Cardboard Crafting with ChompSaw
If you've got crafty kids and you're looking for a fun activity for the summer, here's a nifty tool to consider: the ChompSaw! Originally funded through Kickstarter back in 2023, the ChompSaw is like a kid-safe table saw for cardboard. My kids were working on some cardboard projects recently so I looked it up again, and Chompshop was kind enough to send one for us to try out. What Is the ChompSaw?
The ChompSaw is a cutting device designed for corrugated cardboard, but can also be used to cut felt, fabric, and many other soft materials less than 3mm thick. It retails for $249 and is available from the Chompshop website. It's kid-safe and recommended for ages 5 and up, though it's not just for kids! My 18-year-old has been having a lot of fun with it, too, and I've tried my hand at cutting out some shapes too. A close-up of the cutting tool. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu
It's about 10″ square and 4″ tall, with a removable metal plate on the top that has some grid lines and other guide lines. There's a small plastic drawer in the front that catches the cutting scraps, and a compartment under the metal plate for storing the power adapter. You can make different sizes of holes with the hole puncher, though they don't have very clean edges. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu
The ChompSaw also comes with a hole puncher that has graduated rings for punching different sized holes (also used if you need to cut a hole out of the center of a piece of cardboard), and a scoring tool that helps with folding cardboard. How Does the ChompSaw Work?
In the center of the top, there's a small metal knob, which conceals a cutting device that works like a tiny hole puncher. As you push the cardboard under the knob, the puncher repeatedly stabs through the cardboard, cutting a line through it (and catching all the bits in the drawer below). The space under the knob is too small for even the smallest fingers to fit, and since there aren't any spinning parts, you don't have to worry about long hair getting caught and tangled around anything either (though it will just cut through hair if it gets under the knob). Cutting out a puppet piece with the ChompSaw. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu
The ChompSaw has its own power adapter, and a large toggle switch on the side makes it easy to turn on and off. It does take a little bit of practice to get used to the ideal speed for feeding the cardboard through, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite effective and feels a bit like magic. I've done a good bit of cardboard crafting myself (remember these cardboard robots from 15 years ago?) and have always just used a craft knife in the past—it's still an effective way to cut straight, clean lines, but the ChompSaw definitely has the edge when it comes to making curves, and the fact that you can't cut yourself with it is a big bonus for kids. The ChompSaw does eat up a small amount of the cardboard because of the width of the cut, but the trade-off is worth it. Made this little cardboard head to try cutting out a very curvy path. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu What Can You Make With the ChompSaw?
With some imagination, the sky's the limit! The Chompshop includes some designs to get you started: there's a Project Pattern Pack ($25) that includes patterns and additional materials for a spinning top, a mini skeeball ramp, and a snake dexterity game. There are also a couple of $5 digital patterns—Chompshop sent us the one for the hand puppet so we gave that one a try. Our cardboard puppet. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu
There's also an Inventor's Workbook available (currently backordered) that explains the process of coming up with an idea and building prototypes, and then includes a lot of blank pages for working on your own designs. My teenager used it to design a little car, which he then cut out and assembled. My son's self-designed cardboard car. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu
And if you're looking for something a bit more complex, there are plenty of designers and artists who have patterns for sale elsewhere as well. My kids bought some animal mask patterns from Zygote Brown Designs and made some rabbit and dragon masks, which turned out really nicely. (Though my wife thinks the rabbit masks are a bit creepy, particularly when worn by my nearly 6-foot-tall son.) My kids wearing masks made with patterns from Zygote Brown Designs. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu ChompSaw Accessories
In addition to the base ChompSaw, there's also a table accessories set (available for $30). This includes a separate metal plate that has some cut-outs in it. One is for the fence—you attach it to the plate and adjust the width, and then you can easily cut uniform strips of cardboard from ¼' to 3 ½' wide. There's also an angle guide that allows you to set an angle (in 15° increments), allowing the Chomp Saw to function kind of like a mitre block. Finally, there's a circle guide to help you cut out circles. The main limitation on these is that since the entire ChompSaw surface isn't that big, there's a size limitation to how large a piece can be cut with the guides. The fence, circle cutting tool, and angle guide come in the table accessories set. Photo: Jonathan H. Liu
Also, somewhere in the house we still have our old Makedo set as well—I had written about these way back in 2011 and they're still available now. They do have some hand-powered cardboard cutting/punching tools, but what could be really handy now is the connectors let you attach cardboard pieces together. We may have to dig around to find those!
With school finally out for the summer, my kids have a bit more time on their hands and I hope they'll spend some of it making things instead of just playing on the Xbox. I know they've been pretty excited about the ChompSaw already, and I look forward to seeing what they make next!
For more information about the ChompSaw, visit the official website! Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
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