Laserable Flexible Plastic?

Laser
#1

I need to staple some elastic bands to the back of 1/4" hardwood plywood. The shortest staples I can get have 1/4" legs and unfortunately they are ‘telegraphing’ through the surface veneer layer - meaning they don’t penetrate but are raising that veneer layer slightly.

I don’t have the option of doubling up the elastic, which does fix the problem. What I’d like to do is find some flexible plastic that the staples will penetrate to add a little thickness and prevent overpenetration. I figure about 1/32 - 3/64" thick will probably do it. I need to make a bunch of these so would like to laser them.

Can someone suggest a laser-safe flexible plastic that might work for this application?

#2

There had been discussions about stencil materials which do not contain chlorine.

#3

What about silicon rubber gasket material? It is allegedly laserable. Possibly laserable rubber stamp material?

On a completely unrelated path, either Lowes or Home Depot (sorry, I forget which) - in their signs department (like FOR RENT signs) carry flexible plastic in a couple colors but with no markings whatsoever. I doubt if it’s laserable, but maybe you could use the Machine Shop turret punch to cut out a bunch of circles, or some other shape.

2 Likes
#4

I used to make templates out of old dealer plates. Not the plates themselves but like the name of the dealership that they might put where the front plate goes. If you have some of those, you could do as @John_Marlow said with the punch.