TDJ3M Tech Design
Designing and Making
Useful Objects from Duct
Tape:
The Wallet / Purse
The Common “Duct”
Tape….
A million and one uses!
Millions of Uses. Here are some of
them….
Before
After
Fixing a Shoe
Taping your Vice-principal to the wall
for charity.
Fixing a broken CV Boot
Can’t afford that new suit?
At last, the infamous wallet!
"Spare the ducttape, spoil the job." - Red Green
(In other words, don't spare the duct tape, just get more!)
Dozen Red Roses, the gift that keeps on sticking! HAAAAA
Cheque Book
Belt and Buckle
"Uh-huh, I'm all taped up."
Can be seen on the set of the
Red Green movie.
Hat
Guitar Strap
Back to school supplies. Backpack
and Sandals
MacGyver Tip and duct tape in the
news….
Reader Aaron writes in:
“When I was younger (early teens), I had a wart on one of my toes
that wouldn't go away for years. I saw a podiatrist and a
dermatologist, each of which took several turns dousing it with acid,
freezing it, scraping it, injecting who-knows-what into it, and
sprinkling it with Holy water to no effect -- I'd even tried every single
over-the-counter wart remedy they made; this sucker would not die.
One day my dad came home from the pharmacist with some
peculiar advice: duct tape. My first thought was that he meant to
affix duct tape to it, then rip it off like a leg waxing; "ouch". No, he
meant to put duct tape on the thing and leave it there. So, I started
wrapping duct tape around the toe and leaving it there. Every week
I'd snip it off, soak the foot in soapy water, then add another strip of
duct tape. In a month, the monster was half its usual size. In two
months, it was completely gone. Imagine that. Fourteen flavors of
acid accomplished nothing, and duct tape solves it. “
First things, first. It is called “Duct”
tape, not “Duck” Tape!
• Originally designed for use to tape air
ducts in houses where the duct work joins
together.
Quality
• There are so many brands on the market it is hard to
know what to get. The general rule of thumb is: You get
what you pay for. Generally, the higher the price the
better the duct tape. The higher priced stuff tends to be
thicker, stronger, and more consistent. Consistency is
very important if you want your projects to come out
looking professional.
• This means stay away from the utility/home & shop
grade of duct tape. It is ok for wrapping parcels, but this
stuff is cheap and nasty. Your project will come out
flimsy.
• When you are first starting to use duct tape, stay away
from the very high end stuff. The thicker stuff is much
harder to work with.
Thickness
• You will see duct tape thickness measured in
either mil (1/1000") or milimeters (mm). Here is a
handy conversion table. Very roughly 1 mil =
0.025 mm. The original duct tape was 13 mil.
• mil 8 9 10 11 12 13 mm 0.20 0.23 0.25 0.28
0.31 0.33 I would roughly categorize the duct
tape as follows.
• 8-9 mil is nasty utility grade
• 10-11 mil is contractor/industrial grade
• 12-13 mil is military grade
Medium End Grades
• For prototyping, you cannot beat Nashua 300 tape. This
tape is available at Home Depot as their "Contractor"
grade. It is much thicker than utility tape but still very
easy to work with. It also is a full 2" wide. The price is
right too. I paid about $14 CDN for two 60 yard rolls. The
problem with this tape is that the glue is close to the
sides and the final product really picks up dirt.
• If you need coloured tape, I have had very good luck
with the Duck Tape brand coloured tape. This is the
most readily available of the coloured tapes. Just be
careful, the white edge of the tape shows up in the
finished project.
High End Grade
• For high end tapes, I like the Duck Tape brand
Professional series. This is much thicker than
the medium grades and has a very shiny,
smooth finish. However, you tend to get bubbles
in the finished project. This is about $7 CDN for
45 yards. Gorilla Tape is really strong, though a
bit more expensive ($14 / roll)
• For the ultimate high end duct tape, go to Lee
Valley. They have the original duct tape,
although in 1 7/8" width only. It is much thicker
than regular duct tape with a smooth finish that
crinkles. This is about $12 CDN for 60 yards.
Tools You Might Need
•
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•
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Olfa Knife
X-acto Knife
Metal Ruler
Scissors
Tape Measure
Cutting Board
Duct Tape
Pen or Sharpie
The Duct Tape Wallet and Purse
Making the Wallet 1
•
Step 1
The first step is to create a large sheet of duct tape 8.5 inches by 7
inches. This is the key to any duct tape project, with a sheet of tape
you can make anything! Rip a strip of tape at least 8.5 inches in
length and place sticky side up on your working surface. rip a
second piece of equal length and place sticky side down half way
over the first strip. Fold the rest of the strip facing up over the
second strip. Flip over the two strips and place a third strip sticky
side down covering the remaining sticky part of the second strip. Flip
the sheet again and continue extending the size of the sheet until
the needed size is satisfied.
Sequence of Pictures 1-4
Sequence of Pictures 5-8
Making the Wallet 2
• Step 2
Trim the edges, fold the wallet in half and
tape the sides to create a large pocket to
hold bills.
Sequence of Pictures 9-12
Making the Wallet 3
• Step 3
To create credit/business card pockets
create another sheet 4 by 3.5 inches.
Sequence of Pictures 13- 16
Making the Wallet 4
• Step 4
Fold 1.5 inches over. To create two more
pockets, repeat the step above and then
tape the two pieces together, taping the
second pocket a little lower on top of the
first piece.
Sequence of Pictures 17-18
Making the Wallet 5
• Step 5
Tape the edges of the pockets and then
tape the whole piece to the large pocket.
To create another pocket, leave the inside
part untaped.
Sequence of Pictures 19
Making the Wallet 6
• Step 6
Make a sheet of tape (as in the first step) larger than
your ID card. Cut the sheet so the outside part of the
frame is slightly larger than the height and width of the
ID. Cut the inside .5 centimeters, (big enough you can
see you picture and info, but small enough the ID can't
fall through the opening. Now trim the outside so it is
slightly larger in all directions than your ID. Tape three
sides of this window to the inside of your wallet, or on top
of the credit card holder. It'll take a some trial an error to
get it right, but it will be a great addition to the wallet.
When your done, the ID should be able to slide into the
untaped side of the holder, and once in, not fall through
the open window.
Sequence of Pictures 20-23
Sequence of Pictures 24
Making the Wallet 7
• Step 7
Tape the completed pocket to the large
pocket and again you can create an extra
pocket if you wish by leaving the inside
part un-taped.
Sequence of Pictures 25
Making the Wallet 8
• Step 8
This is the completed wallet. There are an
infinite ways to personalize this design.
Some ideas I've embeded in mine are coin
pockets within the large bill pocket and
placing flaps on the credit card holders so
business cards don't fall out when the
wallet gets dropped.
The Finished Product 26
Add Personal Touches
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Gromets for chain-drive wallets
More sticky vinyl for initials
Various Fruit stickers
Use different colours
Add velcro for deluxe wallets
Weave duct tape for textured look
Cammo Wallet
Design Brief
• You are tasked to design and make a usable duct tape wallet, purse
or small accessory bag to keep money, valuables and other
personal belongings. The object must only be made of duct tape.
You may use different types of duct tape but no other materials.
Example of Corel Draw Layout for Concepts
Example of Good Ideation Process. It includes thought process and lists ideas.
Where to Start?
Links to Cool Duct Tape Stuff
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http://www.ducttapenation.net/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/5f21/
http://www.rpi-polymath.com/ducttape/index.php
http://www.3m.com/CA/english/centres/home_leisure/du
ct_tape/index.html
• http://beckybot.com/
• http://204.255.212.10/~jthorsse/duct.html
• http://www.ducttapefashion.com/
Duct Tape Funnies
Have fun and good luck.
"Duct tape is like the force: It has a
dark side and a light side and it holds
the universe together."
- Carl Zwanzig