Don’t get me wrong, I am loving the proof grade material that came with my GF. However, I’m going to burn (no pun intended) through it pretty quickly lol. Other than buying from Glowforge, where do you all get your sheet goods? I’ve see good things about E Street Plastics, but I’d like to also get something like draft board and some good ply that will cut well.
If you want a material source, try searching for “material source”, like “plywood source” or more likely “baltic source”, “mdf source”, “hardwood source”, etc.
There are lots and lots of threads. There are even European and Canadian threads out there (“plywood source canada”, “canadian material sources”, etc), as sometimes there are domestic or regional sources for those areas that are better than the US based ones that tend to be a bit more commonly discussed.
The forum’s a gold mine, you just gotta dig a bit. 
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Other than a search on the forum, look locally for plywood and MDF options. If you have a local source, you might save a lot on shipping.
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Home Depot has a nice 1/8" MDF that I buy by the 4x8 sheet, have the helpful folks there cut it into 16 - 12x20" pieces, and I keep the leftover bits as well. The MDF cuts fantastic, less smoke than most I’ve used, and at less than $9 for the big sheet, I end up with about 50 cents in each 12x20 piece.
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Wow, I’m about an hour from a Home Depot, but, I will check them out. I have 2 Lowes stores within 15 minutes of my house…too bad I like Home Depot better lol
Around here, Lowes is almost always right next door to Home Depot.
Strange placement strategy, but handy for shoppers who happen to like both, I guess!
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That would be awesome lol
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Looks like my local HD sells “Hardboard Tempered Panel” but it is listed under Lumber / Plywood / MDF
Yeah, they do call it hardboard… I grew up in a town with a Masonite hardboard plant, and everyone here calls it “Masonite”
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I assumed it was MDF, just checking though
Wow! That’s awesome! Guess I’ll have to make a trip to Home Depot after work this week haha
I will say that masonite has a really rough side usually (from my home depot it does anyway), and that structurally it’s far weaker than either MDF or plywood. So it’s not exactly apple to apples.
You’re better off finding a local baltic birch/mdf supplier for many projects. I am lucky enough to be near a Rugby Architectural Building supplies location, but there are lots of places that carry 1/8" baltic if you go looking.
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@ryan.niemer, ever been to DJM hardwoods? Wonder what they have? Muth’s site is terrible, but they might carry stuff too. Gilco maybe too, but their website isn’t great.
Hamer seems like they’re unlike to resaw, but might be worth asking. http://jimchamer.com/
Kinner is also a really small operation, looks like. Couldn’t hurt to call and ask?
Taylor lumber seems to be floors, but you never know.
AJM, Harold Davis, Branchland, ABC supply, and so on, there are lots of lumber companies near ironton, I wonder if any carry this stuff? There’s no substitute for calling around and seeing who’s got what.
(All of this was discovered via google maps searching for “lumber” and “plywood” around Ironton)
Worst case scenario, you could daytrip to Cinncinnati and load up.
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I’m not opposed to going to Cincy for the day, I love it there
Welp, there’s paxton, the first place I clicked, and they carry Baltic.
If it were me I’d call and see what it would take to get B/B grade, I’ve had better luck with that than (the more common) B/BB.
People love Menards on the forum, there’s a location there. (2 actually)
I counted 11 independent lumber stores in Cinncinnati, I’d try calling them and seeing if they carry anything in 1/8" or if they can mill it.
There’s a Tandy leather in Cinncinnati too. Don’t go there unless you want to spend money. They’re be best source I’ve found, and searching the forum for “tandy” will yield lots of context.
There is also a Rocker and a Woodcraft in Cinncinnati. Not the cheapest but they’ll each have some 1/8" hardwood (and a million other temptations. Lathe? Huh, maybe I need one… Drum sander? How did I survive without one!? Pretty soon you’re calling your bank for a line of credit.).
Of course if you aren’t in a hurry and want less expensive hardwoods, just shop online. There are lots of posts about this. Ocooch, green valley, Kim Oberlin… search all three of those on the forum for lots of leads.
Anyway. Google maps, man. Crazy how much info you can find.
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This “hardboard” from HD is actually smooth as glass on one side, but really rough on the other, so keep that in mind. But, structurally, its not bad. Not something for every project, but I have made almost all my projects from it before deciding to move on to something more substantial…and costly. Tons of MDF prototypes sitting around…
Yeah I think we’re talking about the same stuff.
It’s a good bit easier to bend than mdf from what I’ve seen though. My mdf supplier is super cheap, so I skip the hardboard entirely. In fact, my Baltic supplier is so inexpensive (about 60 cents per square foot) that I don’t even bother with MDF much either. MDF dirties up your machine quickly, so I stick with woods when I can.
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I hear ya. Wish I could find a good reliable supplier here. Most places, when you ask for 1/8 anything, look at you like you have lost your mind, and the others send you to those little precut squares, and a 12x12 piece is as expensive as a full 4x8 sheet should be. I’ve ordered some online, but it’s hit and miss there.
You have to find the sort of supplier that caters to cabinet makers and such. The little guys, not HD and Lowes.
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