Jul 23, 2014

DIY Electric Quilling Tool


Before anyone goes out to buy this, I'd like to say that I won't be using this to quill! It spins so fast, I can't keep the strip edge even. However, I'll explain my "just because" experiment.





When Ann Martin of All Things Paper reviewed the Quill Ease Slotted Motorized Quilling Tool, I was reminded that I've always wanted to see if an electric eraser would be a good "Macgyverism". Off to Daiso (Japanese dollar store) I went, and picked up this electric eraser for $2. I went to the one in Richmond, but there are many US locations as well.


It's easy to take apart by twisting the upper ring and separating the halves. I had hoped my mini Japanese quilling tool (far right) would fit, but upon closer comparison, the diameter is too big to replace the eraser. Plus I don't think I could bear to damage my beloved tool.


Not to be deterred, I trimmed down a toothpick, gave it a slit, and shoved the pointy end into the eraser.


Here's what my coil looks like. It's ok, but really it spun too quickly for me to control well. If anyone knows if it's easy to turn down the spinning speed, maybe they could share this tip? All in all, a fun experiment for 2 bucks!

11 comments:

  1. Ooh, so glad you tried this out! The Quill Ease tool is super fast too.

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    1. I was hoping you'd see this post Ann! :D

      I've asked around and that motor is a set speed with no way to change, sadly.

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  2. Interesting experiment! Enjoyed the mind vision!!! LOL!
    Jan

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    1. LOL so happy you enjoyed living vicariously Jan!
      Cecelia

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  3. Makes me want to go to Daiso and see if I can find the electric eraser just to try this! I really wonder what is the point of an electric eraser, though...

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    1. Yes, I wondered about that too! LOL, I guess if someone wanted to erase a tiny area in a detailed drawing? If only I could slow down the rotation...

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    2. Firstly ... what a GREAT post! Aw this held me spellbound from the first ten words.

      With regard to the 'point of an electric eraser' ... I wondered this exact same thing . . . until I got one free with another crafting item which I bought. I tried it out and thought it was a gimmicky bit of rubbish, and put it in the box of crafting tools on my desk.

      Until ... I did some embossing (using embossing powders) and got some stray dots of embossing powder in places I didn't want it.
      I tried to gently knock it off. Didn't work
      Tried to flick it off with the very tip of my finger nail. Wouldn't move.
      Tried to be a little more aggressive and push the darn thing off. It said 'NO'.
      I sat back in my chair and sighed, thinking that I'd have to do the whole project again because I'd ruined it through not paying attention. When I suddenly spied the eraser tool. Well, I told myself, ... couldn't harm to try it ... so I took it out of it's pack, turned it on ... and set it to work on the stray embossed dots. VOILA! It worked like magic. They disappeared as if Harry Potter himself had waved his magic wand over them.

      It didn't erase them like an eraser would do a pencil line - but instead the machine kind of slowly wore it down to level with the paper, and I continued to play the eraser over the black spots and it just disappeared like I'd used a mini sanding machine!

      Great post! I was stunned when I saw what the children had made. When I first tried quilling it took me weeks before I managed to make something recognisable! Brilliant pieces of art. ~ Cobs. x

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    3. Hi Cobs! Wow, you've won the award for longest comment! Thanks so much for visiting and I'm thrilled you enjoyed my curiosity with me.

      Ah, a mini-sander! Fantastic invention. I'll have to remember that, since I won't be using it for quilling. Great idea and thanks for sharing it :D

      I'm so glad you agree with me about the children's work. I know I didn't attempt as much as they did in my first trials. We have so much to learn from them.

      Cecelia

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  4. Erasing tires out my hand surprisingly fast so I bet an electric one would come in very handy. I used to do quite a bit of calligraphy and would sometimes erase the fine lines I'd drawn before moving on to the next section. Funny thing though... once I'd done all that erasing, my lettering would suffer until my hand had a chance to recover. I learned to wait to erase until the piece was completed.

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    1. Oh that's certainly a good reason to invest $2!

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  5. hi was just seeing if you minded a comment. i like your website and the thme you picked is super. I will be back. Best Electric Nail Files in 2018

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