Choice of Planks.

[Mr.Marx]

Hey all.

I want to finaly get myself a proper full sized wargames table but have been stumped by the choice of planks to use. By planks, I mean the wooden sheets that the rest of the board lies upon.

By two choices are either;
4' by 2' 6mm thick MDF (£7.50 each, so £22.50 for a 6' by 4' table) or 4' by 2' 3mm thick Hardboard (£3.50 each, so £10.50 for the table).

I want to go with the hardboard as its half the cost, but im not sure if a 3mm thick peice will be strong enough to support models where it will overhang the kitchen table.

I was just wondering what everyone else uses. Any advice is helpfull.

Ta

Marx

[gamer Mac]

You could build wooden supports for the 3 mm stuff that would still keep the cost down also the weight.

[Silent Invader]

I want to go with the hardboard as its half the cost, but im not sure if a 3mm thick peice will be strong enough to support models where it will overhang the kitchen table.

My own experience is that even the 6mm MDF will flex when there's an overhang. 

I made a small 2m square board from 6mm MD; it overhung my dining table resulting in a rise to the centre.  Whether or not the rise noticed depended on the surface terrain being used.... roads/rivers etc would have an obvious misalignment.  I've heard that 12mm mdf doesn't suffer the same problem though didn't test it myself, as I thought the combined weight and shape would be pain when moving it around.

I use thick foam insulation panels now.

[Mason]

I used 9mm MDF for mine (4'x4') as I found that 6mm was too flexible.

I bought two 4'x2' boards (because a 4'x4' would not fit in the car!) and an eight foot length (subsequently cut in half) of 2''x1'' to join them and act as a support that is fixed to grip the side of my kitchen table to stop it slipping about during play. Total cost of materials from timber yard=£11

It was then covered in a textured wallpaper and painted;
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=30667.30

This works fine but maybe the 9mm thickness would be too heavy for some if the board was bigger than this.

Hope this helps.

[Sangennaru]

I've seen many Styrene tables: linghter, and they don't bend.

MDF is fine, but it will warp with its own weight, with the models (and scenery) weight, and with umidity!

[Hammers]

I built my 60x60cm square modules with 6cm XPS (pink foam) glued to 5mm MDF Everything is held together in a frame.

MDF will work on it's own if you choose at least 9mm but the boarrds are sp goddamn heavy. If you are  going for light  I suggest hardboard with a supporting framework underneath.