Good sturdy wood at 1/4" for cutting?

[Gary Berman]

My son has been given a job to cut 1/4" wooden dividers which include a 2 x 2 tab hanging off the divider. The designer would like stenciled letters cut through the tabs (a sample is at http://bit.ly/11VrWGK) which letters inside of a space about 1 x 1.5.

Can anyone recommend a wood sturdy enough that the tab is unlikely to break?

Thanks!

Gary

[Ray Beaty]

MDF would be strong

[Mike Null]

Most woods will work just fine if you orient the grain in the same direction as the tab.

[Mike Troncalli]

Why do they want the stenciled cutouts? I would think it would serve them better if it were engraved or even inlaid with a contrasting material. Both would help keep the integrity and strength of the material better.

[George M. Perzel]

Why not use plywood-strong, inexpensive, and available in many different wood facings.
Best Regards,Georg
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Laserarts

[Martin Boekers]

Check with George Perzel here at SMC as he sells a variety of woods.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

I would suggest, hands down, 6mm Baltic Birch Plywood. PM me if you need more info

[Rich Harman]

I have been using 5.2mm sandply from Home Depot. It's only $20 a sheet and cuts great.

[Larry Bratton]

Heck, I cut plain old 1/4" plywood from Lowes all the time, not the flatest stuff but they sell it in cut pieces, so you can pick through the rack. Price is definitely right too. I sell it to the folks that make these decorated large monograms. 10s/100p/500f -40 watt Epilog

[Kim Vellore]

Maybe you should recommend the designer to consider acrylic instead of wood. If it is a stencil, acrylic seems to be a better choice.
Kim

[Gary Berman]

Thank you all very much for the advice. We ended up going with the birch plywood. It worked perfectly!