Blondewood

[steve-norrell]

One of the local Lowe's has some 3/4 plywood labeled "Blondewood". It is a light yellow color and looks pretty smooth on both sides, as if sanded (as grade A).

I am sure someone on this forum knows what it is -- I don't. What is it and could I use if for some cabinets and bookcases that are to be painted?

As usual, thanks for the help.

Regards, Steve

[Salty]

I picked up a sheet of this in 1/2" for shelving in an entertainment center.

It does seem to have a tint of yellow, or it is the lighting in my shop.
The biggest objection is that the surface veneer is very very thin. Im fact, I didn't know they could shave wood that thin. Don't plan on doing much sanding or you will be through the veneer in no time. It also splinters easily and doesn't seem as dense as good plywood. But is was $10 a sheet cheaper than the stuff at the lumber yard.
And let's not forget that even though the sticker says 1/2" or 3/4" it is undersize. My 1/2" is actually 15/32. Fortunately I have one of those router bits and the dados worked out nice.

[kwgeorge]

I for one do not like this stuff at all. As Salty mentioned the outside veneer is very thin and slight sanding exposes a very dark laminate below. As he also mention the veneer splinters extremely easy. What was not mentioned is that this stuff is full of voids. I have never seen so many open areas in plywood before. It is not very flat either if you lay it on a good reference surface so I don’t even think I would use it for jigs and fixtures. I guess if your intent is to paint it or perhaps use it for shop cabinets it may be ok but I pretty much consider it junk wood and would not every use it in a piece of fine furniture. Also be sure to check the edges for square and don’t depend of the factory cuts to be so as I have found they are not.

Ken

[crokett]

Steve,

I used some earlier this year for a painted built-in entertainment center. It is ok to work with, though as Ken says, there will be voids. I am less picky about those than most folks are. In my case it was both budget and the requirements - the blondwood texture matched the existing cabinets the best. I would not use it for anything other than painted work.

[steve-norrell]

Blondewood

David, Ken, Salty:

Thanks for the advice. I had pretty much decided against the blondewood anyway and will use 3/4 inch A/C ply for closed cabinets and 3/4 inch birch (two sided) for the open bookcases. They are going to be painted anyway so the surface grain is not as important as its smoothness.

I had considered gluing two pieces of A/C back to back but decided to use the birch instead (to save time).

Thanks again for the suggestions. Regards, SN