What materials and thicknesses will work for eyelet board

[Joost]

Since it's hard to get G10 eyelet board over here, I wondered what else might work. What materials and what thicknesses would you suggest as alternatives?

[Trout]

Since it's hard to get G10 eyelet board over here, I wondered what else might work. What materials and what thicknesses would you suggest as alternatives?

Try checking the home improvement stores for Formica or similar counter top laminate.

Generally you can get scraps for next to nothing and it is plenty stiff enough for board material. Often with a bit of shopping around you can locate the color core type that is even thicker if needed.

[Trout]

oops

[Andy Le Blanc]

Eyelets come in different diameters and lengths. Double check what you can get
get an idea of how thick or thin a material you can work with
you dont want to go too thick or too thin for practical reasons

then look around for anything that has an electrical rating
theres a host of laminates, natural hard fiber, and phenolics out there

Are you restricted to lead free solder? the temp is higher than leaded...

Ive used natural hard fiber, old clipboards, its rated to 425 F and has a
high dielectric strength, its characteristics get better with age

the G10 is only rated to 284 F,

3/32" to 1/8" seems practical

[Phil_S]

...adding to that, wood of any kind is no good. Typical lumber has a moisture content of 5-10% and that is enough to make it conductive.

[tubeswell]

I make my boards out of a formica-type electrical switchboard (the commonly available stuff used in commercial building wiring installations) which I buy from a local supplier. (I think the stuff is made in South Africa IIRC). It is quite thick at 3mm, but I countersink the holes from the back and mount 3-4mm brass eyelets in there (which allows lots of leads and wires in one hole). This makes the boards quite cheap to assemble. All you need is a fretsaw, file, drill, and something to clamp the board in.

[Cygnus X1]

Or UV protected lexan.
Found as replacement "glass" or for sunroof material at hardware stores.
Will take some heat, but I'd recommend only 60/40 leaded for it.

Do not use plexi, it won't work.

Despite what some have stated I have found lexan to be resistant to static electricity.

[solderstain]

Myself, and a WHOLELOTTA other people, use Garolite board material, available from McMaster in many thicknesses and colors. Works great and fairly cheap. It's murder on cutting tools and drill bits though. LOL!

I got an inexpensive water table tile cutter from Harbor Freight, and have used that to cut my Garolite. Even with the water cooling, the process EATS diamond blades. LOL! (BTW, the water table is also good for dust suppression.) Plan to go through drill bits too.

But, it makes terrific circuit boards.

[Cliff Schecht]

Or you can do what I do and hack up old compressed particle board clipboards and scraps for eyelet stuff. It's the perfect thickness for Fender style eyelets and is cheap to replace if you screw up. Here's what it looks like inside of my 5E8A build. Not the prettiest material I guess but I like how it looks personally..

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=14719

[Kagliostro]

I use bakelite, I got it from an electrical supplies warehouse, in the past was used for switchboards and transformers support, and I got a square meter for about € 30.00

you can also use boards for PCB (removing the copper)

and also used PCB (also removing the copper)

Kagliostro

[sliberty]

Or you can do what I do and hack up old compressed particle board clipboards and scraps for eyelet stuff. It's the perfect thickness for Fender style eyelets and is cheap to replace if you screw up. Here's what it looks like inside of my 5E8A build. Not the prettiest material I guess but I like how it looks personally..

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=14719

I've always thought that clipboards were closer to paper than to pressed wood. And I always thought they were thicker than the typical boards. You live and you learn.

[Lonely Raven]

Joost, how much G10 do you need? A whole sheet or just a few boards?

I'd be happy to help an Amp Garage brother out by shipping you some G10 if you cover cost of materials and shipping.

Otherwise, I was thinking 1/8" hardwood with a solid coating over it. I've made circuit boards like this before where I basically dipped the wood in the clear coat and hung it out to dry. It added some thickness to the material, but when I was done it was like it was encased in plastic.

I'm pretty sure I used poly, and the epoxy stuff you use on making thick table tops. The poly was easier to use, the epoxy looked better but was really thick.

[Andy Le Blanc]

I like that mention of bakelite

it comes in powder, and a rainbow of colors

and sheets, many many many suppliers in China and India

Any body have a line on a N American supplier? sheets?

There was a time where just about everything was made in bakelite

be fun the cast your own knobs, make all the puns you want... chicken head
half the fun of some of those really old amps is the cosmetics

[Cliff Schecht]

I got a few big pieces of bakelite from a weird homebrew electronics thing I found from the 70's (an early 555 timer circuit!). The board is the perfect thickness and is an uglier, lighter brown color than most bakelite I've seen before. The only thing that worries me about bakelite is that it cracks and chips easy, especially old bakelite where the material gets brittle after so many years. It would be a shame if a board in your amp literally shattered..

As far as the clipboard material (had to look it up to be sure), it's actually close to perfect for amps. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardboard

[Kagliostro]

For my experience board made of bakelite are very strong also [ EDIT -> NOT before] after many time it was build

not the same for some old bakelite radio case

Kagliostro