Magnetic Animal Photo Holders

Step 2 Cut the Animals in Half

How's that for a title?  But that's literally what you have to do!  I have to admit, I felt really bad doing this step - I've watched Toy Story with my kids far too many times for me to think of toys as mere inanimate objects...

But, we must press on! 

For each animal, think carefully about the direction of the cut.  Some animals are looking to the left or to the right - you may want to cut on an angle so that the animal and the photo are both facing somewhat in the same direction.  Also be very careful not to cut off any feet, tails, or other body parts that aren't firmly attached to the body on both halves!  There will be some figurines that you simply can't use for this reason; there just isn't a way to cut it cleanly in two.

You must use either a band saw or a scroll saw to cut the figurine.  These saws are capable of giving a perfectly straight cut, with a narrow kerf.  This is important because you want to remove as little material as possible (ideally, the thickness of a piece of paper!)  Use a thin blade with a high tooth count, to get the smoothest cut possible.

Line up the figurine and start up the saw.  Take a deep breath, apologize profusely, and feed it straight through.  The plastic is soft and cuts without much issue, but cut quickly - the plastic will melt otherwise.

The cut will be a little rough and there will be a bit of plastic left behind.  Trim the excess plastic with an X-acto knife, and lightly sand the cut on a flat surface to remove a bit of the roughness.

Comments

[Tape-structable]

Wow! These are exactly like these toys I had when i was younger, they were little lizards exactly like this, but I never thought to use them as a photo holder. They were just supposed to have the look of being able to go through solid objects. Very creative! Good job!

[jeff-o]

Thanks! :)