Art Machines, Linkages
heavy cardboard, craft sticks, plastics, thin wood, thin metals.
Heavy duty construction at a low cost. More durable and designed to make punching holes through thick stuff easy!
Make a mark on the tool with a paint pen or a raised bump of foam tape that corresponds with where the punch is located - helps makers visualize where the hole will happen!
Stuck punches - give the tool a twist and the stuck material will usually pop the spring-loaded punch free.
Art Machines, Linkages
heavy cardboard, craft sticks, plastics, thin wood, thin metals.
Specialized tool for punching long slots in plastic cards - perfect for making unusual joints that slide or slip.
This is really a slot maker - think about parts that need to slide along a fixed point.
Pinched fingers between handles.
Art Machines, Linkages
extra heavy cardboard, craft sticks, plastics, thin wood, thin metals, rubber, vinyl
Designed for big time crafters, this heavy tool makes quick work of thick materials. May be used with heavier gauge materials than low force hole punches.
Try to avoid fabrics or stretchy materials
Not much - these are very heavy, and a bit awkward to clean out
Monster Mouth, Art Machines, Flying Machines
extra heavy cardboard, craft sticks, plastics, thin wood, thin metals
They have a serious name, but they're designed to be safe. The angled (bent) shear design allows small hands to have much more leverage on the blades than standard scissors.
These are often sold in sets. The inexpensive ones are small and flimsy. Spend extra for larger, stronger ones. The blade has a spoonbill to make it easy to slip under stacked materials.
Not much - they're safety shears.
coroplast, extra heavy cardboard, flexible plastics, thin wood, thin metals, vinyl, fabric, stacks of paper
This isn't a must-have, but if you're cutting A LOT of cardboard or stacks of fabric, this tool is a lifesaver. Many on the market, trusted ones are from brands you recognize.
These are great for cutting heavy, thick or stacks of thin materials.
If rechargable, keep the power cord handy.
paper, chipboard, flexible plastics, vinyl
Hobby knives strike fear in the hearts of most grownups - but if the blade is covered with protective tape, leaving the tiniest tip exposed, small hands can grip all the way down to the blade and not worry about pokes or cuts!
Any kind of tape works. only need to expose the very tip (1/16") of the blade. All else can be covered with tape!
Tape down to the tip, count them in and out when you distribute them. Keep a supply of replacement blades.
coroplast, all weights of cardboard
These were designed to protect workers from exposed blades of box cutters, and still make it easy to hook onto the material that needs to be opened or cut. Give them a try - especially with fluted materials like coroplast - and you'll be hooked!
Hook over the edge of the material and pull toward you. It only cuts when pulled.
Some materials bind in the throat of the cutter - if you're cutting boxes with plastic tape, that may gum up the blades.
fusible interfacing, waxed paper, plastic bags, heat-set vinyl, wax-based transfers.
They're not just for flattening wrinkled clothes! At a very low setting and without water to create steam (DANGER), inexpensive travel or household irons are amazing tools for adhering temperature sensitive materials (grocery bags, waxed paper, fusible interfacing, heat press vinyl, etc) to each other or other materials!
Cover any surface you're using an iron on with heavy cardboard on top of a towel - the towel will absorb the heat, and the cardboard will prevent transfer of material.
Setting on unprotected surfaces - always leave a towel or pad of cardboard. Don’t add water. Don’t iron surfaces that will melt (hot glue, low temp plastics, crayons)
Art Machines
heavy cardboard, coroplast, anything that needs stapling!
Plier staplers are the ninjas of the staple world. Designed to be held in one hand, you are freed from the tabletop stapler, and can attach many thicknesses of materials together. It's a sewing machine with staples!
These are great for joining many layers of cardboard on an edge, but not reaching deeper than a standard stapler. Uses standard desk staples.
Staple jams - don’t lose the spring loaded staple retainer!
any materials that need permanent mechanical fastening
A deceptively powerful tool, rivets ($5 for a pack of 100) are permanent fasteners for materials that you'd never think of sticking together with hot glue or screws. Plastic to wood? Yep! Heavy canvas to PVC pipe? Totally.
Use with any materials that need permanent mechanical fastening. NOTE: Requires a pre-drilled hole to insert rivet - you’ll need a drill!
cheap tools. They work, but are unreliable.
Monster Mouth
any materials that need permanent fastening
Low temperature gluing tools are amazing at turning thermoplastic rods into instant "stick together" materials. You can trust your learners to use these correctly if they're set up in stations!
This is a station tool - easy to set up, work on a paper or cardboard-covered surface. Learners take turns! Give them access to (a limited number of) glue sticks at each station. Purchase glue in bulk packs. This is a station tool - easy to set up, work on a paper or cardboard-covered surface. Learners take turns! Give them access to (a limited number of) glue sticks at each station. Purchase glue in bulk packs.
high-temperature guns - DANGEROUS, do not use high-temperature tools.
Monster Mouth, Art Machines, Flying Machines
any materials that need temporary fastening.
Masking tape is everywhere - and wonderful for repositionable temporary connections. Colorful masking tape is often not super sticky, but adds fun flair to temporary connections. Tearing tape is a key skill for PK / K to develop!
Not a permanent adhesive - will eventually fail or peel up. Sticky-side to sticky-side connections are more permanent.
Most colored masking tape is sold as decorative material - and the adhesive is low quality. Learners who want to "decorate" with it may be disappointed when it peels off.
anything that needs to be fastened down or clearly marked .
Cloth based tape used in the entertainment industry. Use to mark things in the classroom.
This isn’t as much a material as a tool for your classroom. Mark places on the floor, desks, boxes, great for removable, but very durable, taping!
If you want students to have access, use a lower quality / cost tape.
low voltage (battery powered) circuits, and other applications that need to be conductive.
This tape is an electrical wire - the adhesive and the face are both conductive (if you specify conductive adhesive in your search) - pretty amazing material.
The adhesive is conductive - so you’re able to use it to complete circuits. Coach learners to carefully peel off a little of the backing at a time - not the whole piece!NOTE: The adhesive is conductive - so you’re able to use it to complete circuits.
Edges are sharp in rare situations. Distribute to students in pieces, not full rolls. It unrolls easily (see photo)
creating large conductive pads / surfaces / cool decorations on surfaces.
This makes any surface conductive. Also, this is the original form of duct tape.
Metal tape sometimes has a printed plastic top coat - won't be conductive.
hard to peel backing off…and the adhesive is NOT CONDUCTIVE. Edges could be sharp, use with care when peeling.
to repair your / your student’s / your colleagues stuff. You need this, and will be rewarded for having it.
Sometimes referred to as super glue, this is the stuff that sticks your fingers together, and just about everything else that needs a permanent, quick bond.
moisture actually sets off the chemical reaction - so a little warm breath or tiny bit of moisture helps the surface bond. Perfectly dry items will not stick!
You WILL stick things together that you didn't intend if you're not careful.
Art Machines, Linkages
Connecting components to create an instant fulcrum or pivot point.
Perfect for linkages and projects that need a spinning or rotating component that's fixed flat to another.
Practice using them with littles - they will need to explore how to open, insert, and replace them in holes.
The longer the fastener, the more difficult it will be to keep flat.
Monster Mouth, Art Machines, Flying Machines
Cutting curved shapes in paper, thin plastics, sign vinyl or heat press vinyl - accurate cutting without fear of injury. Ceramic blade can cut materials on a solid backing (like a tabletop), but not fingers!
It's tiny ceramic blade can cut materials on a solid backing (like a tabletop), but not fingers!
It can scratch surfaces and cut through several layers of materials at once if too much pressure is applied. Consider using a cutting mat or dense cardboard sheet.
The small ceramic "blade" can chip easily - retractable versions are much higher quality than the cheap "as seen on TV" types.
Monster Mouth, Art Machines, Flying Machines
Attaching things you'd normally use tape for. Covering materials that need color, a soft surface, or structure.
It's strange to consider, but this is the most substantial colorful permanent adhesive tape available.
Cut it while the paper backing is attached. Cut sheets into smaller pieces and leave out for learners to access - if they have whole sheets, it gets used inefficiently.
Some material, when it ages, won't release the backing.
Flying Machines
Anything that needs structure or durability. Reinforce, stand up, stick to, overlap, attach! Great for linkages and lightweight, strong structures.
Reinforce, stand up, stick to, overlap, attach!
Great for linkages and lightweight, strong structures. Cut with EMT shears, punch holes with low-force hole punches!
Colored sticks are great, but not necessary when markers are around.
Drawbots, Electric Vehicles
Making things spin, wiggle or roll! These are a wiggle / roll / spinbot essential.
These are consumables - designed to made lightweight components spin quickly. You can attach a lightweight part to the motor shaft and make it move - there's many aftermarket parts like gears, pulleys, wheels and weights that are designed to fit on the motor shaft.
They're designed to spin fast, but not be very strong. You won't be able to, for example, pull a weight onto a pulley, or make something fly. They are low torque (twisting strength), high speed motors.
Don't connect these motors to any power source greater than 3V. If your motors come with wires soldered on, be careful not to handle them by the wire leads. Those solder points are fragile and will break - and are difficult to impossible to re-attach.
Drawbots
Low temperature gluing. Anything that bonds to melty plastic!
Nearly instant connection of heavy materials. Essential tool for construction of materials that require a strong permanent bond, and may be load bearing.
Set these in small batches at the glue station. Purchase in rolls or bulk boxes - much more worth it than the small packages of short sticks, dollar for dollar.
Use these with LOW TEMPERATURE GLUE GUNS. Do not use high temp guns.