"Mike Hartigan" wrote in message
.net...
I recently built a bar in my basement using some 3/4" oak ply that
had been sitting in my garage for the past ten years or so (I
originally bought it for some bookcases that, somehow, never got
built). As I recall, I paid $45 at one of the big box stores -
probably Builder's Square. The price was higher that normal at the
time because the industry was in the midst of one of its occasional
lumber 'shortages'. It cleaned up nicely and looks great. I needed
to build a back bar to go with it and bought another sheet of 3/4"
oak ply, this time for $39 from Menard's (a much more 'normal'
price).

Now you say the cheaper stuff is a more "normal" price, then you complain
about the quality of it. Putting ten years of inflation into persective,
would you be willing to pay a lot more money to get the old quality?

The problem is that we all want things to look nice but are not willing to
pay a nice price for it. Looks over substance has been a trend for some
time now in all aspects of consumerism.




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

I don't think you can. That old sheet, adjusted for inflation, is in the
$100 category today.