Phenolic

[Gary Warren]

Does anyone have a good inexpensive source for phenolic boards in 1/4" and 3/8" thicknesses? I need it among other things to make the "3 in 1 Multi tool" portable router table from the ShopNotes No. 90 issue. Looks like it would be a handy portable tool to move around versus my big table.

[fred woltersdorf]

i bought some from mcmaster carr, type in phenolic in the search box.they carry lots of different types.http://www.mcmaster.com/

[Tommy Emmons]

Wilsonart used to make the phenolic boards that you are interested in purchasing. They have since outsourced that to a company called Arborite. I do not have a contact for them, but I am sure a Google search will give you a contact at Arborite. I made my miter saw/ router table out of 3/8" phenolic board and my workbench out of 1/2" phenolic board. It works great. One side is white and I use that as my giant scratch pad.

[Jim Becker]

I've been looking at the Garolite product to make ZCI for my new MM saw. But one thing is clear to me...there is no such thing as "inexpensive" phenolic!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I have a catalog from US Plastics. But I have not (yet) ordered anything from them. Here's a linky

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=79&Page=1

-Jeff :)

[Jim Becker]

Jeffrey, McMaster Carr is less expensive than US Plastics it appears...unless I'm reading things wrong.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Phenolic toilet partitions are now very common. Unfortunately, they are only available in 1/2" thickness. Check yellow pages for a commercial hardware supplier who might sell these (HD does). Often one will be wrong size, doesn't fit, or get damaged. These should be available at a reduced price. Just my thoughts.

[Brad Townsend]

Unless you are located deep in rural America away from industry, you can probably find what you are looking for at a local industrial plastics supplier. I am fortunate to have two of them within 15 miles of me and they are more than willing to sell me whatever I need at less cost than I can order it for off the net. Try looking under "plastics" in your yellow pages.

[Frank Lopez]

What is the difference between phelonic and solid countertop surface materials like corian? I would think you could pick up sink cut outs for next to nothing. Most are throw in the trash.

[Jim Becker]

Frank, the phenolic material is stronger than solid surface which is important for certain applications where there is unsupported spans or the material must be thin. My ZCI situation is like that on the MM S315 saw....it's a long piece that is essentially unsupported on one side for about 28". I can keep that side thicker, but have to mill out the rest to about 3/16" thick. Phenolic CE is the recommended material for this application.