can someone give me instructions on how to build a paper bridge using only glue and paper?

Question

the bridge has to be 17 in. long and has to hold alot of weight im going to set a record for my class which means i would have to beat 400 washers

Answer 1

You want to make beams by gluing together several sheets of paper and then putting V-folds in them so they do not buckle.

Interleave the 11" long sheets to make a pair of beams 20 inches long with the papers folded into V-shapes like corrugations. Pour a lot of glue down into the grooves to make a very solid beam. You can also glue cross beams to the bottom of the two long beams to hold them together more tightly.

Answer 2

Are there limits to how much paper you can use? I would suggest you use an "I" beam structure. Just fold a piece of paper in parallel folds to form a TTTT like structure when looked from the edge. Reinforce by gluing strips to vertical members. Use extra strips to brace between adjacent vertical members. You can also take two of the TTTT structures and have the vertical members overlap and sandwiched between the horizontal members to form a honeycomb structure. Finally glue extra paper on top and bottom surfaces. To get a better idea of what this will look like, look at the edge of a corrugated cardboard box.

Answer 3

layer a few hundred pieces of paper and glue together forming a huge block of paper and glue, assuming there is no limit the amount of paper you can use. It would probably work best to lay it with the paper layers vertical when testing it. That should hold a lot of weight if you make it big enough.