Wood Butcher wrote:
After seeing many posts re this ply I finally
found some at the HD near me. $26.88 ea
at the Hillsboro OR store. 11 internal plys
plus the skins which look like alder but I'm
not sure. Some have minor spalting on them.
All that I saw were billiard table flat and there
were about 30pcs left about an hour ago.


Your local cabinetmaker(s) is probably using this material as his
secondary wood where particleboard and MDF won't serve. I've used some,
will use more. It is made in China, the outer plies are either alder or
poplar of some kind, and the glue stinks or tends to when it's cut. I
made a lumber rack out of some: no voids in the cuts or on the edges. I
have no idea what the inner plies are, but I wouldn't hesitate to use
it for things like painted cabinet doors, drawer fronts, etc.

What I really, really want to know is how on earth they can import the
wood for most of this plywood, which involves major shipping, then
manufacture and ship the plywood many thousands of miles, often back to
the point of the original wood's origin, and then sell it for 28 bucks
a sheet retail. Obviously, their cost has to be very little more than
the wood itself, plus transport, and transport per sheet has to be
incredibly cheap.