Borg plywood and shop cabinet question

[LinuxRandal]

I always hear about the borg plywood being decent for shop cabinets. Well, do you all consider the router table a shop cabinet? I was going to use some metal angle iron I had laying around and build an open frame, but got to thinking about dust collection. Since time is the biggest issue, should I just use the angle iron and bolt a box around the router, or is borg plywood decent enough for this.


(major upgrade from my old 690 router table).

Thanks

TOO many projects right now.

[gsmittle]

Just my personal opinion...

I find BORG "cabinet grade" plywood fine for shop cabinets. I've even built a couple of platform beds out of it. I put "cabinet grade" in quotes because it isn't Baltic birch ply. I've found voids in it from time to time. OTOH, it isn't as expensive as real Baltic birch ply.

The last time I bought some I thought the faces looked unusually nice for "cabinet grade." I paid the "cabinet grade" price for four sheets, and when I got them home I discovered all four were oak veneer! They were in the "cabinet grade" bin and didn't have UPC stickers on them. I was in a hurry and didn't look too closely, and the BORGette at checkout did a price check and off I went!

Yeah, I'd make a router table (plan to do so soon, actually) out of the "cabinet grade" plywood. After all, it doesn't have to look extra pretty unless you use it on a TV show. You aren't Nahm, are you????

g.

[Slik Geek]

Voids galore in one instance

I find BORG "cabinet grade" plywood fine for shop cabinets. I put "cabinet grade" in quotes because it isn't Baltic birch ply. I've found voids in it from time to time. OTOH, it isn't as expensive as real Baltic birch ply.

I built a simple entertainment center / book case using BORG "cabinet grade" plywood a while back. One of the pieces had significant void issues. Not small voids, mind you, significant pockets where there was air instead of glue. The plywood just wasn't structurally sound (which was important in my application!)

Since the plywood is marked "made in China", I checked to see if the China has something similar to the APA. They appear to, and apparently have standards for plywood construction. My piece was way outside of their quality standard.

Half of the board appeared fine, so I cut the crummy half away and returned it to the BORG and asked them for a half credit, which they did.

[gsmittle]

I built a simple entertainment center / book case using BORG "cabinet grade" plywood a while back. One of the pieces had significant void issues. Not small voids, mind you, significant pockets where there was air instead of glue. The plywood just wasn't structurally sound (which was important in my application!)
[snip]
Half of the board appeared fine, so I cut the crummy half away and returned it to the BORG and asked them for a half credit, which they did.

Wow....I'm impressed. My local BORG probably wouldn't do that. Of course, I haven't asked them yet..... Nor have I had voids that big.

g.

[LinuxRandal]

Since the plywood is marked "made in China", I checked to see if the China has something similar to the APA. They appear to, and apparently have standards for plywood construction. My piece was way outside of their quality standard.

Could you enlighten me as to what the label to look for is? (I am assuming it would be stamped)

[Deadhead]

When you guys talk about "cabinet grade" plywood from BORG, what is on the price label? Is it Birch plywood? SandiPly (or whatever it's called)? And how many layers are there in a 3/4" sheet?

I have only once see one of the BORG's in my area stock what I thought to be "cabinet grade". I believe it was around 9 or 11 layers in the 3/4" sheet. Once that stack was gone, I never saw it again.

[gsmittle]

When you guys talk about "cabinet grade" plywood from BORG, what is on the price label? Is it Birch plywood? SandiPly (or whatever it's called)? And how many layers are there in a 3/4" sheet?

I haven't bought any for a while, but IIRC, the label said "Cabinet Grade Birch Plywood." I think there were 9 plies in the sheet.

g.

[BrazosJake]

What I've seen from BORG lately is pretty bad Chinese stuff.

[newood2]

Lowes has the Arauco ACX 23/32" Plywood for $26.97 that I use for shop cabinets. That's a hard solid plywood, and way much better to work with than that HD sandply that splinters like crazy.
It's smooth both sides and take stain or paint very well.
Little or no splinter with tablesaw or circular saw, and it stays flat.
For shop cabinets only where grain orientation is of no issue.

Howie

[Slik Geek]

Wow....I'm impressed. My local BORG probably wouldn't do that. Of course, I haven't asked them yet..... Nor have I had voids that big.

Well, to be honest, I didn't "ask". I was a bit agitated, so I politely "told" them what I expected them to do. The fact that I didn't demand they credit me for the entire sheet, when I was able to utilize half of it probably helped them accept my "request".

[Slik Geek]

Could you enlighten me as to what the label to look for is? (I am assuming it would be stamped)

I don't recall if the plywood itself was marked with anything. I just got thinking about quality standards when I had the bad experience so I thought that I would see if there was a standard in China. That way, if I got grief at the Home Depot, I could reference a China-based plywood standard.

This actually happened over a year ago, so the remaining details have faded from memory.

[Slik Geek]

What I've seen from BORG lately is pretty bad Chinese stuff.

I'd would inspect the Chinese stuff really good before buying it - and even then be cautious. It seems that plywood from the US or Canada is getting harder to find. Unfortunately, there aren't any Lowe's near me so I'm not able to check out Howie's (newood2) recommendation.

I see that Menard's sells a baltic birch plywood. Has anybody tried that? Interestingly, it isn't metric sized, at least in length and width, as it appears to be 4x8 feet.

[eezlock]

borg plywood...

Yes, I do use the plywood from HD. I always buy (my projects for my shop)
the 1/2" or 3/4" baltic birch, of course it is slightly undersized not exactly on dimension here...but always works well for the intended purpose anyway.

I like being able to look thru the stack to find the best sheets that I can
before buying...it helps me in that I don't have to take what ever some
orange apron numbnuts pulls out for me to buy...he doesn't really care
what it looks like or if it is worth anything or not, it matters to me! eezlock

[jerrye]

Lowes has the Arauco ACX 23/32" Plywood for $26.97 that I use for shop cabinets. That's a hard solid plywood, and way much better to work with than that HD sandply that splinters like crazy.
It's smooth both sides and take stain or paint very well.
Little or no splinter with tablesaw or circular saw, and it stays flat.
For shop cabinets only where grain orientation is of no issue.

Howie

Is this the same material in my Lowe's with the shelf tag marked "Blondewood"?

[steve-norrell]

Is this the same material in my Lowe's with the shelf tag marked "Blondewood"?

I have been told that the outer surface of "blondewood" is poplar. I looked at it, but did not use it. The outer layer is extremely thin.

Added Note: The Chinese plywood is reported to use glue with lots of formaldehyde and good ventilation and/or a respirator would be recommended.

Regards, Steve