Spike Calendar Assembly

Spike Calendar Assembly: This origami Spike Calendar was created by Paolo Bascetta. Printouts and instructions on how to fold and assemble this model is available from this web page. Shown on this page is help on how to assembly the units into the Spike Calendar.

Spike Calendar Assembly Instructions

The most important part about assembling the spike calendar is to have all 6 units folded properly. Shown above is one unit on its side with the green spikes visible.

This is the top view of the unit. Notice that each unit has 4 pockets and 4 flaps. Two of the flaps have months & days printed on it; the other two flaps are blank.

Balance one of the units (green) upon its spikes so the unit is like a table. Position the unit so the front flap has no printing on it. Insert a second unit (yellow) into the pocket shown. Make sure that you are inserting a blank flap into the green pocket.

The second unit should be perpendicular to the first unit. Insert a third unit (also yellow) into the opposite pocket as shown.

Attach the fourth unit (blue) in front of the model. Here the flap from unit 1 (green) is inserted into the pocket of unit 4 (blue). This is important because the green flap is blank so it should go inside the blue unit. The two blank-flaps from the blue unit are inserted into the pockets of the yellow units. This helps lock the units together.

Notice how the yellow units offer 2 printed flaps and the blue unit offers 2 printed flaps giving a total of 4 months. Repeat with the fifth unit (blue) at the back of the model; remember that the blank-green flap inserts into the 5th blue pocket and the blank-blue flaps insert into the yellow pockets.

This is how the model looks like: 10 of the 12 months are visible. The last unit is the hardest to assemble, yet this is the keystone that will keep everything together. Start by placing the sixth (green) unit on top like a hat.

Hold the other units firmly in place while you tuck and lift flaps into place. Always tuck a blank flap into a pocket. Allow printed flaps to be on the outside so they are visible. If necessary, lift flaps to peek underneath to make sure the flaps are properly inserted into the pockets.

Done.

Note how the blank flap from the 6th unit is now tucked into the blue unit so the flap with the print is visible.

The model has 24 spikes; it does not require glue or tape; and it is moderately stable but you cannot toss it around like a ball.

 

 

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If you are having trouble folding your own origami calendars, you can always buy a page-a-day calendar from amazon.com. These calendars are fabulous gifts because there is one origami model per day: it’s a gift that will last the entire year.
    • Page-A-Day Origami Calendars

Don’t forget that you can also get Fold-A-Day Kirigami calendars which are super cool!
    • kirigami calendars