![\"Cardboard](\"https:\/\/stevehusting.com\/calligraphy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/whapperplate1.jpg\")
<\/a>Cardboard whopperplate, top<\/p><\/div>\n
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A whopperplate is a tool used to teach pointed-pen techniques on the blackboard. Instead of the two pencils shown, you would attach chalk. Instead of using a projector or having the students gather around your table to watch, you would draw on the blackboard. The more pressure you apply to the whopperplate’s tips, the farther apart the tips\u00a0move, simulating the effect of a pointed pen nib on a much larger scale.<\/p>\n
I read a post in\u00a0https:\/\/groups.yahoo.com\/neo\/groups\/Ornamental_Penmanship\/info<\/a>\u00a0(Sept. 25, 2015, 2:37pm)\u00a0that a calligrapher was looking for one. I looked at a picture of a real whopperplate and thought it would make a nice project. I made in about a half hour.<\/p>\n The results with my tool: shaky at best.<\/p>\n Shaky whopperplate result<\/p><\/div>\n That’s because the cardboard wasn’t stiff enough to hold the points firmly in place, so it wobbled. But the design theory is sound. No doubt about it; it needs to be sheet metal, and I know several places that carry it. Maybe I’ll try that next when I have time.<\/p>\n This version is composed of four pieces of cardboard. Two 11″ long pieces, then a smaller piece that is folded into a triangle and tucked in to hold the long pieces at right angles to each other, and a piece (can’t be seen in these photos) that allow the flat part spanning the two long pieces to stay in one place. Then tape around the piece to hold it securely.<\/p>\n The underside of the tool:<\/p>\n<\/a>