What materials and thicknesses will work for eyelet board

[M Fowler]

Remove the copper off PCB material and use that for eyelet board.

[overtone]

Bakelite sheet is still in production here in Germany and I think in Austria too. I use it nearly all the time and it is a real joy to work with. It has many names, look for a supplier which can state that the product conforms to the industrial standards. (see below)
As Kaglistro says it is not the same brittle type that you know from old radio cases.

Thickness:
It comes in 0,5mm up to about 20mm thickness, in 0,5mm increments.

Types:
It is available in your usual brown, or a very beautiful black.
Datasheets are available and there are various grades and reinforcements. I use the Pertinax Hartpapier Typ PF CP 201 to EN 60893 standard or HP2061 to the DIN 7735 standard.
There is a slightly lighter grade version called Phenol Hartgewebe PF CC 201 to EN 60893 standard or HGW 2082 to DIN 7735 standard. That is the more red-brown color that you find in some older European equipment.

A source for small quantiies:
On the German fleabay sheets of 3mm 500 x 250mm are available for apr. €8 + shipping. Your search words would be "pertinax hartpapier" and you should see a selection from a specialized seller. That seller also has the glass reinforced types too, it comes in about double the price of the bakelite, if I remember correctly.
You can also find some real old sheets on the kraut fleabay too - if you want that musty vintage look. I tried some of those too and so far those have not been brittle with age.

I cut the sheets with a thin bladed angle grinder along a thick metal guide. I actually use a blade for cutting stainless steel and don't scorch the sheets.

Hope this helps some, have fun, tony

[Andy Le Blanc]

I was under the same myth that you Had to use this, or Had to use that
My sister in law used to run antique/ second hand store had a box of old clip boards.

me being a cheap skate tried it out for giggles, and what do you know...

I did some some digging too, aside from being butugly, its pretty well rated stuff

a quick dip in hot paraffin, spray seal maybe to help calm moisture fears

doesn't matter too much what the pcb is made of if you dump a drink in your rig

Appreciate the product references for the bakelite

I've been through quite a bit of old gear , there's all sorts board materials
I found some old board in my bone pile, the bakelite must be 40 years old
looks to be in great shape, hadn't thought to connect the dots...

the trade name here is garolite its the xx ce and le grades
all laminates paper or cotton fabric

is the bakelite you have a laminate?

[overtone]

is the bakelite you have a laminate?

The one I use (black 3mm) appears to be monolithic, but if I understand correctly it is a phenolic resin pressed into a paper substrate. That sounds a bit like the old DDR Trabant cars, but it is rated for 5kV per mm and 15kV pulses. The moisture absorption is rated at <250mg, what ever that tells us, indeed it may prefer to soak up German beer.
The other kind that I mentioned has a slightly visible mesh type reinforcement in it. Hartgewebe roughly means "hard weave".
Once on a train, through the Scottish highlands, I sat next to a nice old lady from Switzerland and it turned out that her family business was to supply that pulp dust that bakelite was made from. Not that much call for it theses days.

[Kagliostro]

If I remember well bakelite is also used as panel in aluminium doors & windows industry

Kagliostro

[Andy Le Blanc]

http://www.professionalplastics.com/

These guys seem to be a world wide distributor

the bakelite and I think garolite is under phenolic

as opposed to say G 10 which is a glass silica

I was in a real old rig once that had waxed card stock and tennis shoe eyelets

[Andy Le Blanc]

I stumbled upon phenolic "entry board" its used in the manufacture of PCB
in the electronics industry to reduce the costs around drilling the holes in a
circuit board. If its thick enough to hole an eyelet it might be the most cost effective.

Those guys even have a color selection of fish paper

[jaysg]

the G10 is only rated to 284 F,
3/32" to 1/8" seems practical

I think most people say 'G10' when they mean G10 FR4, which is fire retardant and rated to 180C for operation. Some of the materials mentioned, don't sound that safe. A few days back, someone at worked plugged a 120V device into the 240V by accident. I was just as happy it didn't catch fire.

[guitarmike2107]

the G10 is only rated to 284 F,
3/32" to 1/8" seems practical

I think most people say 'G10' when they mean G10 FR4, which is fire retardant and rated to 180C for operation. Some of the materials mentioned, don't sound that safe. A few days back, someone at worked plugged a 120V device into the 240V by accident. I was just as happy it didn't catch fire.

+1 you want board that is FR4 rated or better, the stuffs cheap and there is load of people that sell it.

[Andy Le Blanc]

I most certainly agree...


The thing is, what else can you use?, for scratch build electronics.
I really mean scratch built... DIY means DIY the economy is only getting worse

what you gonna build with when you can't afford more than a set of tubes

I can build a rig for only two to three times the cost of the transformers

If you scrounge those your golden...

[diagrammatiks]

are there cheaper places to grab g10 board then mcmaster and onlinemetals?

[overtone]

Yes, the G10 / FR-4 has higher ratings than the FR-2 bakelite / pertinax board types. The price of G10 / FR-4 is about double the FR-2 over here, can't help with a supplier in the States.

[Joost]

this is perfect. Just what I was looking for thanks!

Bakelite sheet is still in production here in Germany and I think in Austria too. I use it nearly all the time and it is a real joy to work with. It has many names, look for a supplier which can state that the product conforms to the industrial standards. (see below)
As Kaglistro says it is not the same brittle type that you know from old radio cases.

Thickness:
It comes in 0,5mm up to about 20mm thickness, in 0,5mm increments.

Types:
It is available in your usual brown, or a very beautiful black.
Datasheets are available and there are various grades and reinforcements. I use the Pertinax Hartpapier Typ PF CP 201 to EN 60893 standard or HP2061 to the DIN 7735 standard.
There is a slightly lighter grade version called Phenol Hartgewebe PF CC 201 to EN 60893 standard or HGW 2082 to DIN 7735 standard. That is the more red-brown color that you find in some older European equipment.

A source for small quantiies:
On the German fleabay sheets of 3mm 500 x 250mm are available for apr. €8 + shipping. Your search words would be "pertinax hartpapier" and you should see a selection from a specialized seller. That seller also has the glass reinforced types too, it comes in about double the price of the bakelite, if I remember correctly.
You can also find some real old sheets on the kraut fleabay too - if you want that musty vintage look. I tried some of those too and so far those have not been brittle with age.

I cut the sheets with a thin bladed angle grinder along a thick metal guide. I actually use a blade for cutting stainless steel and don't scorch the sheets.

Hope this helps some, have fun, tony

[Joost]

thanks for the offer man, I appreciate it. I am going to order some from the ebay source in Germany

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.