Other Off-Campus Resources

Off-Campus Supplies and Services

When additional resources are needed, there are several off-campus sites which can help in times of need. A list of some suggested locations are provided below, in detail.

1. Model Making Supplies and Woodworking Tools

A. Magic Box Hobbies
2105 W 37th Ave; (604) 264-1746
Dimensional Balsa and Bass wood, plastics, metal sheets and rods. Plastic-scale structural elements. Vegetation, etc.

B. DeSerres
1431 W. Broadway; (604) 733-1331 or 2811 Grandview Hwy; (604) 681-7351
Card stock, conservation board, foam core, drafting supplies, drafting tools. Students can usually receive a 10% discount on purchases.

C. Opus Framing and Art Supplies
1360 Johnson St. (Granville Island); (604) 736-7028 or 555 W Hastings St U1; (604) 678-5889
Card stock, conservation board, foam core, artist supplies

D. UBC Bookstore
6200 University Blvd; (604) 822-2665
Some card stock, stationary, some drafting supplies, 3D printing

E. Lee Valley Tools
1180 S.E. Marine Drive; (604) 261-2262
Fine woodworking hand tools including good quality measuring and layout tools, hardware, and glues. Thin Finnish birch plywoods.

F. Summit Tools
3905 1st Avenue, Burnaby BC; (604) 294-1799
Hand and power woodworking tools. Carry inexpensive engineer’s squares, etc.

2. Plywood & Lumber

There are many lumber yards in Vancouver with a fairly consistent range of stock. The first three are most convenient to UBC.

A. Windsor Plywood
1581 W. 7th Avenue; (604) 738-9717
Hardwood and softwood plywood, particle board, MDF, plastic laminate, hardwood & softwood, kiln dried lumber including exotic species. Hardware, fasteners, glue, tools, etc.
*Quote account number 13182 for a discount (you still have to pay!)

B. Dunbar Lumber
Unit 200-2930 Arbutus Street for regular store
8934 Shaughnessy Street for building materials; (604) 224-0434
Softwood plywood, particle board, MDF, plastic laminate, softwood laminate, hardware, fasteners, glue tools, etc.

C. Coe Lumber
3485 West Broadway; (604) 731-6178
Softwood plywood, particle board, MDF, plastic laminate, softwood lumber, hardware fasteners, glue, tools, etc.

D. PJ White Hardwoods
1200 East Kent Street; (604) 327-0241
Primarily a wholesale dealer, but will also sell to students and architects. Large selection of species & sizes available. Hardwood & softwood plywood, particle board, MDF, plastic laminate, paperback veneers. You will be expected to take the sheet stock as it comes without picking through it unless there is an obvious defect. Hardwood & softwood kiln dried lumber including exotic species. Sold mostly unsurfaced random width and length.

E. Home Depot
900 Terminal Ave, or Cambie Street at 7th Ave; (604) 608-1423
Softwood plywood, particle board, MDF, plastic laminate, softwood lumber, hardware, fasteners, glue, tools, etc.

F. Teamwood Traders Ltd.
71 Braid Street, New Westminster BC; (604) 525-6677
Generally panel (plywood etc.) wholesaler, but seems willing to sell small quantities to students.

G. Mount Cheam Woodworking
8539 Banford Road, Chilliwack BC; (604) 795-9297
Small sawmill, cuts and dries local wood, softwood and hardwood, exotics.

3. Plastics

(Note: Plexiglas and Lucite are brand names for acrylic sheet)

A. Sabic Polymershapes
104-11 Burbige Street, Coquitlam BC; (604) 468-2112
Wide range of plastic materials, sheets, rods, tubes, films. Full sheets and cut to rough size, thin acrylic sheets.

B. Industrial Plastics
120-5726 Minoru Blvd, Richmond BC; (604) 278-4977
Wide range of plastic materials, sheets, rods, tubes, films. Full sheets and cut to rough size. Thin acrylic sheets. Epoxy and acrylic resins and molding supplies. Fiberglass supplies.

C. Plasticsmith
17 East 6th Ave; (604) 876-4494
Acrylic fabricator. Will sell full sheets and cut to size. Has offcuts at reduced prices.

D. Bronco
Unit B, 3920 Grant Street; (604) 299-0735
Acrylic fabricator. Will sell offcuts and smaller pieces.

E. Fairey & Co.
#2 – 7959 82nd Street, Delta BC; (604) 940-7060
Wide range of molding supplies. Latex, silicone, polyurethane and epoxy resins, molding clay.

F. Peregrine Plastics
1507 Powell Street; (604) 251-3174
Plexiglas and related plastics. Full sheets and cut to size. Fabrication.

G. Coast Fiber-Tek
1306 Boundary Road, Burnaby BC; (604) 294-8754
Fiberglass supplies, resins, latex, casting supplies.

H. Associated Plastics
1104 Franklin Street; (604) 251-9441
Acrylic, lucite, plexiglas, acetal, delrin, nylon, lexan, polycarbonate, ABS, polylolefins, fabrication and installation services including CNC routing.

3. Metal

A. Rustan Metals
630 Raymur Ave; (604) 682-8541
Wide range of different metals in many sizes.

B. Metal Mart
#113-20120 64th Ave, Langley BC; (604) 533-0723
Ferrous and non-ferrous metals, cut to length with no minimum order. Machining, welding, and fabricating.

C. Superior Scrap Metals
1100 Powell Street; (604) 254-4010
Scrap metal yard, various types and sizes.

4. Metal Welding, Machining, Digital Fabrication

A. Toby’s Cycle Works
1395 Odium Drive; (604) 255-9698
Precise, high-quality machining and fabrication.

B. MakerLabs
780 E Cordova St; (604) 984-7299
An off-campus alternative for laser cutting, CNC work, woodwork, metalwork, etc. Visit their website for thorough service descriptions.

C. Aquashear
1305 Welch St #205, North Vancouver BC; (604) 986-2513
For waterjet cutting, if that’s a thing you ever need to do.

D. Hudson Plating & Coating
7871 82nd Street, Delta BC; (604) 872-7107
Electroplating and powder coating of steel and aluminum.

E. Superior and Millennium Powder Coatings Ltd.
North Van — 360 Lynn Avenue; (604) 984-4494
Burnaby — Unit 102, 2544 Douglas Road; (604) 205-7121
Electroplating and powder coating of steel and aluminum.

F. (For cheap simple welding, look up “Iron Work” in the Yellow Pages.)

5. Electronics

A. Lee’s Electronic
4131 Fraser Street; (604) 875-1993
A retail, wholesale, and online store for all electronic components.

B. Gescan
4131 Fraser Street; (604) 875-1993
Distributor of electrical components.

6. Fabrics & Textiles

A. Dressew
337 W Hastings St; (604) 682-6196
Weird and wonderful selection of fabrics, buttons, pins, zippers, etc. Also have cutting tables available for use. Cash or debit only!

7. Specialty Hardware, Equipment, and Gadgets

A. Northwest Landscape & Stone Supply
5883 Byrne Rd, Burnaby BC; (604) 435-4842
Great supply of rocks, gravels, stones, and materials for outdoor installations, such as small pumps and aquatics supplies. Can also check out the aquarium section of your local pet store for small (and cheap!) rocks and pebbles.

B. Kits Inflatable Boats
1655 W. 4th  Avenue; (604) 736-9877
Carry lots of innovative hardware and gadgets. Technically made for boats, but you can get creative.

C. Hilti
26 W. 2nd Ave; 1-800-363-4458
Great for concrete and other heavy-duty adhesives and power tools.

D. Acklands-Grainger Inc.
2475 Douglas Rd, Burnaby BC; (604) 299-1212
Similar to above, but also carry safety equipment. Other Acklands-Grainger stores are available elsewhere in the lower mainland. Grainger Industrial is their online store.

E. McMaster-Carr
Sales & customer service: (330) 995-5500 or (330) 342-3330
Huge supply of equipment and components, available for order online. Their website says parts should ship within one business day.

F. Sweets Catalog
Website; Sales & customer service: 1-800-393-6343
A great resource for architects looking for a wide range of specs, going everywhere from carpet to elevators.

G. MEC
130 West Broadway Avenue; (604) 872-7858
Carry a range of cables, tools, gadgets, etc. Can be a little pricey sometimes, but reliable.

H. Army & Navy
36 W. Cordova Street; (604) 682-6644
Basically a discount version of MEC. Pretty wonderful.

I. Mark’s Work Wearhouse
Kits — 1885 W. 4th Ave; (604) 736-2678
Mount Pleasant — 117 370 E Broadway (Kingsgate Mall); (604) 872-8271
Carry safety equipment, work apparel, and some small tools and gadgets.

8. Miscellaneous

A. Urban Source
3126 Main Street; (604) 875-1611
A reasonably-priced source for “alternative” art materials. Frequently have offcuts of wood and acrylic, and carry a constantly-changing inventory of random (and always surprising) items.  A great resource if you are making physical collages.

B. Vancouver Flea Market
703  Terminal Avenue; (604) 685-0666
A Vancouver classic, and one of many markets in the city. Open Saturdays and Sundays from 9AM-5PM, and holidays from 10AM-4PM. Admission is $1.50. Think of it as your fun aunt’s year-long yard sale.

C. Paper-Ya
#9 – 1666 Johnston Street (Granville Island); (604) 684-2531
Located inside the Net Loft building on Granville Island. Carries a beautiful selection of Japanese papers, inks, writing instruments.

D. Eddie’s Hang-Up Display Ltd.
Great for weird display armatures, and other bizarre things you never thought you would need.

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