Question about thin sheets of pine

[Dan White]

I'm looking for sheets of kiln dried pine that are as thin as possible, but not plywood. I've seen the 2'x4' boards, but they are 3/4" thick. Do they make such a thing maybe 1/4 or 1/8 inch thick, and if so where could I find them?

Thanks. Oh, this is for use with pet chinchillas, which cannot munch on plywood because the glue is toxic. The 2'x4' boards are OK to use as shelving as there is minimal glue. I'd like to construct some additional boxes and tunnels for them but want to make them very light weight.

Any suggestions are appreciated,

dwhite

[Toller]

I doubt you could find anything like that. They would be very unstable and pretty much useless to anyone without pet chinchillas.

Chinchillas are small animals; why do you need such big panels? You could probably have 10" wide pieces cut, though they wouldn't be cheap.

[Dan White]

Well, I wouldn't necessarily need 2'x4' sheets, although that would be a good size to cut down. I considered using thin plywood with solid pine moulding, but they chew so much that the moulding wouldn't last that long, and now you've got the plywood showing through. It's just not worth it...much better if I can get thin solid pine.

We have huge cages for them. Actually their enclosure is 8' square and over

6' high, so they're a bit spoiled. We make playthings to keep their minds occupied. I have access to a lot of cardboard boxes, so that's what we use mostly. You can do a lot things with cardboard. Anyway, they are about the size of a small rabbit, but they like to jump onto things, and they jump pretty high. If I had 10" boards cut down that might work - I could butt them together I suppose. But, like you say, it doesn't sound easy to do.

thanks, dwhite

[Roger Shoaf]

Use masonite. If chewing is a problem, glue a thin piece of sheet metal to the masonite.

[Dan White]

That's a thought. However, I need to see what kinds of wood go into masonite, plus the binder (wax?) could be a problem. Chins have sensitive digestive systems, and you really have to watch what they get their paws on. Apple branches are fine, peach branches are toxic, for example. Oak is bad, poplar, aspen, kiln dried pine are fine. Sheet metal is also kind of a no-no.

If they made a pine masonite with little or no binder, then we're talking!

dwhite

[Max]

I routinely re-saw 10" wide X 3/4" thick pieces of Eastern white pine for a variety of projects. I use a Delta 14" band saw (w/riser) I then "double stick" tape them to another piece of wood and run them through a planer to smooth them. The final thickness is most often about 5/16". You should be able to find someone in your vicinity who would be willing to do the job.

Max

[Nova]

See:

[Toller]

Masonite is a mix of fine wood chips and glue. I would think it was much worse than plywood.

[Dan White]

Actually the info I've found online says there is no glue. The wood fibers are held together by high pressure and 1% paraffin wax. There is probably more than one formulation for masonite, or masonite-like products.

thanks, dwhite

[Dan White]

Thanks Max and Nova. I guess I should have added the other important variable - it has to be relatively cheap as these are pretty much disposable items (6 months lifetime maybe). Of course finding exactly what you want for the price you want isn't often possible.

Thanks aga> > I'm looking for sheets of kiln dried pine that are as thin as possible, but

[Max]

That's worth bookmarking!! Thanks

Max

[Michael Faurot]

If you're not married to pine, one option that occurs to me is to look in the big box stores where they keep the oak and poplar. I believe both Home Depot and Lowes have a section where they've got poplar boards that are thinner than 3/4".

Another thought that occurs to me, is to go to the craft stores like Michaels. They've got some thin stock there for model purposes. I know some of it is plywood, but I think of some it might also be balsa or boxwood.

I believe you also mention that these things are disposable. So if you're going to have to do this frequently, you may just want to invest in a planer and then you can dimension your stock however thin you need to. The planer will likely pay for itself on what you'll save by dimensioning your own stuff. Add a bandsaw to the mix and then you can resaw your stock first, and then run it through the planer.

[Doug Brown]

[Dan White]

It kinda has to be pine, or one of the others. Poplar would work, but I haven't found that at HD before. They do have aspen, which is plenty thin, but it isn't wide enough. I really was looking for inexpensive panels. It doesn't seem like it exists, unless I make my own it seems.

Thanks for the suggestions. dwhite

[Dan White]

Well I hadn't thought of that. I guess it is worth a call, although balsa wouldn't work in this application.

Thanks, dwhite

[Roger Shoaf]

The sheet metal is to keep the little rodents from eating the masonite.

They should be OK with casual contact on the sheet metal as galvanized steel is common material for rodent cages.

Tunnels? Get some galvinized down spout. If you are concerned about the sharp edges you can have a sheet metal shop put a nice rolled edge on them

If your idea is to give them something to chew on, supply some sort of chewy thing for them like a dog toy or something.

[Dan White]

Common, yes, but not good for their teeth. They tend to knaw on the bars in those little prisons constantly. You have to remember, these are not our pet rodents. I call them our "chinchildren." lol Here's the kind of nutty people you're talking to:

is OT, but the best tunnels for a chin are found in the carpet department at Home Depot. You can just take the cardboard tubes, which are OK to chew. The two biggest problems with chin health are digestion and teeth. If those are kept in good condition, the chin can live 15 years or so.

thanks, dwhite

[Michael Faurot]

Every Home Depot I've ever been to, and that's in multiple different states, all have an area where they keep oak and poplar baords. I haven't been in as many Lowes, but they typically have it too.

[Dan White]

Yes, HD has poplar, and lot's of it. I believe I was referring to thin (1/4" or less) sheets or even boards of poplar. They do have thin aspen, but the boards are too small for my use. Sorry for not being more clear.

dwhite