"John Doe" wrote in message ...

PVC board! I just noticed PVC board at the local hardware store.

Apparently it's solid material. So it can be cut, routed, etc.

It looks very inexpensive compared to some other plastics, for stock.

Do they sell it in dimensions like a 2 x 4? I need at least 1 1/2 inch
thick by at least 3 inches wide.

Thanks.
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Assuming you are in the US, the best way to begin any "I wonder what's
available and how much it costs?" search for stock is to go to
www.mcmaster.com and browse. That way you find out what materials are
available and in what size ranges, and you get a price point. They have a
great selection and awesome service; if you are within 100 miles or so of a
warehouse and order by 5 PM you usually have it the next day by UPS ground.
If you need a small quantity and need it next day, just order it because
beating that price and delivery without having to meet a minimum order
quantity is going to be tough and you will spend more in your labor than you
will save. If you can buy wholesale in medium quantity from a materials
distributor (Total Plastics, a local steel company, etc.), you can usually
beat their price by a factor of 2-3 but will need an account, usually have
to spend more than some minimum like $75-125 per order, and delivery will be
anywhere from next day to a week. In this case, search for pvc, then click
on type I pvc in the results box (unless you need type II), then click
sheets and bars if necessary, and look. I see 1.5" x 3" in lengths of 1, 2,
3, or 4' at $32/foot. At the top of the page there is a link "more about
plastics", and below that another link to properties, if you want to see the
specs on different plastics. You can also select type II pvc instead of
type I and see those specs. As far as I'm concerned mcmaster has the best
ecommerce web site going, for searchability and just general ability to find
stuff, so always start a "what if" there. As an example, in my previous job
I bought a lot of plastic from the closest Sabic Polymershapes office in
Jessup, MD, including having 2-4 4x8' sheets per order, 2-3 orders per year,
of 1/2" thick type I pvc sawed to my dimensions of 3" x 5" and 3" x 7" so we
could machine products from them. I forget the exact numbers but including
paying to have it cut it was about 3x cheaper than mcmaster carr, free
delivery included via their truck instead of paying UPS, and we still would
have had to cut the mcmaster material up ourselves. So, if you want one 4'
piece, order from mcmaster. If you need lots and lots, check your yellow
pages to see how close a Sabic Polymershapes (Sabic bought the GE Polymers
division) or Total Plastics is, and call them for a quote.

-----
Regards,
Carl Ijames