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How to make a business card cube

Making a card out of business cards is easy and will impress your friends!  Text and diagrams are also available here.

 

Start with six business cards.

Pick up two cards, and place them across each other at right angles, making a fat cross.  They don't have to be exactly centered, but the angle is important, so try to get them truly perpendicular.

Fold back the ends of the front card, all the way around to the back.

Turn the two cards over together, and bend back the ends of the other card, making a tight little bundle.

Pull the two cards apart.  You've prepared two of the six.  Repeat this folding procedure for the other two pairs of cards.  Now you have six folded cards.

Constructing the cube requires a bit of dexterity.  Each card will be a face of the cube.  Everywhere two cards meet, the tab of one card will be on the outside of the side of the card next to it.

 

Begin by setting up two cards as shown to the right.

The third card is added perpendicular to the first two.  Remember: the tabs are always on the outside of the cube.  If you have a tab pointing inward, something is wrong.

The fourth card is added vertically.  You need to be careful holding the four cards in position at this point.

The fifth card goes on the front of the cube, and neatly holds everything together.  At this point, the cube is nearly free-standing.  The two vertical cards on the side will have a tendency to flop inward, but that will be fixed by the sixth card.

The sixth card goes horizontally across the top of the cube.  Tuck the card under one of the tabs sticking up vertically, and lay it across the top.

To get the very last tab positioned properly, you'll have to reach in gently to pull the tab all the way out, and then drop the sixth card into place, and push the tab back over it.

Now you are done!  The cube is much stronger than you'd think, considering there is nothing really holding it together except the folds in the cards.

You can add more cards to the outside of the card to give it a finished look, or join multiple cubes together to build larger structures, but that will have to wait for another tabblo.  Enjoy!

COMMENTS
Antonio said at 8:42 p.m. on Jan 27, 2007:
I have to add that having been in an office where Ned has made a bunch of these, it is really satifying to just step on them hard. The let out a gasp that makes you feel like Zoobar the evil giant robot from the 5th dimension. And now— thanks to Ned— I know how to make my own!
Ghostbones said at 9:05 a.m. on Jan 28, 2007:
Maybe Ned's been sent here to undermine our intelligence and start a race of cube people to take over our world, turning us all into unthinking mindless zombies "sort of like Bush".........nah, Ned's probably got too much time on his hands. :)
NavyMom said at 11:24 a.m. on Jan 28, 2007:
wonderful tabblo but being directionally challenged i'll leave it to the experts to try this one out and post their cubes
Natalagringa said at 11:56 a.m. on Jan 28, 2007:
i like this!! can't wait to try one. i usually make origami boxes and this one looks like not quite so useful (because you can't take off a lid easily) but just as intriguing.
Memotions said at 10:54 p.m. on Jan 28, 2007:
Unique idea for a Tabblo. Thanks for sharing. Interesting.
ChrisN said at 2:01 a.m. on Jan 29, 2007:
Hmmmm have to try......
Mthorne said at 9:22 p.m. on Jan 29, 2007:
Looks like you really need the cute tabblo logo to get the full effect.
Chk said at 12:43 p.m. on Jan 30, 2007:
I built one a long time ago and took a picture:

http://blog.cfrq.net/chk/archives/2003/12/17/business-card-cubes/

I've built several others since then, of course. It's good busywork for my hands during dull meetings, for example :)
DVP said at 3:21 p.m. on Jan 30, 2007:
*l* This looks like a great waste of time... I love it.
Pkeener said at 3:04 p.m. on Feb 3, 2007:
Hey Ned, I know how hard it is for us creative types to sit at a desk!!!
Jillcdunn said at 2:51 p.m. on Feb 5, 2007:
Nifty! I wonder how many viewers you have inspired to try this?
Bcannatab said at 8:37 p.m. on Feb 11, 2007:
Ha! Rainy day project.
Thebeautifullife said at 9:46 p.m. on Mar 23, 2007:
Antonio, you stinker! LOL *slap* Ned, this right away made me think "his paper skills" from a previous tabblo I just went through of your father's paper work and you mentioned how you picked it up....I thought: "This is it in action!" lol Nicely tabblo'd....I'll have to try it sometime with the kids.
Zero42 said at 2:24 p.m. on Mar 27, 2007:
i love your instructional tabblo's
Xtian said at 10:27 a.m. on Jul 10, 2007:
My pedantic coworker noticed a typo in the first paragraph: "Making a card out of business cards is easy and will impress your friends!" He said making a card out of cards is exceptionally easy and unlikely to impress anyone.

He doesn't get out much.
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