How do you make masonite flats for paint?

How do you attach masonite to a 1x4 frame, traditional style? I have a great shop which includes pneumatic brad nailers and a narrow crown staplers. What glue is best against 1x4 frames?

What about joints? dutchmen?

Which side is best to paint? I loathe painting masonite generally, but is the textured untempered side better, perhaps with lots of primer?

As I delve into this Nutcracker project further (see http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2803 ) it appears that there is more than just the drop amiss. The simplest fix is to make new flats around the old staging/levels, to which the dancers are already accustomed and no choreography need be changed. (loadin is 3 weeks away )

I've never made flats from the stuff, preferring luaun. I've recycled some masonite flats in the past but they were poorly made and all floppy. Termites are an issue under this company's storage conditions which rules out luaun. Framing will have to be p/t which presents its own joyless issues.

*sigh* thanks for any thoughts.

One key to remember with masonite, is you may have to drill a countersink for the head of the screws to sit flush with the surface. How about checking with a local lumber/hardware store and treat the luan with an insecticide to deal with the termite issue.

Thanks to you all. Yeah it is thin and bendy. Living on a small island, I haven't the time to order in a more suitable material, or muslin to cover it, very unfortunately. Also, this set will only ever be for the Nutcracker ballet. It's an island institution, and the last set lasted 11 years/33 performances. The termites relaxed their grip and the old set came to pieces. Hence the new one will be pressure-treated frames, masonite panels (which, tho not termite proof, are less tasty than any equivalent such as luaun) and which, at 13.50 ea are cheapest by more than half compared with anything else.

I bought a case each of 5/8" narrow crown staples and 3/4" 18guage finish nails. I'll report back if one proves superior to another.

FOLLOW-UP: It was a brilliant success and here are some things I learned:

-1/4" narrow crown staples are the best for quick and sturdy attachment of masonite to flat frames. Setting staple depth is important for proper attachment. Too shallow and the crown is proud of the panel surface. Too deep (even slightly) and the attachment is too weak. Spend some time fiddling with staple depth to get it right on scrap mtrl.

-Yellow glue works (in addition to mechanical fasteners) for augmenting panel attachment to frames, but polyurethane glue seems to be better.

Hi magicguy,

Yes I used yellow glue (TB2) in addition to staples but later saw some similar flats made with gorilla glue and fasteners which seemed to hold a little better.

Two factors indicated the use of masonite/hardboard:
-basic luaun ply is lovely but here it costs between $25 and $40. (small island economy) Hardboard, OTOH, costs $13.45/sht for 4'x8'x1/8" which is cheap for us. At least we couldn't order muslin and have it shipped any cheaper than that.

-these flats are for the nutcracker put on annually by our local ballet school, so they are stored for 11 months, where termites can do their worst. Luaun is wonderful to work with but it is also very attractive to each of the 4 ravenous species of termites we have here. Termites will attack hardboard, but not so vigorously as they will luaun.

Masonite/Hardboard is useful for many things, like bending curves as has been mentioned above. But all in all I prefer luaun in every way for stock flatage. Also hardboard is h-e-a-v-y for its size and b-r-i-t-t-l-e!

The scraps of hardboard, though, make nice paint test pieces, and are great for model building or painting elevations or for teaching painting techniques.