Maze


Hi, I'm David Tapias, and since my childhood, I have always loved creating mazes. If you checked my notebooks, the last pages always had some maze drawings. Sometimes, I imagined little extra obstacles like doors, keys, portals, etc. Cardboard is perfect for creating many things, so I remembered my mazes and took this opportunity to create a cardboard maze.
Supplies

- Cardboard (70cm x 50cm, 0.3cm thick)
- Paper (Legal size)
- Carbon paper (Legal size)
- Acetate paper (Legal size)
- Masking tape
- Silicon
- 1 pencil
- 1 pen without ink
- 1 Scissors
- 1 Cutter
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Steel ruler (50cm)
- 1 ball ( size < 1cm)
Before to Start


I designed the maze using a legal paper grid, just like in my childhood. This process is very quick for me; every four squares equal 2 cm. The squares inside the maze (1 cm x 1 cm) will be holes, and I created a small paper template for that. You don't need it because I will share the template with you to print or draw, you choose.
Advices



- If you are using old cardboard, check the inside corrugation and choose the best quality.
- Always use the scissors to cut paper and to cut cardboard ONLY if it is a small piece and the cut is horizontal to the corrugation.
- Never use a plastic ruler to cut cardboard with a cutter. It can be dangerous.
Let's Do It
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Use the template, check the measurements and cut it. The letters I and F is to indicated the start and end of maze, but those differences are not required, because you can play starting from F or I, so you will use the maze as two mazes.
Downloads
Starting With the General Base
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Use the cutter and cut a cardboard rectangle as shown.
Maze Base
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Again, use the cutter and cut a cardboard rectangle as shown.
General Base, Parts
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The maze had two parts, the first part is a general base(rectangle, step 4) where the ball is picked up when it falls into a hole, and the second part is the maze (rectangle, step 5). Our maze has the inputs/outputs on the left hand and the ouput when the ball falls, on the rigth hand. Cut the pieces using the measurements.
Making the General Base, Long Sides



There are two parts for each long side, first glue those parts of each long side as shown.
These parts will give the heights of the maze.
Making the General Base, Right Side and Long Sides





First, glue the rigth side (Output) as shown.
Glue the two long sides, use the maze base to slide it over the heigths and adjust the long sides if it is required.
Left Side and Finishing the General Base


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Glue the left side as shown.
Well, we are finished the General base.
From Template to Cardboard




Take the cardboard base maze, put over base maze the carbon paper, now, put the template over the carbon paper, the template must get spaces on the outline as shown.
Join the papers to the cardboard using the masking tape.
Now, draw over template following the lines and squares.
Check the Result


Remove the tapes and papers to check if the result left perfect
Making Holes









You should be very careful in this step. The cardboard has three layers, so, use the cutter to mark the square, remove the first layer, if you turn the cardboard over, you will see some marks use them to cut again.
After making all square holes, use a pencil to round the edges of the holes, and test each hole with the ball.
Cut Walls



Important: Cut the walls vertically to the corrugated direction
Use the cutter to cut pieces of cardboard to make walls, the height for each wall must be 1cm. I recomend take the measurement of the most long wall and cut a lot rectangles with that size.
Making the Maze







Do you remember the little spaces on the outline ?, well, those spaces (0.3cm) will be using to glue the borders maze.
Put the wall on each line and draw a mark to cut the real size, while you put each wall to 90 deggrees every wall should be left standing, if there is a fix, I recommend adjust it using the scissors.
I recommend using scissors to make walls, it's more comfortable and faster.
Glue Walls


After to get all walls, now use the glue.
Making the Maze Borders


Cut the borders and glue them as shown.
Handle to Pull the Maze.

Cut three cardboard pieces and glue them as shown.
Glue Handle



Glue handle using the base and border maze as shown.
Acetate Paper




Insert the maze into the base, put the acetate paper over the maze and take measurements.
Fold and Cut Acetate Paper






Use the pen without ink to make the marks and fold the acetate paper.
Cut the corners as shown.
Important: The weight of the acetate paper can create a curve. You should adjust this, so apply a little tension on one side to keep it tight.
Glue the Acetate Paper







After to get the perfect size with the tension, use ONLY the sides to glue the acetate paper as shown.
Maze Finished



I found some stickers, so I used a sticker for the maze inputs/outputs. Now, you can create different mazes and use the general base to insert them.
Watch the video to see the solutions.
Now, it's time to play!