MATERIALS

	* Wood
	* Plywoods
	* Other sheet goods
	* Fabrics
	* Plastics and new materials
	* Steel and other metal structural shapes

Wood
Traditional material
Hardwoods:
	* Primarily suitable for furniture
	* Heavy, not as available in long lengths
	* Greater strength to size ratio
Softwoods:
	* Best generally useful for scenery
	* Lighter, straighter grain, less splitting

Hardwoods
	* Oaks
		+ Readily available, can be expensive
		+ Machines well, but open pored, gets fuzzy when carved or turned
	* Maples
		+ Harder, closer grained
		+ Machines well, but may chip or tear out if tools are a little dull
	* Walnut
		+ Expensive, not too heavy, medium textured, fairly open grain
		+ Excellent machining, turning. Really too good for props
	* Birch
		+ Uniform, fine grain, small pores
		+ Generally machines well, but is somewhat brittle and will chip out 
              if the tools are dull. Durable and strong, but may shatter under 
              impact

Softwoods
   Pines
      • Northern White Pine
      • Southern Yellow Pine
      • SPF; Spruce, Western Pines, Firs, Hemlock
   Firs
      • White
      • Douglas

Boards

Board Sides

Nominal Dimensions
• Nominal vs. Actual dimensions
    - 1 x 2  =  3/4”  x  1 5/8”
    - 1 x 3  =  3/4”  x  2 5/8”
    - 1 x 4  =  3/4”  x  3 1/2”
    - 1 x 6  =  3/4”  x  5 1/2”
    - 1 x 8  =  3/4”  x  7 1/4”
    - 1 x 10  =  3/4”  x  9 1/4”
    - 1 x 12  =  3/4”  x  11 1/4”

Board Defects
	* Knots: places where branches grew.
		+ Size, tight, loose, missing?
	* Straight or erratic grain, amount of pitch
	* Blemishes
		+ Scarfing
		+ Stains, pitch pockets, insect damage
	* Warps
		+ Cup, bow, or twists

Board Grades

Structural Lumber
	* White or Douglas Fir
	* Southern Yellow Pine
		+ 2” Nominal and up
		+ 2 x 4, 2 x 6, 2 x 8, 2 x 10, 2 x 12
	* Redwood
		+ 4 x 4 and larger members

Structural Grades
	* Select grade
		+ Same as board grades, mostly clear with small knots
	* Construction grade
		+ Equivalent to Common board grade
		+ Larger, more numerous knots

Plywood

E-Z Bend

Types of Plywood
	* Interior
		+ Water resistant, not waterproof
	* Exterior
		+ Waterproof, but not for immersion
		+ Most common for theatre use
	* Marine
		+ Suitable for immersion, very expensive

Plywood grades

Plywood grades, con’t

Luaun plywood

“Philippine Mahogany”

Plastics
	* Comes as sheets or chemical formulations
	* Requires extra precautions to use
		+ More likely to cause skin reactions, etc.
	* MUST BE USED WITH ADAQUATE VENTILATION & RESPIRATORS
		+ Fumes released while working, by heat, etc.
		+ May range from unpleasant to toxic to lethal
		+ Must ventilate to outside, not rest of building

Acrylics
	* Trade name PLEXIGLAS
	* Clear, translucent, textured, colored
	* Available as sheets, rods, tubes, bars
	* Available as liquid casting resin
	* Solid forms can be heated and bent

Epoxies
	* Most common as adhesives and casting resins
	* Great strength and water resistance
	* When hardened, can be worked with wood or metal cutting tools
	* Very prone to causing skin dermatitus

Florocarbons
	* Teflon and related products
	* Tough, very slick, used for skids and slides
	* Available as sheets, tapes, and blocks

Polyesters
	* Saturated Polyesters
		+ Polyester fabrics, Dacron
		+ Mylar films, aluminized mylar film, color media
	* Unsaturated polyesther
		+ Casting resin, Fibreglas formulations

Polyethylene
Characterized by slick waxy surface
Rejects paints and glues
	* Polyethylene drop cloths and sheeting
	* Ethafoam: extruded polyethylene foam
		+ resilient, flexible, fairly tough
		+ use acrylic paints and/or coat with Flex glue and tissue to paint

Polystyrene
Hard surface, moderate flexibility and strength, somewhat brittle
	* Sheets: Vacu-form plastics; stiff, becomes very soft when heated
	* Extruded Polystyrene foam:
	* Styrofoam board, Blueboard
	* Expanded Polystyrene foam (EPS):
	* Beadboard, White board

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Strong, lightweight, rigid
	* Most common application, PVC pipe
		+ Flexible tubing, can be bent and formed by heat
		+ Plumbing working sinks in sets
	* Also available in sheets, rods

Urethanes
	* Flexible urethane foam: “foam rubber”
	* Rigid urethane foam: floral foam
	* Two-part foams
		+ Best jobbed in by professional insulation co.
			- A-B Pour foams
			- Rigid or soft
			- Froth-Pak spray foams
	* Canned Spray foam:
		+ Great Stuff, Touch Foam

Paper maché

Metals
	Mild steel strap
	Conduit & tubing
	Steel & brass rod

Fasteners
	Screws, nails, bolts, staples
	Pop rivets
	•

Soldering, welding, brazing
	•Solder: joins metal using dissimilar metal of lower melt pt. as glue,
	•Braze: hi-temp solder using bronze.
	•Weld: join by melting same metals together using similar filler metal.