This Instructable covers how to turn old cardboard boxes into strong, rigid cardboard panels that can be used to make a safe, simple play stove. The best part about the play stove is the oven; you can store a lot of play food in a play oven.
Since the most salient feature of a new toy is generally its novelty, you can make a perfectly adequate play stove by flipping over a cardboard box and drawing some burners on it. This stove is insanely overbuilt; I was mostly looking for an excuse to try out making "plywood" out of cardboard.
So, on to the cardboard laminate. A useful fact from the world of mechanics of solids is that the flexural rigidity of a plate increases with the cube of the thickness. In layman's terms this means that if you double the thickness, you make it eight times stronger. Corrugated cardboard already takes advantage of this fact by weaving a sheet of kraft paper back and forth between two flat sheets of kraft paper, making it much stiffer than it would be if the layers were all flat.
By gluing up many pieces of corrugated cardboard, we can make cardboard panels that are an inch or more thick and as large as we want. At 1" thickness, these panels are already quite strong; they can support several hundred pounds across a 24" span.
Not only are the panels made from recycled materials, they are themselves recyclable, so when all the fun has been exhausted, the stove can go out with the rest of the cardboard recycling.
Since the most salient feature of a new toy is generally its novelty, you can make a perfectly adequate play stove by flipping over a cardboard box and drawing some burners on it. This stove is insanely overbuilt; I was mostly looking for an excuse to try out making "plywood" out of cardboard.
So, on to the cardboard laminate. A useful fact from the world of mechanics of solids is that the flexural rigidity of a plate increases with the cube of the thickness. In layman's terms this means that if you double the thickness, you make it eight times stronger. Corrugated cardboard already takes advantage of this fact by weaving a sheet of kraft paper back and forth between two flat sheets of kraft paper, making it much stiffer than it would be if the layers were all flat.
By gluing up many pieces of corrugated cardboard, we can make cardboard panels that are an inch or more thick and as large as we want. At 1" thickness, these panels are already quite strong; they can support several hundred pounds across a 24" span.
Not only are the panels made from recycled materials, they are themselves recyclable, so when all the fun has been exhausted, the stove can go out with the rest of the cardboard recycling.
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This project got started when we had a superabundance of cardboard boxes following the installation of a new bathroom sink. While it isn't strictly necessary to use big pieces of cardboard, it makes assembly easier and the resulting panels look better. So this is a good project to undertake after you take delivery of some large, life-style changing object such as a new refrigerator or dryer.
Once you have some "big" pieces, let the usual assortment of smaller shipping boxes accumulate until you have a good supply of raw materials, or your spouse starts yelling at you. Break down the boxes and remove any staples or overlapping segments---it's important that all of the pieces in a given layer be the same thickness. If you have boxes of varying thicknesses, sort your boxes by thickness.
The other things you'll need are:
* a gallon container of Elmer's glue
* a plastic drop cloth
* a utility knife
* some kind of saw. (I used a table saw, but a hand saw would work fine and would probably be less scary.)
* kraft paper packing tape
For the play stove, you also will need:
* 4' of bungee /shock cord
* some stove knobs, handles, black paper for the burners etc.
Once you have some "big" pieces, let the usual assortment of smaller shipping boxes accumulate until you have a good supply of raw materials, or your spouse starts yelling at you. Break down the boxes and remove any staples or overlapping segments---it's important that all of the pieces in a given layer be the same thickness. If you have boxes of varying thicknesses, sort your boxes by thickness.
The other things you'll need are:
* a gallon container of Elmer's glue
* a plastic drop cloth
* a utility knife
* some kind of saw. (I used a table saw, but a hand saw would work fine and would probably be less scary.)
* kraft paper packing tape
For the play stove, you also will need:
* 4' of bungee /shock cord
* some stove knobs, handles, black paper for the burners etc.
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52
poofrabbit
says:
Apr 26, 2012. 5:47 PMReplyHey congratulations on winning Scoochmaroo Challenge: Reuse!!!
1
Leper (author)
in reply to Apr 26, 2012. 7:08 PMReplyThanks! I think I should let my daughter have the T-shirt...
52
poofrabbit
in reply to Apr 26, 2012. 9:19 PMReplyWell that might be nice, but I bet she's going to want you to build her something else cool with the MakeDo stuff. :D Then photograph the two of you making it, while she's in the tee shirt. Then (dramatic music here) dad of the year!!
264
scoochmaroo
says:
Apr 22, 2012. 6:45 PMReplyThis is amazing. I am so in awe! I love that they got to help too. I bet they are soooo proud. And you can tell them that the Food Editor of Insructables is totally jealous of their new stove.
1
Leper (author)
in reply to Apr 23, 2012. 2:30 PMReplyThanks! It is actually the same kid all pictures. Like caitlinsdad says, they grow up fast!
52
poofrabbit
says:
Apr 22, 2012. 5:33 PMReplyThis is lovely well done!!
133
caitlinsdad
says:
Apr 22, 2012. 3:37 PMReplyMan, kids grow up too fast. Cardboard salvaged from boxes makes a great material to work with. I buy bottles of glue by the gallon too. I usually try to alter the direction of the corrugation for each layer to get rid of some of that flex. I think covering your work with plastic kept the moisture in your glue from evaporating and that is why it took so long to dry. You could make a nice laminated cardboard 2x4 to take out an intruder or something. You could have primed your work and then let the kids paint or decorate it for another rainy day activity.
117
mikeasaurus
says:
Apr 22, 2012. 2:39 PMReplyGreat build, it looks really sturdy. Thanks for sharing!
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