you condemn it.

Sequimania says:

Dec 16, 2010. 4:51 PM REPLY There are companies that specialize in furniture made out of cardboard. Couches, chairs, tables, bookshelves, you name it. More popular in Europe I think. It is very sturdy and when one tires of it or the dog takes a liking to the glue that's been used it can be recycled. I recently found out that you can fuse fabric to paper with fuse-able interfacing (sewing store). Don't see why you couldn't fuse fabric to cardboard if you were using it for furniture. For that matter you could just glue it on after fusing clear vinyl to the right side of the fabric. (Fuse-able clear vinyl = sewing store.) I think it comes in matte as well as shiny vinyl.

fzumrk says:

Dec 4, 2010. 6:47 AM REPLY If you are going to make a structure out of this and want to waterproof it and or fireproof it, how about this: Just treat it like it is a normal wood structure. For garden sheds, they typically are not fireproofed in any way, so I don't know that you have to worry about it. If you do want fire resistance, you could drywall the inside of the structure. This is all that residences use for fire protection. For outside water protection, ice shield or another type of adhesive roofing membrane would probably work. Roof edges would still need flashing as this is the most likely place for water to get in. You could make flashing out of recycled aluminum if you are trying to keep the project green. Walls could be waterproofed like normal residential walls: Tyvek and adhesive flashing around around openings. I'm not sure how you would fasten the Tyvek to the cardboard though. I wonder if you could make your own insulated structural panels like this? You could build them with a layer drywall on the bottom and a layer of plywood on top with multiple layers of cardboard in the middle. They might be too heavy to handle though.

quark43 says:
if you painted it with Kilz or regular paint would that waterproof it. Im thinking of building a shed with this. thanks for the ideas

Jun 11, 2009. 7:54 PM REPLY

rrrmanion says:
i would put layers of plastic in somewhere, or put wayyy too much glue on the outside layer(s)

Nov 13, 2010. 10:04 AM REPLY

glorybe says:

Nov 13, 2010. 6:16 AM REPLY Paint and other surface finishes do little to stop water intrusion. There are leak sealers that might work. Fiberglass and resin are known to work well as is sheet metal. Jun 13, 2009. 1:38 AM REPLY Just use marine ply (thin sheets will do) for the ouside and you got yourself a shed that IS waterproof. I raised my 'cardboard shed' with treated 4x4 garden poles (The shed walls are 4" thick as well and are sitting fine on it) on the ground to protect against standing water but just used thin sheets of marine ply (got offcuts from a local boat builder and had them overlapping, Just used 8x4's for the roof together with 'roofing tar sheets'. Total Waterproof and better insulated then my house in the winter. You just have to be careful with open fames or high heat as you are having a building made from flammable material. Maybe someone could come up with some cheap, home-made flame-proof material that could be painted on? Also I used water resistant wallpaper paste, it works really well and I have got no problems with rot or damp/moisture (and my shed is coming in to its 4th year by now. If you can not get marine ply you could use one layer of Fiber glass, it would do the trick as well but would be more expensive and would not look that well. All in all I paid no more than 100 for everything bit for that I got a 16x20 shed/workshop That looks the job and is better from what you can get in any Garden Centre, let alone the savings compared to a garden shed/house you would pay in any of them or DIY stores. Hope that helps.

smutjeuk says:

Amon-100 says:

Sep 3, 2009. 7:14 PM REPLY A cardboard shed sounds like a cool idea. I just have a few questions: 1. What did you use to water proof the cardboard? 2. What sort of adhesive did you use to glue that cardboard together and 3. Would it be possible to get a picture of the shed. Jun 17, 2009. 9:26 PM REPLY I'm thinking that the only way to safely fireproof this stuff would be to mix some sort of fire retardant in with the glue. That way it's all the way through the material, rather than just a coating. Does anyone know what they treat cellulose fiber insulation with to make it fire resistant?

xenor says:

a4great says:
you could add something fireproof inbetween or in the cardboard.

Dec 22, 2009. 3:16 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

shantinath1000 says:

Aug 29, 2009. 1:48 PM REPLY Actually this is fairly fire proof as it is- and that is for the same reason hay bale houses are fairly fireproof. the material is so densely packed that it is difficult for combustion to take place. don't forget that the combustion triangle is fuel, oxy, and heat. this method packs the insides so tightly that Oxyis the limiting factor.

Speedmite says:
Good idea.

Jun 20, 2009. 9:58 AM REPLY

quark43 says:

Jun 16, 2009. 4:49 PM REPLY It does help i like your ideas though im not sure i can get marine plywood but im going to look. My shed wont be that big only about 8x8.

theRIAA says:
nope, not waterproof. I would only keep this inside.

Jun 12, 2009. 12:58 AM REPLY

Silence says:

Jun 13, 2009. 10:16 AM REPLY Not being waterproof can be fixed... you could glue a flat sheet to al the exposed corrugation and then paint the whole thing with a waterproof coating. paint or varnish. would add extra strength too.

lukej says:
Just find something similar to clear nail polish

Mar 21, 2010. 4:54 AM REPLY

biondosmith says:

Oct 6, 2009. 5:09 AM REPLY Would this be any stronger if you cut the cardboard into strips and "basketweaved" them together, and then layered basket weaves? Maybe that would be too much work?

glorybe says:

Nov 13, 2010. 6:14 AM REPLY A basket weave would probably be weaker as the shape invites voids between the layers. If one wishes to fill the honeycomb edges drywall compound or "Spackle", plaster of Paris, or even a white cement mixed with nothing but a bit of water could be used. If unusual strength is desired it is hard to beat a torsion box for strength to weight ration. A torsion box is essentially a much larger version of the honeycomb pattern already seen in the center of cardboard. Building torsion boxes is slow and challenging. You my have seen Japanese beds with no legs where one edge is part of the wall. Those are torsion boxes and they hold a man's weight for decades without loss of shape or strength.

theRIAA says:
that would not be stronger. less surface area would glue together and the corrugations would mostly all be crushed.

Oct 6, 2009. 12:00 PM REPLY

dueymack says:
Excellent !!

Mar 13, 2010. 8:32 AM REPLY

pedla says:

Feb 20, 2010. 8:18 AM REPLY Fair enough idea, why not try visiting local cabinet makers and asking for some of their waste sawdust to mix with glue, save on glue, add strength, save landfills and if you sieved it and tamped into corrugations after cutting to size,coated with glue then sanded you would end up with flat surfaces that could easily be painted with a waterproof varnish. I tried this on a small sample the effect of hundreds of squares is neat the cardboard was lighter colour than than sawdust so it stood out. You will have to repeat the sanding tamping and varnish several times to get it smooth but effort can be its own reward Jul 14, 2009. 1:11 PM REPLY I love the idea...save big with cardboard!! Even wood don't last long if you don't waterproof it every year. I been using cardboards for my solar cooker and solar dehydrator. Hmmm...I guess you use wood screws when you make a table or bench. And it should hold up a few years if you waterproof your projects.

1234Becka says:

a4great says:
how do you make wood screws???!!!?? (instructable?)

Dec 22, 2009. 3:05 PM REPLY

scarabeetle101 says:
It's just a normal metal screw, designed for wood. Not a screw made of wood.

Jan 6, 2010. 7:11 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/

biondosmith says:

Oct 6, 2009. 5:12 AM REPLY that looks really good - I bet if you laminated some thin wood veneer on this, you would have a product that you could finish just like oak but cost only a fraction. good work! Jul 27, 2009. 12:23 AM REPLY yea.. just like you cant go into safeway and walk behind the register to look through the drawers for things you want, you cant go in back and look through the cardboard.

theRIAA says:

ipisors says:

Sep 12, 2009. 1:38 PM REPLY You don't go in "the back", you just go in the main store while they are unpacking and take them. Almost any store in the US will let you take empty boxes from them, every day. it's trash. yes, they get maybe a penny a box for recycling them, but it's about equal to the work you're saving them from baling and processing it.

rimar2000 says:
This is very interesting, thanks.

Aug 18, 2009. 4:57 AM REPLY

hardlec says:

Aug 8, 2009. 5:45 PM REPLY Sturdy is good. A sturdy stool can be made of scraps at no cost but labor. There is value in versitility and creativity. The pleasing shape of your piece gives it value Where I live the price of plywood has quadrupled in the last 5 years. I like to build things, but "new" wood is getting too expensive.

Warlrosity says:
Whoop de doo! IT"S CARDBOARD!!!!!!!!!!

Aug 5, 2009. 3:32 AM REPLY

Ironman97 says:
This is a good project, but be warned, it's harder than it looks.

Aug 1, 2009. 7:06 AM REPLY

threecardmonty says:
How is this on weight versus wood?

Jul 30, 2009. 1:02 PM REPLY

theRIAA says:

Jul 30, 2009. 5:19 PM REPLY I would say half the weight of wood, volume-wise, and 1/4 the strength of wood weight-wise. aka, i think you could make something stronger and lighter with wood.

Matt21497 says:
enter in the cardboard contest

Jul 30, 2009. 9:10 AM REPLY

klaskitchen says:

Jul 27, 2009. 5:04 AM REPLY I work in a grocery store. Very politely ask at the front desk for cardboard boxes or cardboard. Most places are happy to give you boxes for moving or craft projects. Ask what time of day is best to collect them. Be sure to collect them on time. At my store boxes get baled at a certain time every day. Small stores are best because they don't have corporate policies etc to stop you. And the employees are poorly paid so will be sympathetic to such projects. Also, cucarachas like the glue in cardboard, so, exterminate regularly and BE CLEAN! Jul 26, 2009. 8:17 PM REPLY Actually, dumpster diving is NOT a crime in most areas, as long as the dumpster is not on private property, locked or fenced up. YMMV, depending on where you live, but the law generally considers trash to be abandoned by the owner and therefore free game. OTOH, most cardboard storage dumpsters are going to be on store property. So ask first, and leave the place at least as clean as you found it, if not more so.

sonipitts says:

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Lumber/