What Material for Box and Tray Bases?

What do you other box makers use for the base in boxes and trays? I've been using solid timber, mainly quarter sawn Vic Ash. Timber is cut into approx 5mm veneers on the bandsaw, thicknessed to just under 4mm and then glued up into large panels from which I cut the required sizes as needed. Now that I'm running out of free supplies of old Vic Ash I'm looking for a cheaper, and easier, alternative. Are there any ply products available that are good for the purpose? MDF doesn't really float my boat. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
David

I myself use 4 or 5mm silky oak it has very stable & relatively strong structure especially inserted cross grained. The inner base of the tray is usually covered in felt or suede. Silky Oak was used extensively in windows & doors very easy to obtain from the timber recyclers all you need to do is remove the paint. rarely will you find any good 1/4 sawn with big rays. I usually have to glue together about 4 to 6 pieces to get the required length.

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Cheers.:cool:

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Originally Posted by RGP

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RGP - what marker / pen are you using for your labelling on the bottom of your boxes?
And are you doing it before or after finishing?

I use these PIGMA MICRON PN｜SAKURA COLOR PRODUCTS CORP.,
most art supplies have them

I use a 0.4mm Artline permanent marker, good stationary stores carry them. I also write on the box well before I apply any finish. :-

for box bases i use 4mm Tas Oak ply from Sharp Plywood. If it's going to be a pricey box ill laminate somer QLD Maple over a 3mm MDF.

Hi David,

All of my boxes have either ply or MDF bottoms - in all cases they are veneered both sides, usually the same timber both sides. I make up a batch from time to time, all a little larger than needed so when I need one it's simple to grab one and trim to size.

Best regards,

Brian