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Eric Leclerc Inner circle Ottawa Ontario 1185 Posts |
Tried making my own twice, failed miserably.... I cant seem to find the right board to alter.. any suggestions?
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Deke Rivers Loyal user 216 Posts |
Use melamine paneling. It's exactly the same stuff as dry erase board, costs about $9 for a 4' X 8' sheet, and NOTHING sticks to the stuff (not even wood glue!) I made my mental epic from one years ago, and it's still going strong.
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Eric Leclerc Inner circle Ottawa Ontario 1185 Posts |
Any special instructions for cutting it? I find it chips easily and dosent make for nice corners..what about the grid? What did you use for that??
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stevenamills Veteran user 397 Posts |
Eric,
Just thinking (always VERY dangerous in my case) - have you tried cutting with a router. I wouldn't think melamine is that different than Formica, but I haven't tried it. Just a thought. sam |
Deke Rivers Loyal user 216 Posts |
Just use a good, sharp table saw blade. I've never had a problem with it chipping.
But, the bigger question is, why should chipping be an issue? Aren't the edges hidden by the frame? Mine are. |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Try Big Lots. They have thin sheets of dry erase surface in with the poster board. It's less that a dollar!
Bob Magic By Sander |
Eric Leclerc Inner circle Ottawa Ontario 1185 Posts |
I meant the sliding part... It has to be cut down to size...no?
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Deke Rivers Loyal user 216 Posts |
I cut a groove into the frame for the sliding part. Then I rounded the corners of the gimmick lightly to avoid "catching" during the slide. I sanded the edges with medium and fine paper, and it works like a dream. I have one of those rubber thumbs from an office supplie store stuck on the back of my marker and use that to push the gimmick over during performance.
I really think the melamine is far superior to buying dry erase boards. It's got just the right amount of rigidity, it's surface is flawless, and the price for 4' X 8' is unbeatable. You can cuts LOTS of dry erase boards from one piece. |
tctahoe V.I.P. Lakeland Fl. 731 Posts |
Deke,
where do you get the sheets of melamine? |
Deke Rivers Loyal user 216 Posts |
Home Depot, Menards ... any do-it-yourself hardware store should carry it. It's intended to be used as paneling, and that's the part of the store you should check. Call around and ask. I was just at the hardware store today (I just built a confetti launcher this afternoon!) and priced it at $7.88/sheet (4' X 8')
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tctahoe V.I.P. Lakeland Fl. 731 Posts |
Thank you sir
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magicmanrob Regular user 158 Posts |
Office max, and office depot both sell dry erase material that comes in self adhesive type sheets that can be fastened to any surface you would make the mental eppic out of
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Deke Rivers Loyal user 216 Posts |
Rob, you are missing the point. If you make the dry erase out of the melamine, you don't HAVE to stick any material to it. The basis of the board is, in itself, the dry erase material.
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magicmanrob Regular user 158 Posts |
Not missing the point at all, we made ours the way you mentioned but found we had minor scratches in our surface that the dry erase marker got into and wouldnt clean out of the scratches and after a few uses looked tacky, and , so we just applied the dry erase self adhesive over it, if I were building it agian I would just build it all out of oak, or birch ply and then apply the dry erase film onto them.
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Magic Tad Regular user 177 Posts |
I have made one like you discribed when I cut the meleme board I put masking tape on the smooth side and used a sharp blade on the table saw. By the way I use it every show ( Three times a month for the last year, It has held up well. Good luck.
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