Sheet Soft wood.

[Animalnutty]

Hi, I wonder if someone can help. I am looking for sheets of soft wood. This is for craft work, at the moment I have been using Empress wood sheets of about 7mm thick, but can only get them in a maximum of up to 15cm squares from craft suppliers and need something bigger. I haven't been able to source them from the sawmills I have tried because either they only supply in thicker than 1cm sheets or only supply hard wood or just aren't interested.

The size I am looking for is about A4 but can be much larger and cut to size, not looking for MDF or ply, want something that will take a stain and sand nicely and blend in when sanded with another piece of wood when joined. Ideally a nice finish but doesn't matter if it needs sanding. Can anyone help with any advice please. Thanks so much.

 

[Myfordman]

Solid pine A4 size and yet only 7mm thick is likely to bow, twist or split over time.
Try looking for pine veneered mdf or ply but be very careful not to sand through the veneer which will only be about 0.5mm thick.

 

[Animalnutty]

Solid pine A4 size and yet only 7mm thick is likely to bow, twist or split over time.
Try looking for pine veneered mdf or ply but be very careful not to sand through the veneer which will only be about 0.5mm thick.

Thanks very much for the reply. It can be up to 1cm, they are just a backing for something and have lasted well so far in the smaller sizes. They aren't going to be fill A4 size but will need nearly A4 size for the height for some pieces - they are odd sizes. I am using natural wood frames (handmade from little sockets where branches have rotted out of wood) and then using these as the backing but they are visible and part of the artwork. They have quite a wide frame of the main part of the frame supporting them that they are stuck too once sanded and fitted. Would that not prevent any bowing? The side view is important too as is part of the over all piece so was keen not to have any kind of veneer. Thanks again for your reply.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Sundeala might be worth a try. It's a sheet material made from recycled paper, and often used in pinboards and the like. It doesn't like getting wet (swells and falls apart) but otherwise seems to fit your specifications. Not necessarily cheap, though.

Here's one source - https://www.amazon.co.uk/sundeala/s?ie= ... 3Asundeala - but I'm sure a bit of searching on google will identify others.

 

[thetyreman]

I know you've said you don't want MDF, why must it be solid wood? without seeing the art, it's hard to understand, can you give us a visual reference or photo?

 

[AndyT]

I think your problem is that you want small quantities of something which is not offered commercially, at least, not in the usual places which sell wood, who are mostly geared up to support housebuilders and DIY.
The usual way round this is to buy thicker wood in a commercially stocked size and reduce the thickness. This can be done for a modest outlay by using a handplane. Would this make sense for you? Do you have a bench and any woodworking tools / experience? I suspect you could pick up offcuts for little or no money which you could adapt.

 

[Geoff_S]

It's not A4 but you mentioned gluing it together?

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/aca ... sheet.html

They do all sorts. I found them when I was looking for walnut dowel.

 

[Animalnutty]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I will try and figure out how to add pictures to see if that helps but definitely want it to be solid wood.

Andy, that does make sense. I am not experienced, well not with wood, my background is with metal (jewellery) and this is a new little project having not been able to make small fiddly jewellery for some time now due to side effects from chemo, so am working with bigger pieces of metal and the wood together. Am happy to learn though and absolutely love hand tools.

My only worry is on the time it will take me on already time consuming pieces, but I guess with anything like that you will get quicker at it as you get used to doing it? I just may need to bug you guys with more questions if I go down that route!

I only mentioned the A4 size as that is the biggest rough sheet outline that I would need, though none of the pieces are square, however it could come in a massive sheet. I did managed to find a very large sheet of pine yesterday, but they are a long way from me and won't deliver in small quantities due to the risk of thin sheet getting damaged. But does show there are some suppliers out there. Was commercial sized piece which is fine as can be cut down.

Thanks for the other links, the gluing I was talking about was for a front piece (the frame) to the back piece (the wood I am looking for) not pieces together, unfortunately that wouldn't work, needs to be a solid sheet, but thanks very much for the link, I really appreciate peoples ideas and help so much.