DIY Card clips

[dee1orean]

Thought I'd try making a few card clips, these are all experimental but we're getting there.



first aluminium (thats Al-u-min-e-UMM guys, not Ah-LOOO-mi-num LOL!) with spine swage works well and grips the deck firmly:



Second still aluminium no spine swage and a little too tight after applying red felt the clip is forced open by the width of the deck:

Hmm red felt on red close up mat, I thought that through!!


Dammit.... Next:



Aluminium with spade pip sandblasted on through a template, Also has mirrored vinyl back and red felt:



Still flares a bit


Arrgh! turn off the flash


There we go, mirrored back:


Carved out of a solid block of marble....


OK I lied these are mild steel with black felt interior and sticky vinyl exterior. they both work really well:



I don't think Joe Porper Has to worry any time soon but I'm enjoying making these and experimenting with them,

I actually had to make my own mini folding machine to be able to fully bend the metal back on itself with was a nightmare to begin with. Anyway what do you think? be kind, remember they are a work in progress under development!!

And no, they're not for sale!!!....

[sinsandman]

Keep it up! Looking good so far.

[BastianBJ]

Those marble-looking card clips really look cool! Remember my parents used to have a big marble-table at home... if you ever choose to actually sell them (I now you wrote that you don't sell them, but...) please let us now! Or at least me

[10ofclubs]

Those look really nice, man. But Im more interested in just how you made them.
my dad works with a lot of metal for his job, so Im wondering if he and I could try our hand at these.

[MrMollusk]

Cool.
Did you make the ahlooominum from cans yourself, or buy it? 

[xela]

Those marble ones are sexy as hell man

[Don Boyer]

One of the things you need to remember about a Porper clip is that he doesn't achieve the spring-spine design through bending.  Each clip is carved from a solid block of metal - what is he using, stainless steel?  I think so.  Creating his patented spine design through bending weakens the metal and makes it more prone to losing the springiness of the clamp.

What you're doing with felt linings is actually a solid idea.  Have you thought about maybe making a sleeve instead of a clip?  You get the pressure you would with a spring clip without needing the spring, and the felt lining is a lot friendlier to the box, especially if it's embossed.

You can really make something out of this - keep tinkering!