[SoundMate]

I have an old chest container whose main construction material I am
trying to identify in an attempt to source more of it for a crafts
project. The material is only 1mm thick, flexible, resilient and
strong, bending well around sharp 90 & 180 degree turns. It appears to
be a kind of dense fibreboard. Here are some photos of the said
container:

http://s380.photobucket.com/albums/oo249/buljing/Trunk/

The chest has the remnants of a label on it but all I can make out of
this are the words 'container' and 'chester' (the UK place name of the
business who made it I assume), the rest was probably torn away about
20 years ago or so by me and/or my kid brother when it was used as our
toy box. If anyone can suggest a business that may have constructed
such a container then that may prove useful.

I'd also like to work with the same kind of crimped pins so if anyone
can suggest a name for these that would be appreciated. Any insight
would be great as so far the only material I've found that has similar
properties is cardboard but this does not have the same level of
durability that I need.

Chris

[Dave]

SoundMate wrote:
I have an old chest container whose main construction material I am
trying to identify in an attempt to source more of it for a crafts
project. The material is only 1mm thick, flexible, resilient and
strong, bending well around sharp 90 & 180 degree turns. It appears to
be a kind of dense fibreboard. Here are some photos of the said
container:

http://s380.photobucket.com/albums/oo249/buljing/Trunk/

The chest has the remnants of a label on it but all I can make out of
this are the words 'container' and 'chester' (the UK place name of the
business who made it I assume), the rest was probably torn away about
20 years ago or so by me and/or my kid brother when it was used as our
toy box. If anyone can suggest a business that may have constructed
such a container then that may prove useful.

I'd also like to work with the same kind of crimped pins so if anyone
can suggest a name for these that would be appreciated. Any insight
would be great as so far the only material I've found that has similar
properties is cardboard but this does not have the same level of
durability that I need.

Try a google for leatherette. I just might be what you are looking for.
It has a soft plastic face, through which you can see the backing weave
like your photos show and the inside might look like a very thin layer
of felt. Very soft to the touch.

Dave

[Dave Liquorice[_2_]]

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:50:09 +0100, Dave wrote:

Try a google for leatherette. I just might be what you are looking for.

I don't think so, I know the stuff in that picture, tough, hard
wearing and strong, as the OP says it's a dense fibre board of some
sort. It was used extensively for storage boxes and the like perhaps
up to the 60's or 70's at a push.

What the stuff is actually called I haven't a clue.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Bill[_18_]]

It looks to me like what I used to call "Vulcanised cardboard". I had an
old school case made of something of similar colour and looks, and it's
still in one piece storing some papers in the shed and usable. "n"
years later!

I'm not sure if this is the same sort of stuff

http://www.rhnuttall.co.uk/Materials...sed_Fibre.html
--
Bill

[Rod]

SoundMate wrote:
I have an old chest container whose main construction material I am
trying to identify in an attempt to source more of it for a crafts
project. The material is only 1mm thick, flexible, resilient and
strong, bending well around sharp 90 & 180 degree turns. It appears to
be a kind of dense fibreboard. Here are some photos of the said
container:

http://s380.photobucket.com/albums/oo249/buljing/Trunk/

The chest has the remnants of a label on it but all I can make out of
this are the words 'container' and 'chester' (the UK place name of the
business who made it I assume), the rest was probably torn away about
20 years ago or so by me and/or my kid brother when it was used as our
toy box. If anyone can suggest a business that may have constructed
such a container then that may prove useful.

I'd also like to work with the same kind of crimped pins so if anyone
can suggest a name for these that would be appreciated. Any insight
would be great as so far the only material I've found that has similar
properties is cardboard but this does not have the same level of
durability that I need.

Chris



Quite possibly some form of mill board. Unfortunately for
identification, there are many different types and I do not know enough
to help further. A particularly tough form called tar board was made
from old naval ropes.

A little bit of information he

http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/papier/vollpapp/vollpapp.htm

--
Rod

[The Natural Philosopher[_2_]]

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:50:09 +0100, Dave wrote:

Try a google for leatherette. I just might be what you are looking for.

I don't think so, I know the stuff in that picture, tough, hard
wearing and strong, as the OP says it's a dense fibre board of some
sort. It was used extensively for storage boxes and the like perhaps
up to the 60's or 70's at a push.

What the stuff is actually called I haven't a clue.

PRBP? phenolic resin bonded paper? used in circuit boards..until modern
epoxy came along, and glass fibre

It was the fiberglass of its day. In the dayes when phenolic resin was
the answer to everything..bakelite, formica, melamine IIRC, ebonite etc.

It's what used to give electronics That Awful Smell when they overheated..


If it looks like fabric, it may n fact be just that - cotton or linen
impregnated with phenolic resin.

[Jon Fairbairn]

The Natural Philosopher writes:

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:50:09 +0100, Dave wrote:

Try a google for leatherette. I just might be what you are looking for.

I don't think so, I know the stuff in that picture, tough, hard
wearing and strong, as the OP says it's a dense fibre board of some
sort. It was used extensively for storage boxes and the like perhaps
up to the 60's or 70's at a push.

What the stuff is actually called I haven't a clue.

PRBP? phenolic resin bonded paper?

I don't think so. The stuff pictured looks to me like the stuff that the
output bins in the computer lab were made of. I'm not sure about PRBP,
but the SRBP that I used to use was much harder and stiffer than the
material of the output bins, which really were like some sort of
improved cardboard. I'd suspect it of being cardboard that was surface
impregnated with a synthetic resin, which I suppose would be PRIP??

Also, I have somewhere a canvas and PRBF dispatch case from my uncle in
WW2; this also isn't like the OP's stuff.

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)

[Dave Liquorice[_2_]]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:17:45 +0100, Bill wrote:

It looks to me like what I used to call "Vulcanised cardboard". I had an
old school case made of something of similar colour and looks, and it's
still in one piece storing some papers in the shed and usable. "n"
years later!

I'm not sure if this is the same sort of stuff

http://www.rhnuttall.co.uk/Materials...sed_Fibre.html

Certainly seems to fit the bill, Bill. I don't think it's based on
phenolic resin as that tends to be brittle and this stuff isn't
brittle.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[SoundMate]

Thank you all for your input, it is most insightful and much
appreciated. Thanks loads for the link Bill, this is the closest thing
to a supply have.

After a bit of research, I came across a few suppliers who are still
selling products which appear identical(ish) to my elusive container.
This one:

http://www.esedirect.co.uk/store.asp?item=CA00001

calls this material 'Resin Bonded Fibreboard' in the catalogue. I've
also found a couple of bespoke container makers who appear to use the
same stuff.

The stuff from RH Nuttall does appear to be a bit different as it is a
vulcanised product but hopefully with a bit of experimentation I'll
achieve the results I'm after. I only hope they can supply me with
small enough amounts.

Chris

[Dave]

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:50:09 +0100, Dave wrote:

Try a google for leatherette. I just might be what you are looking for.

I don't think so, I know the stuff in that picture, tough, hard
wearing and strong, as the OP says it's a dense fibre board of some
sort. It was used extensively for storage boxes and the like perhaps
up to the 60's or 70's at a push.

What the stuff is actually called I haven't a clue.

I know what you mean now and I can't remember what it was called.
It was the use of the word flexable that pushed me down the road towards
leatherette.

Dave

[Dave Liquorice[_2_]]

On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:03:32 -0700 (PDT), SoundMate wrote:

http://www.esedirect.co.uk/store.asp?item=CA00001

calls this material 'Resin Bonded Fibreboard' in the catalogue.

But "plastic" on the web page. I'd not trust plastic to be anything
like as durable as our mystery material.

The stuff from RH Nuttall does appear to be a bit different as it is a
vulcanised product ...

I wouldn't get hung up on the word "vulcanised". It normally refers
to natural rubber heat and sulphur but can also refer to similar
processes that harden other materials:

vulcanize

verb (used with object), -ized, -iz?ing.

1. to treat (rubber) with sulfur and heat, thereby imparting
strength, greater elasticity, durability, etc.

2. to subject (a substance other than rubber) to some analogous
process, as to harden it.

Also, especially British, vulcanise.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Chris_W]

Yeah I'm guessing that the webpage is using loose terminology there as
I've seen a number of outlets selling the same product and using
different descriptions (but they all use the same catalogue page). I'd
be interested to know what company actually manufactures those
containers.

As for vulcanise, whether it's accurate or not, I'm comforted to know
how and what they use to make this fibreboard.