Thread: Teacher wants some scrap timber to design and construct mazes in class.

Your local hardware store will have lots of dunnage, ie crappy stuff used to protect pallets of decent stuff from knocks and forklift drivers. If they do cutting to size they'll also have bins of offcuts. Approach the manager or owner and explain what you want this stuff for, possibly write first and set up a meeting so he knows you're on the level. Damaged top sheets of plywood packs etc are usually knocked down too, or in your case probably free if you're convincing enough.

A lot of dunnage is actually made from MDF though and there are some health risks involved with this material. Given that your charges are a little on the young side I would only use MDF for nailing, painting or gluing; NO CUTTING, SANDING OR FILING WHATSOEVER! Give it a miss completely if you can; if I found out that my daughter (year 7) was using this material in class I would be investigating thoroughly the risk control measures the school was using to eliminate any dust inhalation.

Sound advice, on both the local hardware and the warning.

Cheers muchly,

Paul.

G'Day Paul

Speaking from experience, I work at a Printing company which receives paper in bulk which arrives on wooden pallets and usually capped with sheets of either MDF or low qual' chip board. About 70% of it gets re-used around about and the rest gets taken away by recyclers or binned. I'd say most companies that receive say machinery would have boards of wood, in pallet form, that's excess (very) to their needs. Get on the phone