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paper-machine comments on Open thread, July 23-29, 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion
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I once made a white board out of one of those transparent office chair mats. I just stapled it to my white wall. I never ended up using it extensively, but it worked pretty well. If you want them professional-looking at more cost and slightly more work, consider just painting the back of a piece of plexi glass white, or just the wall behind it. That's how this institution solved the same problem
(Edit: I researched some more and, due to ghosting issues, acrylic glass (or plexiglass) is not an ideal whiteboard material.) You could make 10 giant white boards for ~1000dollars, according to this website. A cheaper, if less stylish option, buy these 4'x4' panels for ~50 each.
If you want to go even more DIY, here's a list of whiteboard materials:
Melamine
Painted steel
Ceramic (glass) fired onto a steel surface in a kiln. The only material which does not ghost if the ink is left on for long periods of time.
PET, Polyethylene terephthalate-on-steel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteboard#Surface_materials.
Melamine seems like the best bet. Look for melamine-laminated plywood, as it will likely be as high-quality as most store-bought boards. Here's the type of thing you'd want, and it's very cheap. But you'd have to find someone willing to sell it in small quantities.
Note, chalk is an option - and a cheap one. This chalkboard contact paper is very cheap and has excellent reviews:http://goo.gl/samVWk What's that you say? You're too cool for chalkboards? I assure you, you're not. If you do decide to buy the chalk paper, remember it must be applied to a smooth surface - one reviewer recommends masonite board. You cannot stick it directly to a wall, unless the wall is abnormally smooth. Same goes for spray-on chalkboard coating - which works very well, too.
I've much wondered why whiteboards became popular. Admittedly chalk can rub off on your clothes, but it doesn't stain anything, and an arbitrary piece of chalk is guaranteed to work with an arbitrary blackboard -- the same can't be said of whatever dry-erase marker you find lying around.
Personally, I just find chalk super unpleasant to use. It leaves weird dust on your hands and makes them feel all dry and weird. shudder
I don't know why anyone else likes whiteboards though.
I agree, and I also find using a whiteboard really pleasant, especially with a fresh marker.
The messiness and potential for really unpleasant sounds, in my mind, far outweighs the need for a specific type of dry-erase marker. Though that might be related to how easily sounds can be unpleasant to me in particular.
I meant that it's obvious that a given piece of chalk will work, whereas a given dry-erase marker may have dried up without obviously looking like it's dried up.
Well, I did say it far outweighed it. Even that's less of an inconvenience in my mind, but that's getting to be very much a personal preference thing.