Custom-cut masonite?

[Seedling]

I love masonite as a support for oil paints. The last time I went shopping for masonite, I went to Home Depot and hung around until someone had time to carve up a giant board into 80 or 90 little rectangles for me. The boards were all a bit irregular, some varying widely by the six by eight inches I wanted, but whatever- they were cheap – just the price of the board, which was maybe $20, if I remember correctly. The guy who did the cutting waved the cutting price for me because I let everyone with more simple cutting orders go first.

My supply is running low, so I called up Home Depot to check on that cutting price. It’s four dollars a slice, they tell me! Jesus Christ on a stick, that puts my order at over $400! And on top of that, they don’t cut anything under ten inches, so I couldn’t pay them that arm and leg if I wanted to.

I’ve been scouring the area for lumber yards, and I’ve had some people over the phone scratch their heads and tell me they don’t know where I can have this done. I’ve got a couple more places to call that are annoyingly far away, and I’ve got an art supply wholesale place to try, but they only sell precut boards that are more costly and not quite the size that I want.

Do any of you have suggestions on where I could have masonite cut to specific dimensions for a reasonable price? Is it possible to have this thing ordered over the internet?

Thanks. . .

[Eric Lofgren]

You could try a local custom furniture maker nearby. They use masonite a lot as back boards for cabinets and they may have numerous small little cut off pieces that they can't use that they would want to get rid of. Also, they could probably at least do the cutting for you on a new sheet. For a fee, likely, but maybe not at 4.00 bucks per cut.

There's also Dick Blick. They may carry small masonite panels for order.

And in fact, they do. Just had a quick look at their site- http://www.dickblick.com/zz149/45/

[DSillustration]

Just go back to Home Depot and try it again.
Really, it's at the discretion of whomever is cutting whether or not he's going to help you out.

If you get a jerk, just go back the next day and try again.

Also, I remember cuts being 50 cents.
That seems like a really high price jump.
Maybe they are mistaken.

As for other shops, I've had the same experience.
They really do charge a fortune.
Masonite is really tough on a saw blade.
It takes a good blade to cut it properly, and even then it trashes the blade.

Lastly, if that still doesnt work,
check out: www.realgesso.com

Loomer turned me onto these panels, they are soooo nice.
Sincerely worth the price.

[Seedling]

Thanks for the suggestions! Hmm. Dick Blick is starting to look attractive. Maybe I wont have to sand off rough edges in my living-room any more. :-P

[Eric Lofgren]

Here's a trick to consider for cutting masonite on your own. Note that this is something that I do occassionaly and I recommend doing it only if you're familiar and/or comfortable with using a utlity knife:

You don't necessarily need to use a saw as you can cut thin material like masonite with a very sharp utility knife. The secret is to score (make a cut) both sides of the material at the same spot. You don't need to go right through, you just need to make 3 or 4 passes (or more, depending on blade sharpness) on each side, so that the blade has gone into the material a little bit. Then just gently snap the material in half at the score line.

It's best to do this with a good metal ruler (the longer the better) which is clamped down onto the material on a good cutting (re: okay to be cut) surface. Making sure the clamps also clamp on to the cutting surface. This keeps everything in place so you don't have to get your hands in the way too much. Do this for both sides as you go to score them. Once the scoring is done on both sides place the scored line on the material along the edge of a table, so that one half of the material lies on the table surface and the other half over hangs from it. Rest the ruler (held just by hand this time) along the score line and over the table and then holding onto the other overhanging half gently rock it up and down. It will snap along the scored line. Then you just use some fine sandpaper to clean it up.

I can PM more details on this as this is just a quick explanation.

I can't stress enough just how careful you have to be with a utility knife though. Always use extra caution with it. And it's probably best to give it a try on some scrap pieces first to see how well you can manage doing this if you're not familiar with the technique. But if done properly it will save you the hassle of having to get someone else to do the cutting for you and you get the exact sixzes you want every time. Plus, you don't have to invest in a saw :)

Anyway, something to consider down the road if you're in a bind and can't find someone to do any cutting for you.

[Seedling]

Heehe. Thanks Eric. It's a good idea, but my living room isn't big enough. :-)

[Eric Lofgren]

Heehe. Thanks Eric. It's a good idea, but my living room isn't big enough. :-)

No prob :)

[joelhinxman]

yea i remeber doing what eric said in school when i had to cut it. just have them chop it down to a manageble size then try cutting the rest your self.

[Chingwa]

I've been wondering about this myself. After spending a few afternoons in my kitchen cutting masonite down to size with an electric jigsaw, I'm ready for a ready bought solution (man, that stuff is DENSE!!!) Dickblick looks nice, I didn't know they sell cut masonite.

[PeggyChung]

wellll, what i did was i went back to my old high school and talked to my art teacher (who always has woodshop cut up stuff for him) and so he had one of the students cut it up for me and i picked up the pieces a few days later, glory :D hmm you could try junior colleges or whatever, they never know. just walk in and ask someone to do it for ya :P

[chaosrocks]

hey any Lowes does a decent job for me
... mininmal charge
I hate cutting masonite..the dust is nasty.

chaos

[unknown_epiphany]

Lowes (used to work for them so I know this as a fact) charges 25 cents a cut after 3 cuts on lumber and masonite. When I worked there I would just waive the fee and tell the cashier it was scrap. Most people I sold it to used it as painting supports anyway.

The fee really depends on the person doing the job. Just do it on a Sunday early because there is nobody there and the workers are bored stiff.

[Dave Kendall]

At $400 I would by a wood cutting kit myself. LOL that's amazingly extortionate. I have a privately owned framing shop that cuts the board to size and only charges for the board. It's called customer service not customer fleecing.

[darkwolfb87]

Hello Seedling,

If you're willing to buy masonite in bulk (it helps if you're in the market for a pochade box or two :)) I recommend Dean White's shop located in Ontario, Canada:

http://stores.ebay.com/Art-Supplies-and-Pochades

Though the shipping gets pricey, larger orders really benefit from the value of his woodwork. But buying just masonite from him may still be a great deal.

~ Stephen

[Grendel Grack]

Hey Seedling, check out Ampersand (http://www.ampersandart.com/). They are the manufactuers of Gessoboard. They also offer plain ungessoed hardboard. They are a small enough company that you can call customer service and request a special order, cut to your specifications. They can be kind of pricey, though. They should be able to quote a price.

[gorgnut]

Uh wow, never knew masonite could be that expensive. I usually pay around $15-20 for 8 pieces of 23.6" x 23.6" (one big sheet cut so there is no waste).

[Seedling]

Thanks for all the info!

[chaosrocks]

and Pouchade boxes are really cool

[JustinBeckett]

Yeah dude, go back to home depot, i don't remember it being that expensive either.