Valchromat Board

[DoctorP]

Has anyone used this type of board to make jigs etc. and where is the best place in nw England to buy?

 

[Fidget]

I've made a few bits and pieces with valchromat which I bought off the evilbay, eg:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125367860441?hash=item1d3081bcd9:g:x~UAAOSwk5ZimkkQ

 

[Spectric]

If it is just for jigs then using MDF works fine, for worktops and boards for dogs then the Valchromate is a good option but harder to come by and more expensive.

Lathams is one supplier in Manchester Valchromat MDF Panels | Latham Timber

This gives an idea on price Valchromat Coloured Throughout MDF - Black 8' x 4' at £230 inc for an 8 by 4 sheet of 19mm ! and they are in Alttrincham

 

[Ollie78]

For jigs its probably not worth the expense, a decent MR MDF would probably do or even Birch ply if you want to get fancy.
Valchromat is mad money, not quite as much as tricoya but nearly.
Another alternative is plastic boards like HDPE/ UHMW or phenolic boards (resin and paper) all a bit expensive unless you find some offcuts.

Ollie

 

[Sideways]

Pretty sure that Atlantic Timber in Altrincham sell it.
It's costly but harder, denser than MDF and probably good for such as routing templates that you intend to keep and use often. I like it but not the cost and it's not a whole lot stronger than MRMDF. I think its value is really in functional furniture type uses where the range of colours and through colour is a benefit.
I once lucked out with one large offcut that I used for an electronics workbench top. I routed grooves around the edges with a round nose bit to stop small parts rolling off the edge. This worked well and looked smart.
The hardness might lend itself to use as a secondary fence on something like an alloy rip saw fence, but offcuts of "trespa" or similar are better for that as they're even denser and have a melamine surface.

 

[aforjeh]

I bought a full 8 by 4sheet of black valchromat in 19mm for a project in Jan 2022. Shopped around the NW, and James Latham was actually cheapest at £85+VAT (collection). That was the Leeds branch... sort of NW ish, or close enough for me anyway.

Make sure your dust collection is on point, it's 'easy' to work but generates loads of superfine black stuff that will coat everything in your town after one hit with a saw. Then you try routing an edge.....

 

[TRITON]

I bought a full 8 by 4sheet of black valchromat in 19mm for a project in Jan 2022. Shopped around the NW, and James Latham was actually cheapest at £85+VAT (collection). That was the Leeds branch... sort of NW ish, or close enough for me anyway.

Make sure your dust collection is on point, it's 'easy' to work but generates loads of superfine black stuff that will coat everything in your town after one hit with a saw. Then you try routing an edge.....

£85 is bloody cheap, its normally a lot more than that. Did you ask for customer returns or damaged boards ?, those sell discounted, and we can always trim around the damage which is usually the edges.

I'll keep them in mind. They've a place in lanarkshire to supply Glasgow

 

[steadyeddie]

I think Lathams are the main stockists of Valchromat. Any other stockists will most likely have bought it from James Latham and 'added a bit on '.

 

[aforjeh]

I think Lathams are the main stockists of Valchromat. Any other stockists will most likely have bought it from James Latham and 'added a bit on '.

£85 is bloody cheap, its normally a lot more than that. Did you ask for customer returns or damaged boards ?, those sell discounted, and we can always trim around the damage which is usually the edges.

I'll keep them in mind. They've a place in lanarkshire to supply Glasgow

Nah, they were just fresh retail. I just emailed them at an address from their website and they sent me a quote.

That said, the first board of the stack they trucked out to my van would have been a second as it had a corner chipped off, so they just gave me the next one on the stack.

I also bought 4 sheets of putin’s plywood from them at the same time.. some had a lot of wood filler on it (looked like diy shop stuff, not just the little butterfly patches) and two sheets had what appeared to be forklift tyre tracks running across them. I previously purchased ply from Hanson’s and the quality and packaging was far better. So price wise, lathams seem good, but check your goods well!!