I really don't have problems, just irritations, My dad always said, "if it
fits on paper scaled down, it should fit in real life." He was a well
respected tool & die maker. He also designed, or modified many of the
machines in the plant where he worked using his drafting and machining
skills.
So when I am doing a scale drawing I really want it to measure out when
adding up the dimensions. Lest I feel the smack on the back of me head.
When you use autocad, I take it you have to compensate for your overall
height and width, even though it may be less than 1/32"?
I realize the difference may be negligible, and we are working with a medium
that is difficult to keep exact dimensions, but it is still irritating to
me.

"Mike Dembroge" wrote in message
m...
Wayne,
I design everything in AutoCAD as well, but I just draw everything as
3/4"stock and haven't had a problem. Can you elaborate on the specifics
of the problems you've had? I'm curious.


"Wayne K" wrote in message
. ..
I just finished drawing up some plans for some file cabs made with "3/4"
plywood. Trying to draw to these dimensions is impossible. I built in a
little extra clearance to compensate for the missing wood. Frustrating.
It's started me thinking why? Why can't they make 3/4" plywood 3/4"?
Because they can get two veneer layers where they used to get one?
Because it is measured in millimeters when everything else is is
imperial? (who came up with that brilliant scheme.) Why can't they
anticipate the thickness before sanding. Slight variance within the
sheet is acceptable and understandable. But dealing with these minute
dimensions in the design stage is very frustrating.
Rant mode off.

"Mike Dembroge" wrote in message
om...
For those of you that use a lot of plywood in your cabinets, casework,
etc, what do you find as an acceptable amount of thickness variance in
your sheet goods?

My last 3 projects all used plywood of various species (A-1 Mahogany,
A-2 Maple, C-2 Maple), and all was purchased from the same source: PALS
in Oakland, CA. However, I found with each project that the thickness
of the plywood varied not only between sheets, but within the same sheet
as well. On my last project, I measured .009" difference in about 25" of
length in a sheet. While this doesn't sound like a lot, it was enough
to create a sloppy dado at one end and a too-tight-to-fit one on the
other.

Am I being too fussy, or is this normal? I spend a fair amount of time
setting up the stacked dado set to produce a clean-fitting dado that is
not too sloppy and not so tight that it distorts the material. So, when
I make several cuts and some don't fit, it's a PITA.

Mike
Alameda, CA