"Mike Hartigan" wrote in message

Is this normal? Is this how mass-market plywood is done these days?

Along with corporate greed, where quality is a thing of the past and
customer service is a touch tone phone menu, hardwoods are no longer as
plentiful and thus plywood veneer is thinner to keep the cost down and the
profits up.

Assuming I finish it correctly, will this present durability problems?

Biggest danger is damaging the thinner veneer, oversanding it, dinging it,
etc, AND there indeed can be finishing issues because the glue used to
laminate the plywood may have penetrated the thinner veneer, so the old
stuff may look actually look different with the same finish applied.

That is something it would be a good idea to test before you start a
project.

Not to mention thickness differences from batch to batch in even the modern
plywood.

Where can I get something more like the old stuff without
spending upwards of $100/sheet?

Even if you pay the higher price you will still likely get a much thinner
veneer than was available when you bought the original. When I do a project
that requires plywood these days I buy all the product at once, and from the
_same_ stack at the lumber yard.

That said, my grandfather probably had to do the same thing, but for
different reasons, so things haven't changed that much.

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Last update: 2/20/07