Uber-thin black material

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Parson

Parson

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Joined
Jun 10, 2009
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Location
Houston, Texas
I am looking for very thin black sheets of plastic (that's the same thickness as the stuff used for signs they sell at Home Depot for garage sales and such in white) for segmenting.

The thinnest stuff I've found online from guitar supply companies is still too thick. I want it very thin, but not plastic garbage bag thin (just to weed out all you jokers out there reading this).

If you know of a source, do reply and let me know.
 
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The color pack of wood veneers from CSUSA break apart really easily and flake off so i thought I'd go with plastic. I tried a presentation folder given to me but it was too slippery a material and the glue didn't stick to it like the white sign material from Home Depot.
 
uber thin black sheets

I don't know if .060" is thin enough but I bought a sheet of black at G & G model shop in Rice Village. I'd love to be able to find some red and yellow but so far no luck.
 
It's extra work, but the plastic used on 3.5 inch floppy disks comes in lots of colors and they're readily available in anyone's home or office, ready for recycling!

The reason I'm not using them is the amount of work. A sheet would be much faster.
 
the wood veneers for the cue place are .6mm thick. I'd say about the thickness of construction paper. If you want to private message me I will give you my address and if you send me a self addressed stamped envelope with a note telling me what you want I will send you one piece of the black, red and yellow and you can see if they work. Look at my cue parts post and see the pen laying on top. The segments are sandwiched with one piece of veneer on each side. Maybe you can see from the pic if they are thin enough. Also, I have a Byrnes saw and I can't slice PR as thin as these veneers.

I was looking at some of your pictures you posted and if you are trying to do something like the gisi type pen you made I don't think the wood would work. Is just useful as a deliniator between two materials.
 
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This is a down and dirty method , but it works every time. Take a black acrylic, pr, etc, blank and cut it as thin as you want on the band saw (requires a rip fence). Then attach the piece you just cut to a scrap wood block using double stick tape. Then use a belt sander (unpowered) of flat sanding surface to get EXACTLY the thickness you desire. If you feel you must, you can then "unstick" the piece, flip it over and sand the other side. This method insures nice, "flat" segments.

This can also be done with "pickguard", as long as it is one color-not three layers. It can be done with three layer pickguard as long as you sand both sides equally and accept that the middle layer will be thicker than the two outside sanded edges.
 
Another solution is as close as you old cd collection. The black cd case backs work just like floppy disks. About 7-10 seconds in the microwave make then nice and easy to cut, bend, etc.

If you use these, I recommend that you turn just like floppy disk inserts--- NEVER a gouge, knock off any corners with wet sandpaper and then a very sharp skew.
 
McMaster-Carr is one place that has some thin plastic. From .001" and up. Some of it is plastic "shim stock" where different colors = different thickness. They have a lot of variety, you'll need to look around a bit.
 
I buy most of my plastics from Atlas Fibre...

If you are looking for small quantities, try their billiards dept: www.cuestik.com

I've been using the Black Paper sheet material with some GREAT success. If you scuff it well before glueing, it will stick tight with CA or epoxy, and it polishes and cuts really nicely.

The Black Paper sheet is a phenolic material made from pressed black epoxy and champaign paper.
 
Coincidentally! I needed a piece of material, <1/32", for a project I am working on. To thin for me to cut. I was surprised when I read your message yesterday. I tried 3 or 4 different ideas and for one reason or another they didn't work. Earlier yesterday I went to the hardware store looking for some plexiglas or simular. No joy. However I found some of the plastic sign material, "posted, no trespassing", exactly the color and thickness I have been looking for. So for a $1.49 I got a sheet, roughed up the surface a bit, cut some 3/4" squares and glued several scraps together with the plastic material between each one. Turned it today and it came out better than I had expected, just exactly what I was needing. So give that stuff you found at Home Depot a try. Good luck! I will post a picture of my project when done. chiefgreen
 
Not completly finished yet, being a vest extender I have to put on the rings, leather and snaps but you will get an idea how the plastic worked. It turned without melting and finished smooth. The picture could have been better, I do apologize for that. Look close at the thin yellow segments that is the plastic sign.
chiefgreen
 

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Hi,

I think this question has come up in the past, I use knife makers fiber spacer material available from Jantz Knifemakers Supply. They carry a lot of goodies that can be used in pen making. Good luck.
 
Might try.....

www.smallparts.com not only has plastic sheeting, but acrylic, pvc, etc... and all SORTS of other odds and ends that might be JUST what that special pen maker is looking for. Tools, metal rod and tube, square tube, wire, sheet, ball bearings, acrylic, metal mesh, plastic mesh, I could go on and on.
 
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