Ply or Cry???

[poolhound]

I know this topic will generate a lot of diverse opinion so nothing to violent please

What are the best sources and types of plywood for various projects?

I know prices and quality varies dramatically but does one really need fancy more expesive stuff for simple projects? I know a lot of folks slam HD and Lowes for their quality and for "fine" work I would agree but is it really that bad?

I am about to start work on a hall table/unit that will be painted, so my question stands - Baltic birch or something more cost effective?


Jon

[Jim Boyd]

My 2 cents is the baltic birch would look bad painted. To much grain to seal up and it would show through. I would go more for mdf or Norm's favorite mdo.

[poolhound]

My 2 cents is the baltic birch would look bad painted. To much grain to seal up and it would show through. I would go more for mdf or Norm's favorite mdo.

MDO - what is this?

[JR]

MDO - what is this?

Medium Density Overlay. It's plywood with a paper outer layer. It's very paintable, with a nice smoot surface.

JR

[poolhound]

Medium Density Overlay. It's plywood with a paper outer layer. It's very paintable, with a nice smoot surface.

JR

Once painted is the surface durable, will it stand up to most things?

[JR]

Yeah, it's good stuff. I made my whole shop out of it a few years ago, using Nahm's one-car garage design. I did not paint it, so now it looks like a well-worn slipper, but otherh than that it's holding up fine.

Norm always says that it is used by signpainters for outdoor signs. Apparently they like its ability to take paint and its durability.

JR

[jnesmith]

If you don't want to use an inexpensive hardwood like poplar, MDF paints very well. However, it won't hold up well to knicks and dings, and I wouldn't recommend it for the legs.

[scorrpio]

Local HD carries poplar-faced 3/4" plywood that sells for about $28/sheet. Very light in color, very good looking. Sometimes they also have something called 'cabinet grade plywood', also 3/4", faced with some sort of dark, rather nice looking wood, and they sell it at for $25. This in addition to the usual birch and oak plys they have for $44/sheet.

I worked with both $25 and $28 stuff, so far I did not notice any warps, delaminations, whatever, and it did not seem to have voids either.

Painting plywood edge is no worse than painting regular wood end grain - Sand the edges smooth, going all the way up to 320 might be a good idea. Of course, if there are voids, you want to fill them with something (putty works). If you REALLY want to make sure, just rip thin strips of some hardwood and use as edging. Prime, put down two or more coats of paint, and it should look peachy.

[Popeye]

I've use Lowes and HD's inexpensive hardwood plywood for a bunch of projects. Both painted, stained and varnished and straight varnish. Some people don't like it. But I'm not spending their money I'm spending mine. I was gonna paint my DIL's big display cabinet project but she wouldn't let me. After seeing it she wanted it this way... http://bt3gallery.fhauto.com/view_ph...56&id=PDR_0002 Here are the rest of the pics. http://bt3gallery.fhauto.com/view_al...umName=album56 Pat

[poolhound]

I was gonna paint my DIL's big display cabinet project but she wouldn't let me. After seeing it she wanted it this way... http://bt3gallery.fhauto.com/view_ph...56&id=PDR_0002 Here are the rest of the pics. http://bt3gallery.fhauto.com/view_al...umName=album56 Pat

Those units look just great - I take it there's some hardwood holding that ply together

[drumpriest]

I'm another person that uses HD ply. The oak ply has been very good to me, only 1 sheet has ever given me problems.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=18697

[Tom Miller]

HD has sold some bad (really bad) ply in the past. There were wide reports of something called "China Birch" that sold for ~$30/sheet. In fact, I've posted about a piece of this (I think I called it potato-chip ply) that I got there. But I've never heard that their stuff is bad in general.

When it comes to hardwoods, I found they just don't have any reasonable selection of species or good boards within a species. And the prices are usually high in comparison to a "real" hardwoods supplier.

In addition to keeping cost in mind when working on a project, it's good to keep in mind the ease of working with the material, and the satisfaction it brings. If you're constantly fighting the material (e.g. having trouble with lots of voids in plywood, etc.) you may wish you ponied up a few extra $$.

Using BB and "regular" ply, as a comparison, I figure the price differential may be as much as ~25%. So, for a $40 sheet, I'm paying a $10 premium. Sometimes it's worth it, but not so much because HD quality is a problem. It's just that I want more plies and no voids.

In the big scheme of things, that's not what's gonna put me in the poorhouse.

Regards,
Tom

[Handy Al]

Last time I priced out MDO it was over $60.00 a 4x8 sheet. I watched Norm build a garden shed using MDO. Must be nice to have his budget.

[JimD]

The last 3/4 plywood I bought was chinese birch for less than $30 a sheet. It was not as nice as the first chinese birch I bought but would be OK for something painted. The center plys seem to want to fuzz more than anything I've used before but there are few voids and it seems solid enough. Both faces are smooth enough to paint. I've also painted Sandeply, sometimes available at HD with OK results. It is not as smooth as birch so my first choice would be cheap birch. The birch plywood sold at Lowe's and HD is OK but I would look for some with poplar interior plys instead of softwood. The softwood stuff seems less stable and has more voids.

I don't think you need baltic birch. It is better stuff but overkill for simple painted stuff. I would work well, however. I get the 1/2 inch baltic birch in 5x5 sheets for about $30 a sheet. It is thus a bit more than the cheaper birch plywood but not real expensive. I have not bought the 3/4 baltic birch so I am not sure what it goes for. For strength, the 1/2 inch baltic is possibly similar to the cheaper 3/4 birch.

Jim

[Xamu]

Last time I priced out MDO it was over $60.00 a 4x8 sheet. I watched Norm build a garden shed using MDO. Must be nice to have his budget.

Yeah - no sheet.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Seriously, I have never found a place that even carries MDO.