How to make a small and strong cardboard box in a few seconds
A simple and strong cardboard box made in a few seconds
Here is how to make a strong cardboard box out of free scrap cardboard in a few seconds.
You can custom make them in just the right size and save on packaging as well as shipping.
You need a towel shaped sheet of single walled corrugated
cardboard. You can cut this out of a bigger box (e.g an Ikea
furniture box). This type of material is available everywhere for free because people throw it away. You just have to look for it.
A sheet of cardboard cut from a larger box or scrap cardboard
Single layer corrugated cardboard
The cardboard needs to be folded and to ensure that it folds in the right places we are going to
damage the top layer a little bit by sliding the edge of a scissor blade along the lines where we
need to fold the cardboard. I recommend to use something as a guide that is at least 1/4 inch height.
Normal rulers are usually too thin and the scissor blade might easily jump from the cardboard onto
the ruler. A small and long wooden board would work.
Marking the lines where the cardboard should fold
This is the shape that you want to cut and mark with the scissor blade
After marking the folding lines you cut out the two edges on the left and you cut into the sides as marked in orange in the following picture.
Where to cut the cardboard
The box can now be folded as shown below.
How to fold the box
Put the products you want to ship inside the box and close it. You can add some
loose paper (e.g crumpled newspaper) as padding. Close the box with packaging tape:
Close the lid of the box with a stripe of tape and wrap tape around the side of the box
If you want extra protection then put the box into a large envelope before shipping it.
I recommend to do one box as shown above for "training purposes" after that you will understand how
to modify width and height to suite different product shapes. This box building method works well for small boxes. It does not work for large boxes.
