Hobby timber

Greetings, i've i know absolutely nothing about wood, but i was hoping to get some thin sheets of wood to use for hobbies- mainly electronics, i would mainly be using it to build cases with, boxes, mounting parts and boards to

Anyway, the only thing i could think of would be particle board- which i hate, crumbles alot and is definately not waterproof ( which is not too important )
ideally the main qualities i would hope for would be
somewhat hard/rigid
able to get in thin sheets ( 5-15mm )
able to work with a coping saw(at these thicknesses i would hope most timbers would be fine)
looks arent important, but would be a bonus

some hobbies use balsa which is quite fragile and soft, so it wouldn't be ideal

any suggestions on a timber i could use, possibly avaliable from an online vendor or commonly avaliable at the local bunnings/hardware/whatever stores, or possibly through these forums?
for now i'm just looking for a few pieces of about 30cmx30cm or so

thanks.

Why not try some of the plywoods?

They come with various finishes - different timber veneers that is.

Kidsam,

I would be using MDF, it is another product of timber waste and glue, but where particle board was large flakes, MDF is very fine grained. Cost is reasonable. It will cut easily and join well with screws for light weight applications, add some wood glue for strength or smaller parts. I would seal it with paint if it was to last, I would leave it unsealed for a quick proof of concept, but wipe it down to make sure I was rid of any cutting dust.

Its at every hardware shop around.

+1 for ply

Rule of thumb:
chip/particle board = cockroach barf
MDF = cardboard with pretentions

If you are careful with what you pick, and price is less of a consideration than convenience, then you can get reasonable ply at Bunnings, even the odd half sheet (1200x1200) of thin (2-3mm) ply made from imported hardwood (made in Vietnam now that the Phillipines has gotten 'expensive').

MDF is sort of OK when starting, but it produces horrible fine dust that gets everywhere - work outside in the breeze if possible - and it is very susceptible to moisture, often sprouting fuzzy mold on the surface after a few weeks and getting noticeable marks - even when painted -if someone puts a wet cup on it.