O.K. Me again. Well I am planning to get the materials this weekend to build my booth. Now I know it would be preferable to build it out of metal but I will have to settle for wood.
So, is there a “preferable” wood to use. I have used 2’ x 4’ 1/2" plywood boards before for diorama bases, but they are rather rough and dry and splintery (is that a word?)… Anyway, I gather a hard wood (but not to hard to cut) would be better. Any suggestions (taking into account the cost) ? Maple? I will be going to a general place (probably Lansing ) so I am not sure what choices there are.
Also, is there ary wood treatment that I can apply to make the wood flame retardent?
Oh, does anyone know if Silicone Caulking (the stuff you use to repair/seal aquariuns) is flame retardent? I need something to seal the range hood to the top of the booth.
OK James,
There is one wood that is allowable for booth construction. I forget the name, but its scientific species name is Sheetamicus Metallicus[:D][:D]
Actually OSHA allows 1-inch plywood to be used for the construction of flammable storage cabinets. Seems to me you could probably get away with 1/2 or 3/4 plywood with no problem. I would avoid particle board. Oak or maple is going to start getting pretty expensive…
Gip Winecoff
Well the boards I usually buy for bases are 1/2" plywood. But they seem really, realy dry and brittle. I get the impression it wouldn’t take much and “poof”. They are cheap though.
Any ideas on what I can use to seal down the hood to the top?
Great idea naplak. I was searching around for a flame retardant but not having much luck. The BBQ paint is a great idea.
Now I just have to figure out how to attach the hood to the top. Probably can’t screw it down. The bottom edge all the way round is probably curled under to make it smooth and not sharp.
I asked a friend at work if he knew where I could obtain a blower unit for a new spraybooth. He immediatley replied that he had a two speed that would do the job. I should of known better this monster will suck up passing children on slow and empty the basement on fast but there are definitly NO FUMES!!![:D]
James,
I would bet any of the RTV silicone caulks would probably provide a good seal aound your hood.
Does the edge of the hood extend to the edge of your booth walls? If so, you might find it easy to buy a couple brackets and secure half the bracket to your booth walls, and drill a couple holes in each end of the range hood and screw (or bolt) the other half to the hood.
No, the booth top will be 24" by 48". The hood is 18" x 30".
I will cut a rectangular hole in the top of the booth, probably 17" x 29", or maybe 16" x 28". That will give me a 1/2" or 1" ledge all round the hood on the inside. Will have to see how close the fan and light are to the edge of the inside of the hood before I decide. And as I indicated the bottom edge of the hood is probably, but I am not sure yet, rounded (curled under) so as not to have any exposed sharp edges. The trick will be attaching that rounded edge to the top of the booth and having it solid. The caulking would be to make it air tight on the outside. I guess I will have a better idea once I get the hood.
James,
We use fire retardent 3/4 plywood at work all the time and then paint it with fire retardent paint. Its the back boards used for telecommunication systems in commercial building. Its required by building code here.
If you want some other hi-heat spray paints (flame retardent), try your local auto suppley store. Mine has silver, black, red, blue, orange and white in stock.
I’ll add my $.02 For a little more money you can get better grades of plywood, C-D is general use type stuff that’s not too smooth, you can go up to an A-B but it can get expensive but it’s also like furniture grade smooth on the A side. I think if you used a good fire resistant sealer and paint on regular plywood you’d be ok because there really isn’t that big a risk.
Now that I think about it you could use cheap plywood, line it with thin metal flashing and that would make it sturdy and fire resistant! What do you think about that? You could get a heavy enough flashing pretty cheap, epoxy it to the plywood and you’d be in business. It’d be just like foiling an a/c model (a square one anyway).
I think my last idea made that worth $.03 [:D] [;)]