Lessons learned working with cork

[Lee Schierer]

I was asked to make a couple of bulletin boards to go on the back of some doors in the church welcome center. The deign called for two 18 x 24 framed cork boards. I was able to order the 3/8" x 24" x 36" sheet cork I needed from Cleverbrand (Nu-Sourceinc.com) near Buffalo, NY. Since it came as on 2' x 3' sheet, the first order of business was to cut it into two pieces. One edge needed to be squared up so I cut it on the table saw however the edge wanted to lift up as I made the cut, so I was concerned about problems when cutting the sheet in half. I tried cutting a piece of scrap with a sharp knife and the cork wanted to stick to the blade and crumble a bit. I decided to set up a straight edge that clamped the piece to a table extension and to use the semi-circular scraper blade that came with my oscillating tool. I was able to cut a very clean line across the sheet with no sawdust and no crumbling at all. It was just la very quick smooth cut.

I was advise by the manufacturer rep that I spoke with to glue the cork with a backer board to provide stiffness and to prevent long term sagging. I glued the cork to the 1/4" backer plywood with 3M 777 spray adhesive. The glue up went very well.

The contact person for the church was interested in having darker cork, but again the sales rep guided me away from that. He did provide several sample pieces for me to try different stains on so I could see the effect. What I observed was that when the stain was applied there were some areas that were darker than others so the overall effect was a bit blotchy.

Here are the finished bulletin boards. They will be delivered and installed on Tuesday.
481230

[Bill Dufour]

Not really sure what it is but schools use some kind of drywall with fabric glued to the front. It allows pins and staples to hold and be removed with very little showing of the holes. Similar to the old time burlap wall plaster.
Bill D

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A very nice job Lee. I think the product Bill is referring to is Homasote.

[Bill Dufour]

A very nice job Lee. I think the product Bill is referring to is Homasote.

I do not think so. That is a lightweight cellulose product. The stuff i mean is rated for fire spread in schools. costs a good bit more then drywall. I think it comes already painted.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

I wonder how the click to install cork flooring would work for bulletin boards?
Bill D

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I do not think so. That is a lightweight cellulose product. The stuff i mean is rated for fire spread in schools. costs a good bit more then drywall. I think it comes already painted.
Bill D

More like this stuff? I have used something similar to line chimney chases in restaurants. The stuff was not real fun to work with.

481266

[Frank Pratt]

I think Bill is onto something. A course weave fabric of the desired color could be glued to the face of the cork. You'd never have to work about bits of chipped out cork spoiling the look in time.

[Lee Schierer]

I think Bill is onto something. A course weave fabric of the desired color could be glued to the face of the cork. You'd never have to work about bits of chipped out cork spoiling the look in time.

I had suggested a cloth covering but it was rejected.

Just a note those soft fiber bulletin boards start to fail if you place too many tacks or push pins in the same area.

[Frank Pratt]

I've seen boards that are faced with sisal fabric, no the super course stiff with the thick threads about 1/8" apart, but a somewhat finer weave that's still far courser than fabric use for clothes. It is super tough and would way outlast the cork. It's attractive too.