Where do you get your laser materials?

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#1

Up 'till now I’ve been buying my plywood from Hobarts. The price for the materials isn’t unreasonable, but the shipping cost increases pretty quick, and then that total price gets bumped up 20% at checkout (VAT on the shipping costs…?)

The last batch of ply I got from them was mostly warped, with many repair patches sprinkled throughout. I’ve been shopping around for ages trying to find a better supplier, and I’m interested in branching out into other materials like acrylic.

I’ve exhausted the options listed on our suppliers wiki – most either don’t seem to sell materials any more (only jobs cut to customer specifications) or have a very limited selection of ply thicknesses. I’ve also turned my brain to pudding over two days and 10 websites comparing materials selection, sheet sizes, thicknesses and shipping costs, and I have yet to find a clear winner.

Does anyone have a supplier they personally recommend?

#2

Ask @petra – who runs the laser shop

And @StudioNelle who knows a lot of suppliers too

Anyone else?

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#3

Hi, I order ply wood from Slec. I’ve found a new shop that seems cheaper than Hobarts but now can’t remember, will post about that one later. Hamar does 1£ offcuts of various sizes.

I am just about to place an order of ply wood to the lasershop. We will be stocked in most thicknesses from 2-12mm on ply, 3 and 5mm on acrylic.

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#4

Thanks Petra, you’re the greatest :+1:

#5

I’ve bought mostly on eBay, but only on suppliers that seem to have good feedback and materials that are clearly designated as laser-safe (not any random piece of ply/MDF). Never had any quality issues, but it’s mostly been small jobs.

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#6

Is Hindley’s on your list? Good old school D&T supplier

https://www.hindleys.com

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#7

The 4D Modelshop in Whitechapel sells an interesting array of materials, I think - probably more plastics than ply.

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