Mark said:

I understand where you are coming from Greg. Seems like every time I
turn around the lumber industry has found a way to squeak a bit more
out of us. Plywood dimensions keep getting thinner and thinner ( I
recently bought some 1/2" shop grade that was barely above 3/8). And my
local hardwood supplier charges a "straight Lining" charge of 10% on
all domestic lumber they carry. Claiming its S3S lumber. Can't figure
out why they just don't add it into the marked price. It artifically
makes the price on the rack look cheaper...marketing tactic I guess.
Even then I have to joint it every time and usually end up removing
more than 1/8" to get it true.
I just got some 5/4 mahogany (s2s) and it was less than an inch thick.
And the veneer on hardwood plywood is so thin these days that I reject
a sheet even if it's got a "shipping" mark on it. I know if I try and
clean it up by sanding the black mark off I risk burning right through
it. And have you bought dimensional construction lumber lately? I see
why more and more housing is using steel studs. Wood studs are
expensive and crappy. Remember the reason a 2x4 stud is 3 1/2 by 1 1/2
is because the mill cut off the bad parts. Now days it would be a tooth
pick.
Mark

Yeah, the sad thing is, I looked at every piece of 'cabinet' plywood
in the place, there was a lot of it, and every sheet of 3/4" was 5
rough plys and the veneer was paper thin. Best looking stuff in there
was some Baltic birch in odd sizes. I think it was 15 ply - Imported.

I'm going to have to find a better shop - preferably down a long dirt
road in the middle of nowhere - owned by a guy who has been there 40
years, and who built and maintains his own equipment.

I actually went there looking for totally rough lumber.
Honest to God 4/4 stuff. You end up having to surface it anyway, and
their equipment alignment generally leaves much to be desired.
A board edged at 87 degrees is wasted wood - not to mention that wave
in the middle. And I _will_ take a dial caliper with me next time...

My first home was constructed of 2x4s that actually measured
1 5/8" x 3 5/8" - imagine that...


Greg G.