Common sources for plastic shim material?

[Frank O]

Hi all, for a current project I'm looking for sheets of plastic in fairly specific thicknesses (but not, say, to aerospace specs) that I can use as shims. (I have a stack of brass shim material, but want to use plastic in this case.) Ideally I'm looking for 1/16" thick material. The local hobby store has some sheets of clear plastic that are .03" thick -- and thus I could use two layers for what I'm looking for. But before I buy it, I wonder if there are any other industries or household areas where shim material is common? I'd prefer to find something local as opposed to having to get mail order from a specialty source. Thanks for any ideas!

 

[kevink]

Don't know if they have them out west but WoodCraft has HDPE shim stock for tools around the wood-shop.

Look at McMaster Carr www.mcmaster.com. You have to know the type of plastic, but you should be able to find 1/16" stock readily available in a variety of materials.

 

[spectrum]

Hi all, for a current project I'm looking for sheets of plastic in fairly specific thicknesses (but not, say, to aerospace specs) that I can use as shims. (I have a stack of brass shim material, but want to use plastic in this case.) Ideally I'm looking for 1/16" thick material. The local hobby store has some sheets of clear plastic that are .03" thick -- and thus I could use two layers for what I'm looking for. But before I buy it, I wonder if there are any other industries or household areas where shim material is common? I'd prefer to find something local as opposed to having to get mail order from a specialty source. Thanks for any ideas!

As mentioned www.mcmaster.com
Look at item 9513K42 on page 3456. It's a book set of mostly polyester shims. Everywhere I've worked we've 'kept a book around.

Pete

 

[tkrock]

Not sure how cheesey you want to go. You could always buy a plastic cutting board used in the kitchen. Can find them everywhere and you could cut it down to what you need. My 2 cents!

 

[FredT]

Old credit cards, cash cards and card keys work quite well and seem to resist cold flow at moderate loads. AOL CDs are a good free source of slightly thicker polycarbonate material.

Lexan can be had in almost any thickness you'd want, but that is normally a cash deal. I find GE plastics will generally have what I need somewhere in their system.

FT

 

[Goose75]

Supply houses such as Grainger sometimes have plastic sheet but it will probably be larger than you need. You might try Home Depot. They may have some for a large host of reasons (floor mats, plumbing supplys, bathrooms, etc.). What do you want to use it for? Does it have to be UV stable?

 

[Camerone]

The place I use for all my plastic needs is Tap Plastics: www.tapplastics.com. They have a local store by me, as well as doing mail order, and have been more than happy to rough cut whatever I need.

What's really cool is that they have a scrap bin in their store where it's $1 per pound, for whatever cutoffs are in the bin. I almost always can find enough in their scrap bin to finish my projects, as long as I'm not picky about colors

 

[Tavi]

Places that build Aluminum and glass enclosures or store fronts use plastic shims. I've seen sizes from 1/16" up to 1/2". The ones I've seen are horseshoe shaped, but can be easily cut.