Trupan or Light MDF Supplier around Atlanta area?

[mrgadget]

Called several places today and only found some light MDF at Hardwoods Inc. and was told it was the equivalent to Trupan. I believe the brand was Timber Forest Products. Is there a place to get Trupan in Atlanta or will this be okay to use for my spoilboard? I searched the forum but all the results for Atlanta Trupan were 4-5 yrs old. Thanks!

Jay

[orgtech]

I am using that product on my Buddy for a spoil board with good success.

[mrgadget]

Thanks that's good to know. I may give it a whirl then.

[twelchPTM]

I haven't had my bot for to long but from what I have read on hear and what I am going through right now you do need to be careful. While ULMDF works efficiently for vacuum bleed, if its low grade material it will never stay flat. I do believe trupan is a form of ulmdf but they have a manufacturing process that makes for a very stable product.

[billp]

Thomas,
You are correct. Trupan is peeled off Radiata pine logs in the same way you would peel veneer. That is a LOT different than the standard "sawdust/water mush" process which is used in a lot of the MDF on the market. Real Trupan ( it will be stamped on the side of EVERY sheet) is much lighter, and more porous ( therefore lighter) than most MDF's even the "light versions". Numerous catastrophes in the last few years have slowed ( maybe even stopped) the flow of the product into the country.
Being located in Trupan,Chile they got hit by an earthquake which sent a tidal wave that dumped almost 200 railroad cars into the plant. By the time they recovered from that, there was a fire in the plant (can you imagine a better environment for a fire to spread?). If you can find it, get it and stash it away...

[shilala]

Funny, I've been looking for a retailer in Cleveland for the last hour or so and came here to check the new messages and here's a thread.
I read about the disasters Bill mentioned, that's at the plant that makes the Ultralight Trupan. Arauco makes 3 other grades, some of which are made in North Carolina.
I also saw that other outfits make ULMDF, one in New Zealand, I think it was. They used Radiata Pine, it made me wonder if maybe they've managed to snag the same process as Trupan uses?
I just simply cannot find a piece of trupan in, around, or near Cleveland. I was thinking of using it for a spoilboard or laminating a couple pieces for my table/spoilboard, but the headache has made me give up.

[mrgadget]

You can't turn around without learning something new here!! Did not know that about their factory and how it was made. Thanks! Guess I'm gonna have to try and pull out all the stops to find some Trupan if I can. If not, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Sure would like to get one step closer to getting it running, though. One step at a time, one day at a time.

[beacon14]

I'm down to one piece of Trupan left in the rack and we are going through spoilboards about every 4-6 months so I hope there will be some to be found somewhere by then.

I've used Sierra Pine Lightweight MDF (which I also got at Hardwoods Inc, is it the same stuff?) and it worked well enough, but it did want to curl more than the Trupan, and it was harder to get edgebanding or tape to stay stuck to the edges, especially as it got thinner. But if that's all that's available it's better then nothing and it's much better than "regular" MDF.

[woodworx]

Everything Bill said is correct. Earthquake, Fire....Now the mill has scaled back its shipments to the US, and is sending a lot of material to Japan. They are paying more than we are, so availability is tight.

I sell Trupan in the Seattle area and my good buddy Rob is the North American rep for Tumac Lumber (the importers of Trupan)

You can contact him Rsimonsen at tumac dot com. He should be able to tell you where to get it. Many distribution areas are pretty vast so you might have to get your supplier to bring it in for you.

[sawkerf]

A & M Supply Merietta GA (800) 548-7799. They have it in Charlotte, maybe they'll have in GA. Too