Lowes birch plywood

[rcp612]

I was looking at Lowe’s birch plywood for the cabinet for my new router table. It was very, very good looking with 1 clear side and only 1 patch on the other. It was marked as ¾”-18MM. Since my plans were made and I had a Christmas gift card, I bought it.
After carefully cutting all the pieces, I prepared to rout the dados for joinery.
With a new “undersized plywood” bit in my router, I thought it best to make a trial cut in scrap. Good thing I did. That plywood was only 21/32”, not the 23/32” I had expected. I could throw a piece into the dado from across the shop. Although a piece of real oak plywood left over from a previous project fit perfectly.
Now, after only 5 trials, I have my dado blade set up for the cuts.
If only I had carried my calipers into the store instead of my tape,,,,,,,,,,
This is to serve warning to others that Lowe’s doesn’t necessarily carry “common” sizes, even if they are listed as such. YMMV.
As for me, I have requested no more Lowes or Home Depot gift cards in the future. Those stores are now just convenience stores for quick needs such as glue or mineral spirits.
The above is only my opinion and in no means are meant to insinuate that the BORGs have ever sold quality lumber products.
I knew that going in but, it was only going to be a shop cabinet.

[crokett]

Sorry to hear that. Was all the ply the same size? How many sheets did you buy? It might have been 1 or 2 undersized pieces or maybe the lot was messed up.

[phrog]

I was looking at Lowe’s birch plywood for the cabinet for my new router table. It was very, very good looking with 1 clear side and only 1 patch on the other. It was marked as ¾”-18MM. Since my plans were made and I had a Christmas gift card, I bought it.
After carefully cutting all the pieces, I prepared to rout the dados for joinery.
With a new “undersized plywood” bit in my router, I thought it best to make a trial cut in scrap. Good thing I did. That plywood was only 21/32”, not the 23/32” I had expected. I could throw a piece into the dado from across the shop. Although a piece of real oak plywood left over from a previous project fit perfectly.
Now, after only 5 trials, I have my dado blade set up for the cuts.
If only I had carried my calipers into the store instead of my tape,,,,,,,,,,
This is to serve warning to others that Lowe’s doesn’t necessarily carry “common” sizes, even if they are listed as such. YMMV.
As for me, I have requested no more Lowes or Home Depot gift cards in the future. Those stores are now just convenience stores for quick needs such as glue or mineral spirits.
The above is only my opinion and in no means are meant to insinuate that the BORGs have ever sold quality lumber products.
I knew that going in but, it was only going to be a shop cabinet.

Man, that's way off. Think I'd take a piece back to where I bought it and register a complaint. At the very least, they should relabel it so that someone else doesn't get hit the way you did.
Richard

[Salty]

Hehe... I'd like to hear about that conversation. Trying to explain 18mm compared to 21/32" and 23/32" to ANYONE there would be a hoot!

[Mr__Bill]

I am wondering if the BORGS are not labeling the thickness prior to sanding. Rather like 2x4 is prior to surfacing (or perhaps that's prior to cutting the tree down). Much of the AC I see is hardly sanded and measures out at the thickness stated but after you get it smooth it's far from it. If this is the case and becomes the norm then thickness is going to be random and we all will be using pocket screws for everything.


Bill

[cabinetman]

Sounds like a nice thick piece of 5/8". Sheet sizing at home centers can be a problem. Maybe carry a caliper, maybe a tape measure. Where you measure could make a difference.

Finding a local supplier of a better grade might be the way to go. As for dadoes, I find it faster and with much more accuracy to use a hand router and straight edge.
.

[cgallery]

+1 to everything Cabinetman said. But I use the router table.

All these crazy plywood sizes (with variances within the sheet) are why I've almost given-up on using a dado set.

[cabinetman]

+1 to everything Cabinetman said. But I use the router table.

Some panels can be too cumbersome for a router table. Having a straightedge setup for dadoes with a router IMO beats handling panels through a TS.

All these crazy plywood sizes (with variances within the sheet) are why I've almost given-up on using a dado set.

I find it a PITA using a stack set for dadoes. I don't like machining stock face down. Some panels are hard to hold down and feed against the fence. So, if the piece is small enough to be problematic in my router jig, I may set up the router table.
.

[BART]

Lowes Plywood

Same thing happened to me at HD last year. Ended up making a jig and useing router. Buyer BEWARE!!!

[charliex]

Went to HD for some Maple ply in August while building a cabinet my daughters hair salon in WI. I found a nice sheet right on top of the stack. As I was inspecting it I noticed some curls on the sheet below. On a closer look it turned out to be some face veneer that had peeled off. I couldn't believe that it could be that thin. It was so thin it looked like it was sprayed on. I slid the sheet back on the stack, left and ordered some maple melamine from a local saw mill.
Two years ago I got some oak ply from HD and about 1/4 of the sheet delaminated while I was cutting it.
I recently built a 3 way crib for our soon to arrive granddaughter. Fortunately my son donated a sheet of oak ply to my wood rack that was over 9 years old. Not sure where it was purchased but was for a project that never came to pass. It was amazing, I had to sand some fairly deep scratches out and I didn't go through the face veneer. I am now seriously considering making my own veneer and attaching it to BB ply. May be less frustrating.

Chas

[phi1l]

I made this adjustable router/dado jig from Woodsmith & it seems to work pretty well. You use the piece of wood that will go into the dado to set the dado width, then use a pass in both directions to cut the dado.

[Salty]

Phi1l, I built one similar to that and used it for some stop dados. It worked well enough but another version I like uses a pattern bit with a bearing guide. I need to rebuild mine and I'll use some of the ideas from your version.

Also, I wanted to say that you have to watch thickness at other sources as well. I bought a 1/4" 4x8 sheet of birch A3 plywood from a lumber company in Hartville. I specifically ask him if it was a full 1/4" thick. Paid $22.99 before tax. Well, they are going to get a call from me tomorrow. I cut out the pieces I needed for the backs of 2 wall cabinets and decided to check a scrap piece. It is 3/16" thick. Dang it! The construction of it is good with few voids and the veneer is thicker than the stuff from the BORG. Still, I'm disappointed that they either lied or did not know.

[jackellis]

I have three steel rules (picked up at garage sales) marked in 32nds and 64ths of an inch that I use for some measurements. Those would be good to take along too.

I built my shop cabinets out of Arauco plywood (Chilean softwood). The edges look nice with multiple layers but it warps a bit and that ended up causing more problems than variations in thickness.

I have yet to find a piece of plywood that stays perfectly flat. BB is nice stuff, but why on earth does it come in 5x5 sheets that I can't put in the bed of my truck?

[annunaki]

What a Bummer

I completely support your disdain with these Big Box stores.
In support of your position, I am offering to accept all gift cards you might receive for these establishments. Just have them sent to me and I will dispose of them !

[phi1l]

Phi1l, I built one similar to that and used it for some stop dados. It worked well enough but another version I like uses a pattern bit with a bearing guide. I need to rebuild mine and I'll use some of the ideas from your version.

Ya, It's not perfect: it is router base and bit specific. For instance I built mine based on a 1/2" straight bit, so if I wanted to go smaller, I will have to make different jig. My next version will be using a template guide, instead of the router base. That was I will be able to use different pairs of guide/bit as long as the difference between the bit diameter & guide diameter is the same.

I like cabinetman's T-square/clamping idea too, the next one I make will incorporate that capability.