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I have an Epilog Laser engraver and plan on creating Infinity terrain by laser cutting MDF/HDF. Can anyone help me with finding a place/distributor that sells sheet of thin (2mm - 25mm) MDF/HDF that's tempered on both sides? I can find plenty of places to order it online for the UK, but since I am in TX it isn't feasible shipping wise. I've been to Home Depot and found 1/8 inch Hardboard but it's only tempered on one side.

The whole of the USA must have somewhere that supplies what you need. I am sorry that I can't help you.

Make sure to post some pics of your creations! There are a lot of Infinity players on the board.

Try some art supply places, they sometimes have it, and call it Masonite I think.

Thanks, I will definitely post some pics. I used to never care about scenery until I got into Infinity and laser cutters can do amazing things.

I'll check out Hobby Lobby to see if they have Masonite.

It's just amazing that on the internet I can't find one supplier to give sheets of MDF/HDF. I wonder how other laser engravers are finding them...

Hi, Do you still have the links for the UK suppliers? I'm looking for laser grade HDF in the UK and can't find them :(

Laser Grade really isn't a thing...

With MDF, you want to get NAUF MDF (no formaldehyde binders...). For ply, you want interior grade adhesives (exterior grade will cut...just the adhesives are different enough from the wood that slicing through the layers becomes a challenge on some lower powered machines).

I have said it before - and I will say it again...cabinet shops. Medite is one of the more commonly available brands of NAUF MDF (in the US, and pretty sure they are in Europe as well). You can get it from 1/8" up to 1" without much difficulty - and it comes both thicker and thinner than that too. You won't find it on the shelves of a big box store or even most local lumber yards though. Distributors like Hood, Rugby and Royal Plywood sell to cabinet and furniture shops directly...and if you ring them up, they will likely be willing to throw a sheet or two on their next order for you.

Barring that, specialty wood working stores online can sell partial sheets too - but it is an expensive way to do it. Your shipping cost will be higher for a partial sheet than buying a full sheet locally.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Forgot to mention...

HDF and Masonite are not the same thing...and the tempered thing, well, that is just confusing things further.

MDF, LDF, HDF and ULDF are all going to be smooth on two sides. They will never be found tempered - that is a process used on a different material. You can find regular and what is sometimes referred to as double refined or sometimes substrate grade (or even called door grade) in your fiber boards. These are smoother than regular fiberboards as the fibers have been processed twice before forming the panels.

Hardboard (one of the brand names is Masonite) is a bit different than fiberboard. I won't bore you with the particulars, but the fibers are a bit shorter, so the finished surface is even smoother than MDF. You can get hardboard in S1S and S2S varieties. The S1S will be very smooth on one side and look a bit like a waffle on the back side, this comes from the screen which it is pressed against during processing. S2S is smooth on both sides being pressed between two polished metal plates.

Hardboard comes in regular and tempered. Tempered has had an oil treatment applied in order to make it moisture resistant, and it is a common material used for things like signs and skins for garage doors (and even some siding will be made from it). When looking at the unprocessed hardboard, you can tell the difference between tempered and regular by the color, with tempered being noticeably darker than untempered. When tempered - it is tempered everywhere...but that has no bearing on whether it is smooth on one side or two sides.

You can find hardboard in 1/8" and 1/4" without much difficulty from big box stores. Sometimes raw, sometimes in their paneling departments with a coat of primer applied to it. It is also available in 1/2" thicknesses from lumber distributors as that is the thickness which is often used for signs (the 1/2" will almost always be tempered).

Again - you can buy it online from several sources if you want...but the shipping is ridiculous for a product that is so cheap (but bulky). A quick look at one supplier, and I can get 20 sheets from a local shop for the same price that I can get one sheet cut into 2x2 squares shipped to me.

Depending on what you are looking for in particular though - you may also want to add chipboard to your searches (not to be confused with particle board or OSB - both of which are sometimes called chipboard). Chipboard is a thick card or paper type product as opposed to the MDF/hardboard processing techniques. It is often used for things like book bindings and photo boards, and is available in a variety of thicknesses starting from thick paper all the way up to around 1/8". Art supply houses like DickBlick sell it online (you can also pick up hardboard from them...though you will need to verify if it is S2S).
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Finally getting around to the OP specifically - you are in Houston...not a tiny town that will be lacking in suppliers of specialty materials. Check out Clark's Hard Woods. They should be able to take care of you.

Thanks Sean, that's a load of usefull information.

Need to copy paste that somewhere for future reference.