cappy68

I am looking for the best type of sheeting to use as a building surface. I have read the previous post about using a glass surface ,blue / pink foam, magnetic,drywall etc. and none are
well suited for my shop( I ocassionally drop heavy things on it).

I was using a grey pressed cardboard that I bought at Home Depot however they discontinued stocking it. It was perfect as it could be pinned and also didn't dent or crumble.

Does anyone remember what this is called & where to get it?
Or do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

Emissions

Try going to Lowe's or if you have one a Menards

onyoursix

Cappy I think you might be referring to "Sound Board". I just picked up a sheet at my local Lowe's a couple of weeks ago. I brought it home and covered it with some brown wrapping paper to keep the dust down. It smooth, straight and you can put pins in it all day long. Hope this helps.

PAUL

DeadMeat

Today at Lowes I saw some tile backing board. It looks a lot like drywall but much more sturdy. Has anyone tryed to use it?

Tom

DGrant

My Feedback: (4)

I use that 2'x4' ceiling tile. I use the back side of it on perfectly flat table. It's about 1/2" thick, and cost about $2.00 a piece. So one build job and out it goes. You don't have to worry about dropping things on it at $2.00 a piece(unless you happen to have an accident and your work is on it). I'm building an 80" wing on the stuff right now.
I'm sure you can get it at HomeDepot, matter of fact that's where I got mine about a month ago.

CurtD

My Feedback: (1)

I personally don't like the softer materials for building boards (ceiling tiles, etc.) because they dent too easily. I've found that a 2' x 4' piece of 1/2" Lauan or similar plywood as a building board works much better for me. It doesn't dent easily yet the top layer of wood is soft enough to take pins well without pulling out.

I have a solid core smooth door I use as a top for my building table. It sits on a heavy 2" x 6" table frame and the door is shimmed until it is absolutely dead flat using the same technique used to level a billiard table. The 2x4 piece of lauan plywood is then screwed down at its four corners to the flat table top to get a dead flat building surface that's easily replaceable. I use countersunk 1/4"x20 screws threaded into T-nuts on the underside of the table top to secure the plywood. When the board gets worn out it only takes me about 5 or 10 mins to replace it.

MUISER

My Feedback: (3)

i have to agree with the sound board as a great product. pins stick in easily and stay put it is cheap and when glued to a piece of melonine it stays flat. i purchased a 2'x4' peice of menonine (Home Depot) some sound board (Home Depot) and a leg set from Woodworkers Warehouse and now i now have a great building table that was short money.

rcalfred

Other choices: White Builders Board, Homosote. The Builders board comes in 4' x 8' sheets and is about 1/2" thick. More body than ceiling tiles, about as dense as Celotex. The Homosote is even more dense. Many suggest wall board, but I haven't used it because the Builders Board works so well for me. I can get both at my local Hines Lumber yard here in the Chicago suburbs. Regards.

sigflyer

My Feedback: (5)

I've always used 3 layers of 24x48 ceiling tiles on a blue foam covered hollow door core as a work surface...(cheap)...I just bought a Great Planes building board. Let you know how it works....at first look... ceiling tiles are cheaper...Johnny

KevinS

My Feedback: (6)

IMHO ceiling tile doesn't hold pins well, they come out too easy. It think what you are looking for is called homosote, but I probably butchered the spelling. Home Depot in my area caries it, and is what I build on.

Kevin S.

Rforce1

I haven't built a kit yet, but someone on another section suggested using drywall. Sounds like a decent idea to me.

MiL

DGrant, what are you building?

wbrian

Shawnkappner – had the best idea yet
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...building+board]

Spicoli

I like drywall a lot better than ceiling tile.I have used both and ceiling tiles do not hold pins very well.A warped piece of balsa can lift the pins out of ceiling tile.

ProfLooney

I use 2 4x8 sheets of drywall on mine and after I use it a whaile or if like in your case drop something heavy on it I just flip the drywall over and am fine. drywall is cheap enough

phughes

Deadmeat . . .

Tile underlayment is by its very nature hard. (Very hard) What you probably saw was either Hardi Backer, or Wonderboard / Durock. Both are reffered to as "cement" board. There is another type that I guess you could use and it is similar to drywall, but has a hard waterproof coating that would be hard to push pins in (Denshield). At any rate I would not try any of these products . . .just stick with the items mentioned above!

By the way, I ordered two 48" Gillows balsa building boards a few years ago . . .they may not be big enough for most of the big scale planes I build, but they are a great way to get a perfectly flat, and easy to pin into building board

Also has anyone purchased one of these:
http://www.wrightengineering.com/xlbb/xlbb.html

WALKERS210-RCU

My Feedback: (36)

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth. I worked for years in sign company, where we built the channel letters you see on building fronts. What we use to build the faces was a table with sheet metal laminated to top. Then we used magnets to hold everything in place until glue set up. That is what I did in my shop for building. My work table is six feet long and I put sheet metal down and use magnets for every aspect of building it has worked great. No pin holes in plans/ no slipping.

huntermax3030

My Feedback: (3)

Phughes...you asked if anyone has purchased a Wright building board. I have and they work extremely well. They are not cheap to begin with, but I have used mine prety hard for two years and they are still like new.

The company seems to be in the process of changing owners so their stock is low.

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

i use ceiling tile 2 x 4 and only a few bucks at home depot. works great never had any problems with it good stuff for t pins

hawkpilot

My Feedback: (7)

I use an interior door. takes pins easily and is big enough for most projects. $17.99 from Home Depot

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I use the 'ole Hollow Core door. Got mine from LOWES Home Improvement for $18.99.

I just keep a tiny hammer standing by and hammer the T-pins in. It takes awhile, but I always build straight with this method. A pair of needle nose pliers helps for removal of the pins.

I like to use an ADJUST-O-JIG for built up wings. It takes a few hours to get it all set up and ready to go, but once it is set; you just stick and glue. The jig has a built in dihedrahl guage, and you can build both panels at once. Always makes a straight wing. Not so good for decreasing cord wings though.