What Material for a Blackboard?

Lots of possibilities from painted fabric covered corkboard so that you can also stick pins in it, to painted steel that you can affix things to with magnets, to painted masonite glued straight to the wall. If you need something stronger, then maybe a sheet of MDF will do the job.

Many hardware outlets sell ready made blackboard and whiteboard sheets - generally Masonite - that you don't need to paint.

Why not just buy some sheets of foamcore and tack those on the wall.

That way you can easily remove them when your done.

If you need to change the drawing on the board just glue a layer of paper over the old.

Why not just plaster over the existing bricks?

Slap a coat of paint directly onto the plaster.

Plaster sticks to my fur.

I'm not that good at plastering... at least not until I've practiced on a couple of walls.

Del

Something I did in a board room at my office was to install and hang a piece of tempered glass on the wall. it worked like a dry erase white board and you could erase any markings once done. You could even permanently etch the surface if desired. It would be just as easy to have the surface behind the glass black or any other colour you choose. Relatively cheap for the glass and brackets to hang. The framing and drywall or other choice is something you would have to do on site.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Glass-Dry-Erase-Board/

If you lived here in the States I'd suggest sanded Marine-grade plywood (AB Marine Grade). It's dimensionally stable, resists dampness, easily workable, relatively inexpensive, and will take a variety of types of paint. Since it's commonly sold in 4 x 8 foot sheets it will probably be large enough for your needs. You could bolt it to the wall with wall anchors or mount it on a frame however you need.

You might not want to procrastinate too long. The world may run out of marine grade plywood in another 1000 years or so.

It's England. They don't any 4 x 8 foot sheets over there.

And they drive lorries, that burn petrol whatever that is.

Yeah, the "Location: Harlow England" is a pretty good clue about that...

They do have plywood that is 1220 x 2440 mm, which is 4' 0.031" x 8' 0.063". So he'll just have to cut off that extra 0.031 x 0.063 inches.

Lorries burned derv when I lived there.

We do too have 8x4 they just call it some dumb ass name like

1220X2440MM

Slaps furry head with paw!
Del

Some petrols can cause plastering. Why not paint the wall white and project a graph on the wall? That way, the projector can provide entertainment with a tall glass of petrol during slack time.

I was going to suggest a sheet of Lexan. Then you could change the background for different profiles or project bow's with different curves by material or construction technique. Just a thought. You could use dry erase markers, as well as erase anything you write on the screen.

It would appear that anything you use will need to be able to have brackets fixed in order to support the bow during tensioning, and to allow for easy relocation of said brackets for the next project, so that would likely eliminate any of the more flimsy options.

I remain with my MDF suggestion, possibly 1" thick to give reasonable screw penetration.

Purchasing from a distributor or cabinet maker rather than a retail outlet is normally a cheaper option.

The bow mounting is already catered for, the board will just go on the wall with a cut out to go round the bow mount.

Del

In that case the thickness of the blackboard will be constrained by the capacity of the existing brackets to allow the bow to move away from the wall.

... yes, I know, the bracket is well away from the wall as it has to allow for primitive bows with limbs up to 2" wide....
I could accommodate anything from about 0-12 mm with no promblem. I'm just wondering if anyone has ideas for something cheap and with a good surface....

Stuff zero mm thick is a tad too flimsy tho'

Del

With OSB I just go over it with a filler (Pollyfiller?), let it dry, sand it once and paint it twice. Very hard wearing. I have surfaces in the house 15 years old with no problems whatsoever....

I used car body filler the first time, EXTRA VERY hard wearing!! But more work with the sander....

2440x1220x25mm MDF B&Q £35/sheet. Seal (2 coats) both sides, edges, and any fixing holes, so the board does not absorb moisture and warp. Fine sand the front to provide a key before adding blackboard paint

£35 (flump thud... falls of chair)

Del
(you gotta remember I'm a cheapskate avid believer in recycling or improvising with less expensive materials)

It's birds that are supposed to go cheep not cats. OK Here is a slightly more risky solution. Hint (very, very, gently) that Mrs Cat could do with loosing a few pounds. If you survive the hint she will instantly go on a diet, and you will go on a diet, if fact the whole household will go on a diet. They can't do cooking nice unhealthy fatty food for you while not eating it themselves. The cash you save on food will buy your blackboard.

If you are a scared-y-cat, or are running short on your allotted nine, a 3x2 frame on the wall, nail on old floor boards from a builders skip, and a lot of power sanding to get it flat.

If you're real cheap you ask the local wood supplier if they have any cover sheets. When stacks of ply or MDF are delivered they often have a thin ply sheet on top for protection. Last time I wanted one I got it for nothing.

Woo, good call. I'll give it a go next time my daught' is around in her little Suzuki Carry van "Binky"

Del

What about a dry erase board they are cheap.

OSB is cheap, strong and very stable.

Paint it white or black and then put a sort of "Graph Paper" design on it to catch those bows where one side is weaker/stronger than the other.....and other statistics....

Use colours that photograph well....to allow reference at a later date.

You even might be able to do a slow motion video and have an arrow, or some weight to simulate that and see how quickly the bow "straightens" against the background......

You certainly have some interesting ideas, many thanks!

Good point, what colours are best for phoyography, I'm guessing white and black are a bit extreme...?

Magnolia I prob' have some of that left over.

Del

LOL!!

What is "phoyography"?

That shows you are using an English keyboard, I have a "Z" next to the "T"!!

I made a back board for a dartboard from 1/2" ply (12mm) painted it matt black for the chalk scores and
it has lasted 25+ years corner screwed to the wall. Buy a piece "good one side" and it can be very cheap.
(the other side usually has minor defects in the grain, etc. of no consequence.)

I'm not keen on block board but if it's cheaper and fits what you want....

jt.

In the recent Australian general election the main concern was about the number
of illegal immigrants there are. Government sources suggest it could be around 60,000.
Aboriginal sources say it's more like twenty two million.

It doesn't matter what I do or say, I told the wife, I'm always wrong in your eyes.
That's not true, she said.

The cheapest and strongest type of ply is what we call form board. It used to form up concrete walls etc. A lot is used in bridge and roadway construction, hence that is why it is cheap . Even if you don't want to steal it, the contractors may give you a bit for free when you tell them what it is for. There even may be a CR4 civil bloke nearby who can help.
Jim

How about a sheet of hardie board(cement backer board). Would be like a plastered wall. Usually at least here as cheap or cheaper then a sheet of plywood.

I recently turned a leftover piece of used subfloor into a blackboard. I filled the cracks and knots, sanded it down, and gave it several coats of blackboard paint.

Once you choose the type of board, another important choice will be the type of paint. Choose a good quality product so you can erase thoroughly between projects. I did three thin coats of Disney's Great Slate chalkboard paint. It came out really smooth. One thing to note is that some paints (like the one I used) require you to wait a certain amount of time before using chalk on the surface. Others require you to color over the whole surface with a piece of chalk and then erase to "prep" it.

In this case, it pays to read the directions!

I was thinking of a sheet of something here in the Colonies that we call "Masonite". I believe the generic name is HDF or high density fibreboard. It's very hard and has a surface as smooth as a baby's behind (who ever came up with THAT expression?). Give it a light sanding and a couple of coats of chalkboard paint and all's good.

And now for something completely off-topic. The metric system is great for scientists but the old imperial English system of measurements is human based, and therefore intuitively understandable. Also, many of those measurements are divisible by two and easier to work with. 4 x 8 plywood, 16 inch centers, 24 inch centers and so on. What's a centimeter? Well, it's 1/100 of an arbitrary length nobody can relate to. What's an inch? It's about the length of a knuckle on your finger. Similarly for foot. The divide by two thing for volumes, like gallon, quart, pint and cup. What'd all say that we go down and get us 500 ml of ale? Yuck. I'll 'ave a pint please.

Blast shields deployed captain, aye.

Cheers all, some useful ideas there.

Not sure I understand the "read the directions" tho'

Del

I worked in the motion picture industry for a while and my suggestion would be to build a 4' X 8' frame from 1" X 3" and cover it with 1/4" or 3/8" MDF.

A typical SET wall is comprised of the materials listed above except we would use a plywood made specifically for SET walls. We called it 1/4" LUAN PLY. It was lightweight, held glue and staples well and was already primed on one side.

MDF is a better choice for your application.

1. Attach MDF to your frame with 1/4" crown staples 1" long using a small pneumatic staple gun and glue on the frame face.
2. Fill the staple holes with the lightweight spackling compound and sand lightly.
3. Prime the MDF exposed face, let dry and sand lightly.
4. Apply the "Blackboard" paint and possibly a second coat.
5. Affix your bow holding devices.
6. If you need more support for the screws then attach a backing block or plate on the backside of the MDF.

We would use this technique to hang fully operational cabinets to the walls that we made and would support them without issue. If you want to learn how to make a "Scenery wall", try Youtube and search for "How to make a SET or SCENERY wall". The video should walk you through the process fairly well.

Good luck DEL, and try to keep the glue out of your FUR!