Woodscrews are available in a range of materials such as carbon steel, hardened steel, zinc, stainless steel and solid brass. Brass is usually chosen for its appearance when combined with brass ironmongery such as hinges and door handles. Stainless steel is ideal for areas exposed to moisture, and carbon and hardened steel can be fitted without needing pre-drilled holes. In addition, all wood screw materials have high levels of corrosion resistance. They are available in gauge sizes ranging from 3 to 8mm and lengths from 12 to 300mm. Well, this should be easy. Just get out a good pair of scissors, right? Nope, wrong. Using scissors is one of the most infuriating methods I have come across for cutting corrugated cardboard. The exception is for small, straight cuts. Here are some better ones:

Just last night I was organizing my office/tool storage area. I was thinking it would be nice to have a better way to store my screws and nails. This is a good start. Drywall screws are used to attach plasterboard to light steel, wooden studs, or metal partitions. They’re typically lighter and have deeper threads than other types, enabling them to grip plasterboard securely and a sharp point so pre-drilling isn’t required. Types of screw heads for drywall screws include bugle, wafer, and countersunk. A bugle head sits flush with the plasterboard’s surface, a wafer head sits above the surface, and a countersunk head sits below the surface. We are super excited to bring all sorts of fun project ideas in the very near future but first, we need to cover the basics of working with cardboard if you are new to using this material for building things. Again, these aren’t exceptionally strong – I would definitely NOT use these for furniture or anything of that sort. However, they are definitely a great thing to have in your creative toolbox, especially if you have students or kids who are interested in building things.Look for features such as shanks that reduce wood split, twin threads for a fast and accurate drive, and tips that don’t require pre-drilling. Using an X-Acto knife or a decent box knife is my go-to method of cutting cardboard. First, trace out what you want to cut with a pencil, and then score it with the knife. The best method is to make multiple (2-4) passes, cutting a little deeper each time, until you cut through. This is best for small cuts and detail work, although I have used it to cut large pieces before, but beware of hand cramps. Also, try to cut on top of a surface you don't mind getting a bit scratched, i.e. another piece of cardboard.

When choosing masonry screws, consider the load it will bear, as different types are suitable for medium or heavy-duty loads. To make a tab and slot joint, in one piece of cardboard cut away the edges so that you form a tab. On the other piece of cardboard, you’ll want to make a slot using your cardboard cutter. Point: the end of the screw that’s first driven into the material when a rotational force is applied.Too thin? Too flimsy? Bends in all the wrong places? We can fix that! Here are some ways to reinforce cardboard to expand it's usefulness (these are my own personal names for the methods, by the way):

I generally do not limit what students can build, though will note that encouraging freestanding pieces or buildings is a good challenge, otherwise they will just build a fort around a table without the challenge of designing it to be structurally sound enough to be freestanding. Grub screws: work using a pinning action that pushes two surfaces against each other, negating the need for a nut. They are often used in applications requiring a small, unobtrusive screw. Slot joints work by cutting matching slots into two different pieces of cardboard. These pieces will then slide into each other, forming the joint. Entering speech mode, clears throat, and begins in a deep, clear voice* (Just read the bold if you don't like speeches.) This method is a bit whimsical, dangerous, and not really accepted as a practical method for cutting cardboard, but man, is it fun! If you have an old, useless soldering iron, or a pyrography kit, this is a great and entertaining way to cut cardboard. Simply heat up your iron, and use it to burn through the cardboard. This is best done outdoors or in a garage, because it will set off fire alarms if you are doing it for a longer period.

Tab and Slot joints are when you use tabs and slots together to join two pieces of cardboard together. Instead of inserting two slots to line up with each other, you simply cut out tabs to fit into the slots. Different paints work differently, and the real differences you want to watch out for are between Matte and Gloss paints. I usually mix the two so that I get a semi-gloss, and this is fine applied directly to the cardboard (for a more rustic or weathered feel/look) or with a base coat (for a newer look). Self-tapping and drilling screws are available in steel, carbon steel, and stainless steel. Gauge sizes range from 3.5 to 6.3mm, and lengths range from 12 to 120mm.

Consider the material you are screwing into. Self-tapping screws are suitable for fixing sheet metal to softwood or plastic, and self-drilling screws are best for sheet metal to steel.It can be helpful to establish a theme for the class to build creations within to help those students who might struggle to come up with an idea of what to build. General ideas like Jurassic Park in cardboard, Star Wars, Hogwarts, etc. allow for free iteration within the theme. Give students at least 30 minutes of building time, then regroup to share their designs, ideas, and challenges. Have students disassemble their creations at the end of the class period to reuse the materials, or better yet create a display to share with the rest of the school! You can get them at nearly any office supply store or the stationary section of most retailers, I’ve been pretty happy with the quality of ACCO brand brad fasteners and they are available in a number of different sizes. Brad fasteners are commonly used in scrapbooking and binding together documents, but they are also awesome for using with cardboard, especially if you want to create pieces that can move together easily.