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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Not far enough away from Melbourne
    Posts
    4,200

    Default woodworkers need shims, where do we get them?

    Hi fellow woodworkers,

    we all need shims for various reasons:

    Setting up machines,
    slipping behind fences to finetune cuts
    plenty of reasons too numerous to mention.

    But...

    Where does everyone source their shims?

    Just lately I had one of those thought bubbles pop up: Why not look for suitable materials for shims before you need them and store them away? How often have you found yourself looking for something to make a shim 0.010" or any other dimension and not had anything on hand? Or if it was the right size it was not suitable for the application? What happens next? Well in my case I run round looking for something to do the job and invariably you cant find it. or if you do find it it might not be suitable. Some shims need to be non-conductive, others need to be non-compressible, some need to be waterproof, others don't matter.

    Anyway, I decided to start myself a "Shim Library". I figured that if I start collecting stuff I would have suitable material on hand when I need a shim.

    This evening, I looked at a powerboard I had on the desk. the plastic bubble packaging looked promising. So I dissected it. The clear plastic on different sizes was surprisingly consistent in thickness, 0.010" on one side and 0.009" on another. The laminated plastic backing was a consistent .025" and another piece of cardboard laminated on one side was 0.19".

    After this I started looking around the desk for other things to test. A business card is 0.015", while a zip-lock bag is a very consistent 0.002". Woolworths heroes cards are 0.039".

    Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that it is a worthwhile exercise to collect materials that may be suitable for shims in a variety of materials.

    They do not take up much room and are easily stored. Who has a secret source of shims that they may want to share?

    anything that is fairly skinny and consistent might be helpful to us all. Please post your secrets here.

    Cheers

    Doug
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Port Huon
    Posts
    2,685

    Default

    I bought a packet of brass shim material from Repco. 8 sheets, 150mm square in sizes from .001" to .025".
    Cost about $27 from memory.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    187

    Default

    Hobby stores usually carry a variety of thin brass sheet. Good for shim stock.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    McBride BC Canada
    Posts
    3,543

    Default

    Serious art stores which cater to watercolor painters may carry "sample packs" of the various grades, surfaces and weights of watercolor papers. 90, 140 and 300 lbs/ream were the standards, they actually do approximate the weight per square meter. All of this bumpf translates as different, very stiff paper thickness. The mostly cotton fiber has very long staple and the interweaving in the tub molded sheets makes them very resistant to mechanical scraping and scrubbing. Windsor & Newton (UK) and Arches (France) are the top names.

    I'm not much of a wood worker but every once in a while, I need to fill in a gap which is more than a cosmetic fix.
    Dipped/saturated in wood glue, a cut strip of w/c paper makes an OK filler.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Katoomba NSW
    Posts
    4,770

    Default

    Coke cans make great shims. I also have a few old credit card type shims. Expired fishing licences, empty store gift cards, video store membership cards, that sort of thing.
    Those were the droids I was looking for.
    https://autoblastgates.com.au

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    inverloch
    Posts
    472

    Default

    I bought a pack of styrene sheets of various thicknesses (.010 to .250) from a model railway shop. The brand was Evergreen Scale Models.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Alexandra Vic
    Age
    69
    Posts
    2,810

    Default

    Business card and playing card are popular in some US podcasts for shimming fences etc.

    Strips off old credit cards, Laminate sample chips, edge banding (.4, 1, 2mm are common and easy to get), thin plywoood, 4mm and 6mm MDF pieces all handy for levelling cabinets etc on uneven or sloping floors.

    As mentioned hobby shops can supply brass or plastic sheet, depending on their main area of interest, sheet metal shops can help with offcuts of thicker metals, particularly if you give the a idea of what would be useful and a six pack in advance. I have cut up a few computer tower cases to get bits of .5-.8 mm steel sheet for odd metalwork patches that I have needed, Bunnings used to sell rolls of adhesive backed ali tape for weatherproofing etc, about .2mm thick.
    I used to be an engineer, I'm not an engineer any more, but on the really good days I can remember when I was.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Queensland, Aus
    Age
    72
    Posts
    776

    Default

    Metal is a different story and in any event I don't go there, but for woodworking I find a deck of playing cards to be more than adequate.
    You will be hard pressed to pick the difference of a single card (they go about 4 to the millimetre) when you shim out a fence on the saw or router bench.
    They are also very useful for measuring small gaps under and between things. Just keep poking them in until you get an interference fit then measure the pile with your callipers.

    Ian

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Townsville, Nth Qld
    Posts
    4,236

    Default

    Repco brass shim pack, coke tins, and business cards. Any shop I am in with a large display of cards, I always take several of the same card. Make sure you determine the thickness of them ( I measure 10 of them in a stack), as different suppliers can have different thicknesses.
    regards,

    Dengy

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Brisbane
    Age
    53
    Posts
    350

    Default

    I generally head for the recycle bin. Not very precise, but often a good range of cardboard, plastics and metal. It's recycling!
    Good things come to those who wait, and sail right past those who don't reach out and grab them.

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