[JesseK]

In case honeycombed composites are considered...

Our electroncs boards have been made from honeycombed fiberglass made by PlasCorp since 2007. The combination of a stiff board, insanely light weight vs. square footage, and insulating factors made it ideal for us to use. We even mounted the compressor and battery on the material for 2010.

The material is somewhat easy to cut with hand tools, but I would recommend a table saw and/or band saw. It is extremely easy to drill through, and not too difficult to punch through with a hand punch + hammer. Finally, spraypaint works great for color.

However, I would not recommend using it for a belly pan that provides support to the frame. The gaps from the honeycomb structure are not strong enough to withstand the implied lateral forces. I also recommend against mounting the board vertically unless the bottom edge has a lateral support since gravity will have the same lateral-force effect.