Hard Board?

[Sean Troy]

Hi all, I'm making my daughter a Jewlery Box and one of the things the plans call for is a piece of Hard Board. It calls for a piece 1/8" x 24 x24. Are they talking about MDF or what? thanks, Sean

[Jason Roehl]

No--MDF is lower density than hard board. Hard board is the material from which peg board is typically made.

[Sean Troy]

No--MDF is lower density than hard board. Hard board is the material from which peg board is typically made.
Thank you for your help. Sean

[Jason Roehl]

A.K.A. "HDF":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-density_fiberboard

[John McClanahan]

Also known as Masonite.

[ray hampton]

why don't the companies product a hardboard that are 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick

[Raymond Fries]

Sounds like a piece for the bottom. I would go to a hobby store and buy a piece of 5 ply birch plywood. It is used for model aircraft construction.

[Carl Babel]

Hardboard is usually smoother than plywood, which might be why it is called for in this project.
I would look for tempered hardboard, which will resist water damage much better than the untempered hardboard.

[Keith Christopher]

big box store have it as well.

[Larry Burgess]

Where can I purchase 1/4 inch hard board for making templates and jigs?

[Lee Schierer]

why don't the companies product a hardboard that are 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick

As I recall, the process for making it requires tremendous pressure and heat and there are limitations on how thick you can make it.

[Wayne Lomman]

Two different products here with overlapping names. Hardboard is typically up to 6mm thick, glossy one one side and textured on the other, extremely dense and can be dark coloured. Hardboard can be tempered as already mentioned and also in non-conducting grades for switch panels etc.

HDF is a high density version of MDF that is more commonly 16-20mm thick and is as heavy as compressed cement sheet and can be used similarly. It is smooth both sides and can be worked with TCT tools with considerable effort. As I said, the names overlap in practice so one has to speak to suppliers carefully to get the one you want.

In your case Sean, ply would do the same job. MDF could be a bit flimsy. Cheers

[Jim Becker]

Old thread....'just sayin'... :)

[Wayne Lomman]

Thanks for the reminder that senility may be around the corner...! Cheers

[Ted Phillips]

As long as we are on the subject...

I bought a sheet of High Density Overlay (HDO) recently - and used if for a work table. Very interesting stuff. My 4'x8'x3/4" sheet is a plywood core with a thin 1/16" HDF ply on each side. Each sheet is very heavy and very smooth on the surface. They use similar sheet goods for highway signs and concrete forms. Works great for table tops where I want the surface to be smooth and durable.

Anyone else have any experience with HDO?