Where can I find a small sheet of flexible plastic for my project?

[leroyjenkens]

I have a project where I need a flat sheet of plastic that's about 1 foot by 1.5 feet and about a quarter inch thick, but probably less than that. It doesn't have to be exactly that size. It can't be brittle either, it needs to be able to bend some.
I don't know where to get something like that. What kind of store carries stuff like that where I don't have to buy a bunch of it? I was thinking Wal-Mart, but nothing there is what I want. Lids to bowls aren't perfectly flat. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[MATLABdude]

Try your local hardware store (Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace / TrueValue, etc.) Acrylic might go under the brandname of Lucite, while polycarbonate may go under Lexan. Both should be fairly in-expensive, depending on thickness and dimensions. If you have a table or band saw, you can cut these down fairly easily. If you don't, most of those places will probably also cut down the sheet you buy to your desired dimension for free / nominal cost (assuming you have a small number of cuts).

 

[Danger]

If the hardware store approach doesn't work (which is possible because their inventory can be quite limited), check with local manufacturers. All factories have leftovers which are generally referred to as "offcuts". In the plastics industry, they can't easily be recycled in-house. In my experience, they might be given away free of charge. The piece that you need might be a bit too large for that, but I bet that it won't cost more than a couple of bucks.
You could also ask a glass shop, since they deal with acrylics in addition to real glass.

 

[thegreenlaser]

Try your local hardware store (Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace / TrueValue, etc.) Acrylic might go under the brandname of Lucite, while polycarbonate may go under Lexan. Both should be fairly in-expensive, depending on thickness and dimensions. If you have a table or band saw, you can cut these down fairly easily. If you don't, most of those places will probably also cut down the sheet you buy to your desired dimension for free / nominal cost (assuming you have a small number of cuts).

This. I've had to use stuff pretty much exactly like what you're looking for, and I just got it at Home Depot. I think I got like a 2ft by 2ft sheet for under $10-$20 if I remember right. They had quite a selection of small pieces like that, I didn't have to buy one of the giant sheets. Most hardware stores will have pretty much exactly what you're looking for.