Cardboard Carpentry Chair

Custom chairs for children.

Materials

Triple wall corrugated cardboard, plastic dowel

Tools

Table saw, hot glue gun, rulers, clamps

Timeline

One hour at Perkins School for the Blind

The Product

The engineers at Perkins School for the Blind custom-make these cardboard carpentry chairs for children at no cost to the families. They take measurements of the child sitting so that the chair is perfectly ergonomic and suited to the child. The chair can have modifications such as a tilted back or seatbelt to support children with low muscle tone.

These chairs make sitting comfortable and mindless, so that children can focus on learning and interacting with their environment instead of holding their bodies up against gravity.

I sat in one of these chairs and immediately felt my hips tilt into a very comfortable position. The footrest helped keep my knees at 90 degrees, which is something that my legs are not long enough to achieve on a regular chair.

I’ve never seen triple wall corrugated cardboard! It is solid and stable, while still easily manipulated with saws some elbow grease.

We got to try out the table saw to cut the cardboard, which was shockingly loud but amazingly safe, with many automatic features that prevented user danger.

We ran out of time on this field trip to make a full chair, so I’d love to visit Perkins again to learn the whole process.

The Process

Now, I can add cardboard carpentry to my AT making experience. I’m honestly very amazed by and passionate about Perkin’s custom chair cause; I’d be interested in pursuing this for an internship or career.