Corrugated Cardboard Furniture?

[Milah]

I'm kind of playing and experimenting with building furniture, and to save money I'm using cardboard (from shipping boxes etc.) rather than wood. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with the visible corrugated edges? I thought maybe the best thing would be to run wall fill/spackle across the edges and then paint over it, but if there are other ways that are more effective I'd like to hear. Trying to fill it with paint seems to take too long/too much paint.

Conversely, is building furniture out of regular cardboard boxes common? So many videos and things I see just use wood. I'm hoping to get access to decent mat board soon, but figure I might as well finish this little room with what I got. Plus I for something things I like the thicker cardboard.

[fov]

Could you use strip wood to cover the edges? Or strips of thinner, non-corrugated cardboard?

[havanaholly]

You could use the brown paper packing tape to cover the edges.  I used corrugated cardboard to make the staircase for the Pierce I was rehabbing before it got destroyed; I used stripwood and wallpaper to panel & reinforce the carcase and tongue blades for the treads & risers.

[Sable]

I think spackle or drywall compound is your best bet. It’s so easy to sand it down with a sanding block.

[havanaholly]

Dry spackle/ drywall mud sand nicely with an emery board, for that matter.

[Milah]

7 hours ago, havanaholly said:

You could use the brown paper packing tape to cover the edges.  I used corrugated cardboard to make the staircase for the Pierce I was rehabbing before it got destroyed; I used stripwood and wallpaper to panel & reinforce the carcase and tongue blades for the treads & risers.

Thanks! I should probably get that anyway, it'll be useful for several things. Will that tape take acrylic well?

Edited October 10, 2018 by Milah
Added a thought.

[Milah]

7 hours ago, Sable said:

I think spackle or drywall compound is your best bet. It’s so easy to sand it down with a sanding block.

Probably what I'll go with, yeah. Thank you!

[havanaholly]

9 hours ago, Sable said:

I think spackle or drywall compound is your best bet. It’s so easy to sand it down with a sanding block.

I would definitely give the cardboard a few coats of sealer, letting it dry thoroughly between coats before adding the spackle or drywall mud, which are pretty wet going on.

2 hours ago, Milah said:

Thanks! I should probably get that anyway, it'll be useful for several things. Will that tape take acrylic well?

It's paper tape, so it ought to.  I have learned that anything will take acrylic paint if you first prime it with a light coat of flat gray aerosol primer.