Wood Suggestions for CP?

[Andy]

Hello,

I'm not sure about what type of wood to use with my control panel.  My CP will be 15" X 20" X 7.5" when finished.  The wood I use should be light and strong, and I plan to paint it when finished.  I think I'll be going with 3/4" thickness.  Any help would be greatly apreciated!

Thanks,
Andy

P.S.  Everyone has been quite helpful so far, thanks alot!

[SNAAAKE]

MDF if you are painting.if you are using lexan or plexi then route the bottom to get right height.


luck  

[slug54]

It's really hard to beat mdf (Medium Density Fiberboard)
It is not light ,But if your building a desktop controller then you will want it pretty heavy to keep it from moving around.
If it's a CP for a cab you probably don't care how heavy it is unless your doing swappable panels.
MDF machines real well ,IT will hold a real nice curve without chipping if you decide to route the edge over.
It also takes paint really well. The only drawbacks I can see are that it may be prone to sagging if you have too large of an un-supported span with weight on it. Also MDF generates a ton of dust.

                     Hope this helps
                            Slug54

[Andy]

I keep going back and forth between a heavy or light controller.  I've pretty much decided that if I go heavy I'll use 3/4" or 5/8" MDF.  Any wood suggestions for a light controller that will paint nicely?

[SirPoonga]

1 or 2 player?  It isn't THAT heavy!  Just heavier than other stuff since it is more dense.  
You could look at 1/2" MDF too.  I use 3/4" MDF on my cabinet.  It is probably the easiest woodlike material you will ever work with.