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How to fold an origami gramophone

Fold a brass square into a long horn with pleated seams, a white open bell and a crimped neck, then plug it into a pleated wooden box.

You need: A 15 cm square, brass on one side, a 12 × 6.5 cm brown rectangle, scissors and glue. Hard, 18 steps, about 25 minutes.

Steps

  1. Horn: kite. White side up, a corner pointing at you. Fold the lower edges in to meet on the centre line.
  2. Horn: open bell. Fold the top corner behind, a little above the flaps' top edges, so a thin white band shows. That's the open bell.
  3. Horn: left seam. Fold the left side in on a crease from the bottom point to the mouth, a third of the way in from the corner.
  4. Horn: left seam back. Fold it back out on a crease just inside the first, leaving a thin pleat like the seam between two brass panels.
  5. Horn: right seam. Fold the right side in on a crease from the bottom point to the mouth, a third of the way in from the corner.
  6. Horn: right seam back. Fold it back out on a crease just inside the first, leaving a thin pleat like the seam between two brass panels.
  7. Neck: fold up. Fold the thin end of the horn straight up over the front, near the bottom.
  8. Neck: fold down. Fold it back down on a crease from the same spot on the left edge, sloping up to the right. The neck now bends to one side.
  9. Box: new sheet. Set the horn aside. Take the brown rectangle, brown side up.
  10. Crank: fold over. Fold the right end over onto the front, 4.5 cm in from the edge.
  11. Crank: trim. Cut away the folded flap above and below a thin tab across its middle, 1 cm wide. Cut along the fold, not into the box.
  12. Crank: open out. Fold the tab back out to the right. It sticks out of the side of the box.
  13. Crank: handle. Fold the end of the tab down on a slant, so it turns straight down. That's the winding handle.
  14. Box: lid. Fold the top edge down over the front.
  15. Box: lid back. Fold it back up a little lower, leaving a thin pleat. The top part is the lid.
  16. Box: plinth. Fold the bottom edge up over the front.
  17. Box: plinth back. Fold it back down a little higher, leaving a second pleat for the base.
  18. Plug in the horn. Glue the horn's neck behind the top of the box, so the bell rises up and leans forward.

Play a tune!

Wind it up and put on a record. Hum a song from long ago into the horn!

What to fold next