How to Make Mini Kraft / Cardboard / Paper Spiral Tubes 

Awesome! That's my favorite use for these tubes - custom rockets. Can't wait to eventually get into rocketry on the channel

Exactly! There's more tubes nowadays than back then, because of paper straws and beehive stuff, but they're still pricey if you can even find them in the right size.

Glad I could help! Good luck as well :)

That's great to hear! Isn't it nice being able to make a high quality tube in just the size you need? I find it pretty awesome 😀

My pleasure, thanks for watching! I'd also rather make my own. Plus, tubes as small as some of these can't really be bought anywhere.

John Simmons juiuuyutjgnyji

You're welcome! :D

Hmm, I'll have to look into that! Thanks for the suggestion 😁

Thank you! I was thinking about trying to make my own mini tube making machine, but it would be quite complicated and far exceed my circle of knowledge.

That makes sense I guess - in the case with thin glue you'd be relying on just the strength of the paper layered with itself. I think with thicker glue, you also get some strength from the glue. But you also add weight that way. However, with masking paper, using thin glue is very difficult due to how quickly it absorbs water and how weak it is when wet.

roaring dragon2 thank you! Glad you liked it :D making a lot of these is pretty tedious. But since mini tubes like these aren't produced or sold anywhere, they're definitely worth it for crafts/hobbies!

Yeah.

roaring dragon2 Thanks for watching! I have 4 project videos planned that will involve the use of these tubes, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled if you're interested in seeing them :)

ooo. :O

Those are some big tubes! It would probably be much cheaper to make them at home, but also hard to cut nice lines in that long of a piece of paper

That makes a lot of sense actually. Would make it SO much easier to remove the tube.

Wow, that's a very detailed way to get a proper strip width, thanks for the info! Did you have any issues with the layers of cereal box binding due to the glossy printed side?

Sorry! I wrote that too quick. I have corrected it to w = c / 1.41 or w = (d x pi) / 1.41. This equates to about w = d x 2.22

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback 😀

Rectangular? :O let me know how it works!

Thank you! Yeah I'd like to make a video on convolute tubes, but they're quite difficult to get right. I need to find or create a good method to make them in small sizes.

I been making parallel rocket tubes by just using water and bread flour. I wrap around a wood dowel former and use real heavy cardboard kraft paper. the sheets I use are 13' x 24" and I cut them into 3 rocket tubes for whistle rockets. After I cut them I put wood glue on the outside edges on each side. There is enough give on the wrapping that I do not need support when pressing them.

That's handy info, thanks! I basically have no experience or knowledge on that subject haha. I'm not able to picture the angle stock method.

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

Thanks! Honestly I'm not sure. I think it would be possible if you cut the paper strips in a VERY specific way. Rectangular strips get really wonky around corners. I would test it right now but unfortunately I don't have a rectangular form to use.

Good to hear! I would imagine that paper towel tubes make terribly weak props haha

I think I did make some convolute tubes with PVC as a form. It worked pretty well, but the one downside was that cutting the paper tube while on the form creates gauges that make it harder to remove. But if you take anti-stick measures, it should work great!

colspyro convolute tubes are indeed easier to make, but they only become stronger than their spiral counterparts when their thickness is significantly more than a spiral tube of the same inner diameter. This requirement of more layers for the same overall strength means that they're much heavier, and not suitable for most airborne items like rockets and gliders :P However, convolute tubes are superior for pyrotechnics. Thanks for the tip about the Teflon rod, I'll keep that in mind! And thanks for watching :)

A convolute tube uses a continuous sheet, 2 thicknesses of paper will give identical wall thickness whether its spiral or convolute wound. The beam strength of a convolute wound tube is much greater than a spiral wound tube because the wall has no internal joints or voids which are present in the spiral wall .The only benefit of spiral winding is you can make a tube any length as you`re not limited by the former length or paper roll width. If you place a convolute and spiral wound tube with identical id and wall thickness on a former and push one tube against the other you`ll find the spiral tube will fail first everytime. Spiral wound tubes behave much like a spring, they dont transmit forces directly from one end to the other. Convolute wound tubes behave like a stack of vertical sticks..they are very difficult to crush by pushing on one end ;) When you wind a convolute tube be sure the paper grain is running parallel to the former. In the case of ribbed kraft paper, the rib lines should run the length of the tube. These 3/4" id tubes fail at 7800psi minimum, the commercial spiral wound equivalents i tested barely managed 2500psi and they cost more ;) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oF39ltNHvUo.html

colspyro Hmmm. Interesting info! I'll have to make a convolute tube of the same amount of layers sometime, and compare the weights and strengths. The trouble is, though, winding convolute tubes is tough when they're miniature. I'm no good at creating seamless convolute tubes on large forms, and it's tougher with small ones. The way I learned from a video a while ago was to just glue the end of the paper over the form onto the rest of the strip, and roll it from there. But that creates an imperfect inner shape of the tube.

I dont know how small you need to go, the smallest tubes i roll by hand are 3mm id x 150-200mm long. I dont like the fold over method either as it tends to create tubes that are out of round. For small id tubes its best to use a lightweight kraftpaper 40-50 gsm which is maybe 30lb stateside. If using pva glue.apply it neat and fairly generously. After the glue is applied you dont want to hang around. position the former (ptfe, stainless or silver steel) at the end of the paper and gently roll the first turn. You need to go slowly and apply almost no pressure as only the surface tension of the glue will be keeping the paper in contact with the former during this stage. When you have the first turn on the former its plain sailing from there. After you`ve done a few you`ll get a feel for it. The best way to remove a tube without damage is to make yourself a simple extractor tool, a piece of plastic chopping board (or similar) with a hole just a hair larger than the former diameter drilled in it. Slide the tool onto the former and push the tube off with it. Dont touch the tube, just the former and the tool.

colspyro p

True. A seam should be fine. I haven't really tested seamless vs seam, and kraft vs masking paper layers as I don't have the proper equipment to do so. But I think the only major differences would probably be in the aesthetics and aerodynamics of the tube. Seamless tubes are nicer to look at and incur less aerodynamic drag, but I'm not sure to what extent.

No problem! I've done a few convolute tubes, and they're extremely hard to make well. They usually come out loose and malformed.

I have a feeling it has something to do with shrinking from the drying of glue, and doing this method gives more tolerance space (errors don't grow out of control.) Thing that I wonder now is how paper sticks for q tips and the like are made.

@@Slowly_Going_Mad I think my issue was that I couldn't keep the tube tight around the form as I rolled it, so slack built up. Yeah I wonder that as well, and they do it so cheaply!

They use a machine for it. To do that by hand is a challenge, takes some practice. Some one showed me if you fold it multiple times on the very edge it will work. Easier said than done though because of the precision needed. Each starting fold needs to almost be as wide as the paper is thick.

Ahh ok. That sounds fun! It's going to be really difficult though. I would probably look up some tips on getting it to roll perfectly straight so the paper doesn't end up diagonal. A mandrel - I never thought about that. That would probably help a lot. If they don't exist, you might be able to design and 3D print one!

No problem!

Do you mean like making a convolute tube? It's always seemed to me like they're heavier. They're also much harder to make well, at least in my experience

It might be possible, if their diameter is consistent!

Why not use epoxy or any strong glue?

@@indica77 epoxy would be too thick and heavy, and most strong glues/epoxies can't be watered down I believe. Thanks for watching!

I don't know anyone who makes custom tubes en masse, sorry. Best of luck in your search!

Thank you! What do you mean by gsm? I'm not sure of any technical specifications - it's been a long time since I purchased the kraft paper, and the painter's paper didn't have any specs on it either.

You mean the one in the link in the description?

The glue I used for these tubes will dissolve in water - you can't use them for drinking or with any liquids.

Each layer overlaps the previous and covers the seems, but the spiral on each individual layer doesn't overlap. And you definitely can start layers from both ends to cross them

Easier for what? The form?

@@trumpatier Easier to buy and use instead of spending hours making tubes. Most can be found at craft shops, and are not expensive.

@@zyxw2000 wood dowels don't fit the same purpose as paper tubes

The brown what? The tubes are made of kraft and masking paper, and I covered my table with masking paper as well.

Oh, thanks a lot! The music volume is something I always have a hard time with. And uploading often is my biggest challenge haha. Thanks for the feedback and for watching!

Trumpatier one thing i forgot to cover in my first comment but maybe having a bit more editing, and making it shorter might help with viewer retention. I have no problem myself but for some others they might grow bored with just one long video. Other then that love your videos!

Zachary more editing? How so? Yeah my videos tend to be pretty long, I have a tendency to explain everything in depth haha. I've been working on making my videos more and more concise though. The next one should be pretty short and sweet :) filming the last shots for it tomorrow.

Trumpatier i guess by editing maybe more transitions but not everyone is the same, and personally after watching more of your videos i prefer them like this.

Zachary I try to keep my transitions smooth and not too attention-grabbing. Thanks again for the input! I always appreciate feedback on how I can improve my videos 😀

boss com I'm doing my best, thanks for the advice! Feel free to suggest anything you want me to do.

Hi boss! I'm now uploading weekly, with some really awesome (IMO) stuff coming up! Please let me know what you think about my new videos! :D

It's sold at hardware stores as painter's paper or masking paper. Typically in the same aisle as paint. Hope that helps!

I'm not really sure, sorry. Cones seem like they'd be much harder to make, and I don't think this spiral process would even work.

Kraft paper is actually thicker than masking paper. You can certainly use it, you'll just need less layers of kraft than you would use of masking paper. And it may be hard to curl/twist the kraft paper in smaller diameter tubes.

@@trumpatier ok thx dude

@@gopalverma25015 no problem, good luck

Haha, thanks! :D

it shouldn't be too bad as long as you have a form long enough.

For the larger tubes, I used a base layer of kraft paper, and then masking paper. For micro tubes, I used only masking paper. Hope this helps!

how can i make an 1 inch in diameter papertube?

Hmm that would be pretty cool! I'm not sure what a paper tube of that sort would be used for though. Any cool applications of it?

@@trumpatier thanks for your quick reply! :) They are used for storing things like lip balms, deodorant sticks, oily balms, etc. in a biodegradable packaging (instead of using the regular plastic tubes we buy at the market) so it is a more environmentally friendly way. I am trying to make them myself at home and hopefully sell my cosmetics products in the future!

@@thunderstorminmyblood3705 Ah, that's awesome! TBH I'm already wrapped up in so much RU-vid/business work at the moment, you'll definitely be able to develop the push-up tubes before me xD Good luck with everything!

@@trumpatier haha thank you!

Are you still making these? And if so, can you sell them. I don't have your patience and I need 300. Thanks

I honestly have no idea what washi tape is 😂

@@trumpatier it's like a masking tape roll.. I want to know how to do that roll tube holder tia 😊

@@kcmasangkay9732 hmm I see. Unfortunately I have to stick to videos I have planned at the moment haha

Hi, thank you! Unfortunately since these tubes are handmade, I can't sell or mass produce them. There are some companies out there that sell specialty paper tubes though!

Ravi Sahanakar Kumar Ravi Ravi hi! The paper I used for the base is called kraft paper, you can find it in department stores like Walmart/Target and office stores. The paper I use for the top layers is called painter's or masking paper. You can find it at home improvement stores. Thanks for watching!

Trumpatier Thank you very much God blessed and your channel is best in youtube friend

Oh no! That's always a tough problem, and it's happened to me a few times. Some tricks to try to fix that are to use less adhesive so it doesn't saturate the bottom layer, or use kraft paper instead of masking paper for the bottom layer. I've also heard of slightly greasing the form, but I feel like that might prevent the glue from working properly and make the tube weaker.

Made some adaptations to make it work for a pitcheron sailplane. The first layer I made from plastic ribbon used to wrap presents. Worked like a charm from the very first attempt. Thanks!!!

If you want it to be permanent, my favorite method is to glue a piece of cardboard (typically thick cereal box) onto the end, and trim off the excess after it dries so that it matches the diameter of the tube. If you want it to be removable, the best method I've found so far is creating a circular disk out of your desired material (wood works well) and putting some heat shrink tube around it. 1/4" to 1/2" length extending past your disk works well for small diameter tubes. Apply super glue or another strong adhesive to the outside edges of the disk, and then use a lighter or other heat source to slightly form the tube around the disk. Then slip the heat shrink tube over your kraft tube and finish shrinking it with the lighter so that it fits snugly over your disk and the paper tube. The longer the heat shrink tube, the harder it'll be to take off and put on the cap, but I'd recommend between a quarter to a half inch for paper tubes around a half inch in diameter. For smaller diameter tubes, reduce the length of the heat shrink tube, and for larger diameters, increase it. Hope this helps! Let me know if you find another good way to make a cap.

Trumpatier thanks for the advice but I’ll just use some plastic test tubes.

@@gamingofthelegend3907 ah alright, good luck

Trumpatier thank you very much hope your channel grows to 1 million subs one day you deserve it

I don't think so, definitely would not recommended it lol

carlos you may be able to use newspaper, but I don't think regular white paper will work as it's not porous enough, and is too thick for smaller tubes. Good luck, and thanks for watching!

OK thank you