Painter's Points - a New Option...

Howdy at ya - 

I have been seeing these at Amazon and Home Depot, and decided to make my own.  Those folks want around $5 (plus tax and driving and ...) for 10 of them.  

I figure mine are around 25 cents (USD) for about 20 of them...  Probably less...  Granted - they claim their points will hold 200 pounds.  I make no such claim.  I will guarantee they will hold a 1-pound box - which is about what I wanted to paint...

I saw the ones presented by Obediah, and those are Way Dang Cool also!

OF COURSE, I made these at TechShop on the laser engraver...

Step 1: Check Out the File

To make this one go fast, I integrated 4 of the pyramids into a single vector file.  This is what it looks like...

Step 2: Hey! Cut It Out!

Here's an eps file which can be imported into Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, or another of your favorite programs for cutting on the laser...

I use CorelDraw, just because I'm used to it.

I used 1/8" MDF for these because it is WAY CHEAP!

Step 3: And the Result Is...

... a bunch of triangular pieces.  Three pieces per point/pyramid.

Step 4: And Assemble 'em...

I like to use White Glue for anything I cut in MDF.  Mainly because the stuff is usually headed into children's hands, and I want to make sure I remain PC (parentally-correct...).

I used a bit of tape to hold 'em until they dried.

Step 5: And There Ya Go!

Let the glue dry and set.

And now you can use them to hold up your piece while painting it!

Comments

[jthomas90]

Nice. i took scrap 1'cubes and routed them to a dull point on top and then took my handy hand saw and cut several shallow notches in them. They work like a charm.

[rolltidehank]

I made some triangles out of scrap 2"x3" with my miter saw. Free and they hold a ton. This is much more visually pleasing though.

[jmdushi]

nice:) but.... 25 cents for 20? Don't you have to pay for the techshop? If you want it cheap use cans :)

[togo1919]

As a matter of fact, I have the good fortune this year of having a free TechShop membership - thanks to being a veteran.

This is just one of many potential applications for using oversized, interlocking fingers to get something other than a 90 degree angle.

[momsnacher]

pieces of wood with screws in them would be even cheaper. thats what we use on our spray booth and they hold a lot of weight.