finding fiberboard

[esantoro]

I'm trying to cut down the weight of my leather briefcases and thought that for some bags I might use a fiberboard support underneath the handle instead of an 1/8" thick aluminum stay.

Does anyone know a supplier for thin but rigid fiberboard?

Some of you may be interested in my supplier for the aluminum flatbars (extracted aluminum): Speedy Metals in Wisconsin

Ed

[CitizenKate]

You can get medium-density fiberboard (MDF) at Home Depot, Lowe's, or a local independant lumber supplier, in various thicknesses. MDF has very good properties compared to regular fiberboard. It's very smooth and rigid, and moisture resistant. When I got it from a local lumber supplier, I had to special order it. Home Depot stocks it regularly. I pay about $3.64 for a 2' x 4', 1/4" thick sheet.

Kate

Edited June 7, 2007 by CitizenKate

[esantoro]

You can get medium-density fiberboard (MDF) at Home Depot, Lowe's, or a local independant lumber supplier, in various thicknesses. MDF has very good properties compared to regular fiberboard. It's very smooth and rigid, and moisture resistant. When I got it from a local lumber supplier, I had to special order it. Home Depot stocks it regularly. I pay about $3.64 for a 2' x 4', 1/4" thick sheet.

Kate

Thanks, Kate. What do you use the fiberboard for?

Ed

[CitizenKate]

I use it to make leather game boards. The leather is mounted permantently on a piece of MDF, and the tooling is done on it after it is mounted. I used to use plywood, but the MDF works much better because of its smoothness and rigidness.

Kate

Edited June 7, 2007 by CitizenKate

[Regis]

Kate,

Do you seal the MDF before mounting the leather? Or, do you depend on the glue to keep moisture away from the MDF? Does MDF swell from moisture like its predecesor (particle board)?

Thanks,

Regis

I use it to make leather game boards. The leather is mounted permantently on a piece of MDF, and the tooling is done on it after it is mounted. I used to use plywood, but the MDF works much better because of its smoothness and rigidness.

Kate

[whinewine]

You can get medium-density fiberboard (MDF) at Home Depot, Lowe's, or a local independant lumber supplier, in various thicknesses. MDF has very good properties compared to regular fiberboard. It's very smooth and rigid, and moisture resistant. When I got it from a local lumber supplier, I had to special order it. Home Depot stocks it regularly. I pay about $3.64 for a 2' x 4', 1/4" thick sheet.

Kate

Just an aside: Home Depot gives anyone who has ever served in the military 10% off their purchases. All one needs to do is show a current military ID or a copy of their DD-214. That's a very nice gesture on their part & I think it shows support for veterans!

[CitizenKate]

I use a latex-based contact cement which coats the surface pretty thoroughly, so the part that the leather touches is sealed quite well.

MDF resists moisture MUCH better than particle board, but if you soak it long enough, it will begin to swell.

Kate

Do you seal the MDF before mounting the leather? Or, do you depend on the glue to keep moisture away from the MDF? Does MDF swell from moisture like its predecesor (particle board)?

[johnstci]

any roofing supply house has 1/2" x 48' x72" boards of fibreboard

[fortysomething]

You may be thinking of Masonite (aka hardboard). It is the stuff that pegboard is made from and is normally 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick and typically sold in 4x8 ft sheets. It should be available at most any home center (like Lowe's or Home Depot) or lumberyard.

[esantoro]

my original post had a different sort of board in mind, something more like a computer chip board, but made of a wood substance. It's maybe about 1/16" thick................. I just measured its thickness...........it's 1.2 mm thick.

It may even be a thick, rigid type of cardboard. This is what I thought was meant by the term "fiberboard." Hardboard seems to be much thicker and not intended for the use I originally had in mind.

Ed

[fortysomething]

I see what you are thinking of now. You might check with suppliers for electronics repair and construction. Places like Radio Shack or Jameco (online) sell the circuit board material, though I am not sure of the sizes available or the prices. It has been a while since I looked for electronic parts.

[whinewine]

I'm trying to cut down the weight of my leather briefcases and thought that for some bags I might use a fiberboard support underneath the handle instead of an 1/8" thick aluminum stay.

Does anyone know a supplier for thin but rigid fiberboard?

Some of you may be interested in my supplier for the aluminum flatbars (extracted aluminum): Speedy Metals in Wisconsin

Ed

Ed: you might trying woodworking shops or perhaps www.cherrytreetoys.com or other online woodworking supply houses: they generally carry finnish plywood which is very smooth (totally unlike american plywood) = they have no knot holes & have many more ply layers & come in 1/8" & other thin thicknesses. Who knows, they may even carry other things like fiberboard in those thicknesses. Good luck. russ

[gunfighter48]

Also check with hobby shops that carry model airplane building materials. They carry a very fine grained plywood from 1/16 to 1/2 in thick. They also carry a lite plywood that is very strong and light weight. Hobby shops are also a good source for all types of modeling tools used to carve woods and clay.