How to Make your Own Geology Mapboard

A partial list of raw parts (so I don’t have to keep referencing them):

~1/4th" Braided Elastic: Everything here looks fine.

400lbs test Kevlar speargun line: This is what I use. Works great.

Cord Spring Locks: These are fine.

QuickClipPro Screws and Washers:

• QuickClipPro website (make sure you also buy the nuts and washers if needed) or

• Sampler pack from them on Amazon

T-Bar Crimps: These are suitable, or search for “t-bar crimp”

Wire Spring Clips: Clipboards.com

Split Rings / Loops:

• Plastic (closes flush, size 11/16 suggested)

• Metal screw type (more durable, but check them sometimes)

Given that some of the above suppliers charge shipping and/or only sell in large quantity buying your DIY parts from us is likely cheaper if you are only making one or two mapboards. Purchasing from us also supports the development of this guide.

Step 1: Decide your overall size.

How big or compact do you want your mapboard?

This is a fairly straight tradeoff between portability, weight, and ease of use. A half-sized mapboard is smaller and weighs less than the full size, but requires a letter sized piece of paper to be folded in half. We have a more detailed discussion of the tradeoffs at our Geology MultiBoard Kit Page.

Recommended Sizes:

Half Size, Slim as possible: 6 x 9.25”

Half Size, Normal: 7 x 9.25”

Full Size, Normal: 9.5 x 12”

Traditional Oversized: 11 x 14”

An Aside: Bifold or Single Panel?

Bifolds are the most common and the traditional mapboard design, but depending on your needs a single panel (aka a clipboard) may work fine. This guide is written for bifolds, but with some notes for a single panel design.

Step 2: Choose Material and Thickness

Acrylic, Polycarbonate, or Aluminum?

We have a more detailed discussion of the tradeoffs between the different materials here.

All three of these materials make good mapboards.

Acrylic provides a hard writing surface but can fracture if dropped on a rock. Acrylic is also somewhat difficult to work and requires specific bits and blades to drill / cut (unless you have access to a good laser cutter - then it is very easy to work).

Polycarb is virtually indestructible, but is a softer writing surface and scratches easier. The fact it’s a softer material means it can be cut with standard bits and blades.

Aluminum is both durable and hard, but isn’t transparent and also requires specific bits and blades to cut. If you go with aluminum I recommend 6061 (one of the common alloys) because it’s what I’ve tested.

If you don’t know what you want, go with polycarb.

Once you’ve decided on a material, the next question is thickness. Thickness has a similar trade off to size. Thicker means a stiffer writing surface, but is heavier and harder to fit into a stuffed suitcase or day pack. For acrylic, you should only really consider 1/8th" thickness for fieldwork. Thinner is a bit too fragile for fieldwork. For polycarb, the two thicknesses to consider are 1/16th" and 1/8th", and for aluminum the two thicknesses to consider are 1/32nd" or 1/16th". For both materials, thinner is lighter, thicker is stiffer. The link at the top of this section has a good visual on the different stiffnesses.

Note that the bigger your mapboard the more important the stiffness. A halfsize mapboard in 1/16th polycarb has less absolute flexibility than a full size, simply because the absolute size is smaller.

If you don’t know what you want I recommend starting with 1/8th" polycarb or 1/32nd" aluminum.

Where to buy your material?

Most hardware stores (including Lowe’s and I think Home Depot) sell polycarbonate and acrylic, and will even cut it to size if you ask nicely (and you’re not buying a 4x8’ sheet). It can also be bought online through Amazon. Aluminum sheets can be purchased on Amazon, Onlinemetals.com, or possibly also a hardware store. Note most sheets of raw material are sold up to 1/8th" below their listed dimension to allow for cutting tolerances and waste. For the purposes of a mapboard the slight size difference doesn’t matter.

Step 3: Cut to Size

If your base material didn’t come cut-to-size then you will need to do it yourself. You’ll want to draw a rectangle on your material in the final size of your mapboard and then cut it. If you can round the corners a little bit that’s good for not catching on things when putting in a backpack.

Here’s a cutting guide:

Polycarbonate: Use a saw (jigsaw, circular saw, handsaw, etc) with a standard clean-cut blade.

Acrylic: Use a saw with a plastics-recommended blade, or score lines in and break the acrylic. Here are two guides for how to cut acrylic:

• https://www.thehandymansdaughter.com/how-to-cut-acrylic-plexiglass/

• https://bettertoolz.com/how-to-cut-acrylic-with-a-jigsaw/

  Alternatively, if you have access to a good laser cutter (60w+ CO2) you can laser cut the acrylic. This gives you a nice perfect cut, and you can also cut the holes for other features while you’re at it. Makerspaces and Fab Labs generally have laser cutters so that’s a good place to start looking.

Aluminum: Use an aluminum-specific cutting blade on a saw. Sand down the edge with a coarse sandpaper to make it nice and smooth afterwards.

Step 4: Internal Cuts for Features, and where to source / how to make the parts.

We’re getting into the fun stuff now. Things you can put inside:

• Clipboard Wire Spring Clip (with or without an elastic strap at the bottom to hold down your paper)

• A pair of elastic bands covering the corners of your paper at the top and bottom

• Mounting holes for standard 3-ring binder accessories (binder pockets, pencil pouches, etc).

• Mounting holes for a cord to hold a small notebook

• Closure Strap

• Shoulder Strap

Clipboard Wire Spring Clip:

Perhaps the most basic accessory, this is a fast and easy way to securely hold down papers. I use and recommend these 120mm wide clips from Clipboards.com. They cost $2 each (or $3 with the screws to hold them down) and are available in a variety of colors. You can also buy them in narrower sizes if you want.

To install these clips you need two holes that are ~0.25” (5.5mm) diameter spaced 18mm down from the top edge and 87mm apart (43.5mm out from the center). To make the holes find and mark the top center of your board, then measure 18mm down, mark that, and then mark 43.5mm in either direction. See schematic.

Note, while you can order the wire spring clip with screws, they are not the best screws. The best screws posts are made by QuickClipPro and are what I use in my products. They are the best because they include a slot on the nut part so you can tighten them against each other. If you only need one set of screwposts then you might as well order them with the clipboard clip. However, if you need them elsewhere as well then you may want to order the nice ones. You can order them either from the QuickClipPro website (make sure you also buy the nuts) or buy a sampler pack from them on Amazon.

If you mapboard isn’t 1/8” thick: You will need washers regardless of where you buy your screws. If you have some rubber washers laying around then you could use them. If not the QuickClipPro sampler listed at Amazon above includes washers.

Elastic Strap Corners:

You can either use one of these with the wire spring clip or use two (one at the top and one at the bottom).

Making them is simple. You need crimping t-bars and ~1/4” elastic. Elastic can be easily ordered online (at least, until there’s another huge run on it for mask making purposes). You want braided elastic, not knit. Everything here looks fine.

T-Bars are less common. These are suitable. If this product is not longer available then search for “t-bar cord anchors.”

Once you have your parts, you just need to cut the elastic and crimp the t-bars on. The length you need depends on the size of your mapboard, but about 9 inches (~230mm) for a full-sized mapboard. When crimping, you want to fold the elastic over on itself to give a bigger volume to clamp down on.

Mounting holes for standard 3-ring binder accessories (binder pockets, pencil pouches, etc) and way to hold the accessories in.

Being able to carry binder accessories is very useful. I highly recommend making a set of holes along the outside left panel (when the mapboard is opened) at the very least. The hole pattern is simple enough. Depending on how you close your mapboard (see further down) you want either two or three holes. To make the holes find the center on the side of your panel and measure up and down 4.25". Go in approx 0.2" and that’s where the center of the hole should be.

For half size the overall length between the top and bottom holes is 140mm (5.51”).

How to mount the accessories:

There are a few ways to mount binder accessories in: Bolts, split rings / loops, hook and loop fastener, and elastic anchors.

Note for all the ways to mount accessories you can use hook and loop fastener on the opposite side to keep that end in place.

Bolting them in is straightforward and easy, but is only good for one accessory (otherwise it’s hard to get to whatever isn’t on top). I recommend the QuickClipPro bolts discussed in the clipboard clip section. Note if your panel (+accessories) thickness is less than 1/8th" you will need to use 1/16th” washers.

Split Rings / Loops:

Useful for holding multiple binder pockets or other accessories. Downside is they stick out to the side. Good for clipboards because you can have an accessory on the back and flip it forward for use.

These are the ones I use (in 11/16" size): https://www.binding101.com/plastic-snap-lock-binding-rings

I recommend either the plastic ones above because they are flush rings and that makes them work better, but key loops with a crew closure is a good more robust option (as long as you periodically check the screw is tight). This is one example of what I’m talking about.

Elastic Band:

Just invented. Seems like it might be best. Double T-bars crimped onto either end of elastic, run up the side.

Aside: Recommended Accessories

The most useful binder accessories are probably gusseted binder pockets and pencil pouches.

Using a cord to hold a small notebook

Double crimp t-bar on speargun w/optional cord lock (or two) for adjustable tension.

On a full size the hold spacing for a three ring binder works fine. On a half-size the anchors may need to share the same hole as a shoulder strap.

Closure Strap

This is harder if you want to use the front of your mapboard as a usable clipboard. Either way, hook and loop fastener works well. The simple solution (that takes up more of the front panel real estate) is to simply affix the loop fastener to the middle front and back when the mapboard is closed, and then make a strap to go between them.

The more complicated route is to cut a slot in the front panel that’s about an inch tall and 1/4 to 1/2" in from the side. This is tricky to do nicely without a router (polycarb or aluminum) or laser cutter (acrylic). This lets you put your loop fastener anchor on the inside of the front panel.

Whichever route you go, you’ll need a couple pieces of loop fastener on your mapboard. Wait until you have the strap made to decide where to place the anchoring pieces.

Strap: To make the strap I suggest either tape or elastic with hook fastener sewn on.

Tape: Use a durable such as Gorilla brand (or similar). Stick 1" x 0.5” fastener onto either ends of a piece of tape that’s about 1" x 3". Use more tape to cover the sticky surface. This is a simple strap that works.

Elastic: Use ~5" length of 1" wide elastic. Sew ~1x1" piece of hook fastener onto either end of it (folding over the very ends of the elastic).

Shoulder Strap Mounting Holes

Bifolds: Drill 1/4th" diameter holes in the top and bottom inside corner of both panels. Crimp t-bars onto either end of a ~5" length of speargun line (sources for both listed at the top).

Single Panels: Drill a 1/4th" hole into the corner(s) where you want your shoulder strap to go (or you want the option of mounting it). Take a 5" piece of speargun line and crimp both ends into a t-bar. This gives you a loop that will stay in place with attached to a strap.

Step 5: Binding your Boards Together

There are generally three ways to bind your board together

Tape:

The easiest and simplest way to bound your front and back panels together. Take two pieces of waterproof tape (such as Gorilla or T-Rex brand) and tape the panels together on the inside and outside. If you want your Mapboard as thin as possible you should place the tape on the outside first with the two panels closed on whatever you plan to carry (binder pocket, thin notebook, etc). Thin with the tape on the outside open the panels and place the second piece of tape on the inside covering the one already in place.

Tape is simple, but has the disadvantage that it isn’t easily repositioned if you want the mapboard wider or thinner.

Sewn Hook and Loop:

This is an involved step. I wouldn’t recommend this choice unless you’re good at sewing things. The advantage of a sewn hook and loop binding is that it’s removable / repositionable, durable, and you can make a pocket for writing utensils on the inside. The downside is you have to sew it, which is a pain.

To make a hook-and-loop closure you need to place two pieces of the loop side fastener along the outside of the panels. Then you need to sew the hook side fastener onto a binding (I like ballistic nylon). Cut the fabric and two pieces of the hook side fastener (about 0.75" wide by however tall you need it for your board). Then fold the parts, sew the tail down and sew the fastener onto the edges. If you want pockets then add some 1/2" wide elastic to across the top half.

These instructions are great because I don’t expect anyone to actually try this (mostly because I’m happy to sell you a binding). If you really want to make your own please contact me if you have questions and I will try to be more helpful.

Removable Rings:

Make holes in the binding side of your panels on the same places on each panel. Use rings (such as the plastic rings or metal loops with screw openings listed at the top) as your binding. You can make it with the same spacing as a three-hole-binder and put your accessories on the same loops.

Other Ideas:

PETG cover sheet

• Cut 0.02” PETG (such as one of the listings here) to letter size and put over your map. It makes a great sheet for dry erase makers (and also provides some protection).

Thank you for reading.

I hope this guide is helpful. I welcome feedback on it, please email me at the address on the contact page.