I hope someone can give me advice where to purchase Tempered Masonite smooth on both sides. I have check at Lowe's and Manard's stores and they never carry it. This is the stuff Mak Magic and U.F. Grant use to make all their magic props out of this material.

The next thing I am hoping someone can advise is what is the best cutting tool for this material. I hear it is very hard to cut, so is there a special blade one needs to cut this material.

I'm not sure anyone carries this stuff any more. Everything I see in the stores has one "pebbled" surface (lousy for painting).

All is not lost though... If you can make use of 1/4" thickness, then simply laminate two 1/8" pieces with the good faces out.

Also, depending on the size pieces you need, you can often find things like wooden (Masonite) clip boards or chalkboards in thrift stores. It never hurts to salvage if it gets you what you want!

Isn't this marketed under the name "hardboard"?

You may want to talk to a sign painter for a source.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Hardboard is the second-rate stuff commonly found at most places like Lowes, etc. It has one good surface, and one not so good. This is ok if applying felt or something to the interior of a box, but terrible to paint.

I'm not sure what Bill's intended use is, but there may be better materials to use (assuming they can be found in his neck-o-the-woods).

I thought I would tackle making Abbott's Dragon Side Tables. They use 3 cut out dragons for the legs and a round top that sets on the dragons head with his snout holding the edges. I think they would real nice on a stage.

Buy using Tempered Masonite, I can use thinner thickness and no sanding or prep work, just work on the stencil of the dragon in 5 colors. Just a lot of jig saw work, at some points may have to use a coping saw by hand.

It will still take some sanding along the cut edges, but I think this will be a very fun project and certainly a nice table(s)!

How about a paneling store, would they carry this?

This is the same product that they sell artist boards and paint palettes to mix paint colors while painting a picture.

This website gives a lot of info on hardboards, including S2S (two smooth surfaces). It also has company contact info, so it may be worth following up.

http://www.panel.com/uploads/whatisitcda0.pdf

You actually may be overlooking the material. Lowes and Home Depot carry "Bathroom Board" ( I think that's what they call it) It has a White painted finish on one side and smooth bare hardboard on the other. It is 1/8" thick and comes in 3' X 7' panels.
It is superior to the old Mak Magic type hardboard due to the pre painted finish. I used to use this in the Sign Industry many years ago. It takes paint well, needs no surface priming on the white side and the hardboard side will typically be black anyways. Take another look as it is NOT in the same dept. as the other panels.
You may have more luck at Home Depot.
Hope this helps,
Chance

Thanks Chance, our Home Depot keeps going out of business here in our city. The come in build and start several stores, then a year later close them all.

Chance yes, I will paint both sides of the boards. The three dragons open in a circle or triangle with the top being trapped by the snouts of the dragon. I guess a better discription is a "Y" format when opened. Hinges on both sides of each panel across from one another.

Thanks for the post, if this material you mentioned can be painted on both sides, it may work.

That may be the tip of the year! Thanks!

I am going to the Home Depot tomorrow. I will check and see what they actually call the material so you know what to ask for.
I'll get back to you on that.
Hope it turns out to be what you need and in stock!

That would be great and very nice of you, thanks.

I'm with Chance on this one. I've been using the bath board for years. I always prime the painted side. I have had some problemms with it peeling if you don't. Chance may be using a different paint.

Michael,
In our neck of the woods you can get it at "Menards" in the paneling section. They have the best price.

You folks are thinking of "Tileboard." I think it's a little thinner than 1/8"...2mm perhaps?

1/4" and 1/8" masonite (also called tempered service board or tempered hardboard) are both still available, but I've never found anywhere that keeps it in stock. It's always a pain-in-the-butt special order. Lowes and Home Depot won't/can't get it in. Paneling specialty stores are your best bet.

Be careful, though. Get a GOOD LOOK at an ACTUAL sample piece before you order it! When you cna actually find it, the quality varies wildly. Some looks wonderful, but the edges turn to unworkable fuzz when you cut it. Some cuts fine, but has too much wax on the surface -- used as a separating agent during the manufacturing process...and NO finish sticks to wax.

The local supplier I special order it from gets me stuff that's a compromise of each (wish I knew the brand name), but I have to buy a dozen sheets at a time...and the shipping/trucking costs will kill ya'! Just another reason why magic stuff ain't gettin' any cheaper.

For an individual, that 2mm Tileboard paneling is gonna be your best bet.

Dan Wolfe

I used the "bathroom board" very successfully to build Jim Steinmeyer's "Triumph Sudoku" from Technique and Understanding. I glued two panels back-to-back, and used one side for the Sudoku side and painted the other side with non-skid black paint, because I liked the finish. If you paint the painted side, though, be sure to sand it to give the paint something to cling to.

Just for the record, the Bathroom Board I was speaking of is NOT 2MM.
It is 1/8" thick, it is paintable with no wax coating and a scuffing of 220 would help but I never needed to as I used quality Sign Paints. I used this off the shelves for years with no prep, just painted on the surface and some of the signs are still up to this day!! That's been well over 25 years.
But times and manufacturing processes change over the years. So they may have switched up however I bought some from Home Depot just few years back. I still have not made it over there. I will look into it and see.
Chance

Masonite: Invented by accident in Johnstown PA at a newspaper printer.

Lunch: They left the steam running and the roll of paper unrolled in a flip-flop fashion, accordion style. After it dried they had a hard board.

Any saw blade can cut the tempered version but it's better with more teeth and when it's clean.

Jay,
Back in the day we called the white top coated substrate Masonite and that is what I have always called it but for some reason Lowes and Home Depot have another name for it. Their idea of Masonite is the non coated brown hardboard. I just did not want to confuse the Café folks.
I began using Masonite back in 1981 and found it to be the most cost effective product for indoor sign use.
I prefer a Freud 80 tooth carbide table saw blade when cutting...or of course an 1/8" carbide router blade and when using the CNC

Cool history lesson on the origin of Masonite!

I use my band saw with a fairly fine blade. It also works with a router, and a table saw very well. Really any good fine blade works.