Introduction: Gigasaurus - Holds SD/Switch/MicroSD Cards!

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About: artist/maker

----Check out the embedded build video for a more detailed view of how I handled each step!----

I make a lot of videos. This means I have a lot of SD Cards floating around my workspace at any given time. This project is designed to be a central location for your SD/MicroSD/Nintendo Switch game cards, while remaining fun and stylish! It's an incredibly flexible build and can be made out of almost any material you can work with. Wood, acrylic, plastics, cardboard, metal... so long as you can safely work with it, this design will work. Also it can be built using anything from simple hand tools to power tools to automated design equipment!

Here's what you'll need:

- These vector files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10t2RvBXvQM...

-Material: 1/2 inch thick material for the main body, 1/8 inch thick material for the central body parts and exterior limbs/head. I used scrap pine and 1/8 inch plywood, but you can use your imagination. Just be sure you know what you're doing with the materials you choose, how to SAFELY cut and bond them together!

- cutting tools: For wood, a simple coping saw will do, but a jig saw, band saw, scroll saw, or even a CnC will work! For other materials, just make sure you can cut out the curved and slotted shapes safely.

- adhesive: I used wood glue because, well, I used wood. Use a safe and sturdy attachment method for whatever material you choose. Also I used spray adhesive to stick the vector sheets to my material to make cutting easier!

- Clamps: If you're making it out of wood or a similar material, clamps will help. At the very least get something heavy you can weight your pieces down with while the adhesive dries.

- Sandpaper: I used an oscillating belt sander, but you can sand by hand if you'd like. You'll need a coarse grit like 80, a medium grit, like 120, and a finer grit, like 220. Rasps, files, die grinders will all get the job done if you know what those are and they're appropriate for your material choice.

- Ruler, or square: Ensure the legs on your final glue up are all even.

The steps provided in this tutorial will be for a WOODEN Gigasaurus. You can make this out of many different materials, and I encourage experimentation, however, I assume you can customize the process for your chosen material because I cannot write out steps for every possible combination you may choose.

Thanks and let's go!

Step 1: Cut Out Your Parts

Print out the vector files here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10t2RvBXvQM...

- Use spray adhesive or glue stick to adhere printed vectors to your material. "Body Side A" and "Body Side B" are cut out of 1/2 inch material, the rest are cut from 1/8 inch material. (in the video we did a graphite transfer of the plans to the surface, bu the gluing works best!)

- Cut out the shapes as accurately as possible using the capable cutting tool of your choice. We went old school and used a coping saw. Take your time and stick to the outside of the lines, but get as close as you're comfortable getting. You'll be sanding them later, but the better the job you do here, the less work you'll do later.

Step 2: Glue Up the Body

- remove the printout paper from your wooden pieces. It should peel right off, but any stuck on can be sanded away using your coarse sandpaper. Keep track of which parts are which while removing.

- add a thin layer of glue to both sides of "Inside Layer 1" and "Inside Layer 2." Make sure to spread the glue evenly, to avoid having too much "squeeze out."

- sandwich the body layers together in the following order from bottom to top: "Body Side A," "Inside Layer 1," "Inside Layer 2," "Body Side B." Make sure the pieces are aligned as best as you possibly can.

- Add clamps or heavy pressure, double checking that the pieces didn't slide out of alignment.

- Clean any excess glue that may have leaked out into the card slots on top. It's essential to keep these clear so your cards can seat properly in them later.

- Once fully cured (check your glue's instructions) remove the clamps/pressure

Step 3: Sand Your Body and Parts

- Sand all of the outside edges of your body glue-up starting with your coarsest grit paper and moving to your finest. I used a belt/spindle sander, but this can be done by hand as well.

- sand the edges of the legs/head pieces in the same manner, taking appropriate precautions if you're using a power tool on these small parts.

Step 4: Glue on the Legs/Head

- Match up the front and back legs for each side. The "flatter" edge of the rear legs should face the tail, and the front legs should angle slightly forward, as shown in the video.

-The exact height of each leg, and thus the stance of the final product, are up to you. A good general area, though, is to have the front side of the front legs about where the belly starts to curve up into the neck, and the back part of the back legs just where the belly starts to curve up into the tail. Each should stick out from the bottom of the body about 1/2 inch. Check out the build video if this doesn't make enough sense.

- add a thin layer of glue (I switched to CA or "Super" glue for this step to save time) to the parts of the leg that will be touching the body. Do this for the front and back of one side at a time.

- Attach the legs for one side, using your square/ruler to make sure they are even at the bottoms.

- Add a thin layer of glue to the head piece for that side, attach it to the head area of the main piece.

- Add clamps/weight/pressure until your glue is cured.

- once dried, remove clamps/presure

- Repeat the steps for the legs/head on the other side, using your ruler/square to make sure the legs are even with the first set of legs. no one wants a wobbly dino.

Step 5: Load Up Your Gigasaurus!

That's it!

Now all you need to do is load it up with your memory cards! The main body will hold 12 SD Cards (2 per slot) 6 Nintendo Switch Games (1 per slot), and the tail will hold 6 Micro SD cards (2 per slot)

Thanks, and enjoy.

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