On Apr 7, 9:27 am, "GROVER" wrote:
On Apr 7, 8:11 am, Mike Hartigan wrote:



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). The grain was MUCH nicer on this one, and viewed from the
edge, the nine plies (vs seven on the old one) appeared to be perfect
- almost as if they were made by a machine! (ok, they *were* made by
a machine, but I think you know what I mean). I've never seen
plywood with such perfect plies. I anxiously started working with
this piece and it quickly became obvious why the older piece was the
better of the two. The veneer on the new piece was like paper. It
was wood, but it had the thickness of a sheet of paper. Fortunately,
it was smoother than the old piece, so it didn't need much sanding,
but I was still very disappointed.

Is this normal? Is this how mass-market plywood is done these days?
Assuming I finish it correctly, will this present durability
problems? Where can I get something more like the old stuff without
spending upwards of $100/sheet?

I know that everyone who has worked with plywood sheet goods for any
length of time has noticed the gradual thinning of the outer veneers.
There is a limit, however, when the Chinese factory ships get the
thickness down to one molecule.
Joe G

Regardless of how one feels about this evolution in the industry, one
can't help but be awed by the accuracy that is maintained when slicing
these logs so thinly. What sort of blades do they use for this? Are
these veneers truly as flawless as they appear, or do they include
invisible repairs? And if they have been repaired, how can I make
similarly invisible repairs to my own work? I selected a particular
1/4" sheet that included some pin knots (or whatever they're called)
that added a really nice visual touch. How does that *not* cause
problems for the slicer? In light of this, I feel that what we're
getting certainly has *some* redeeming qualities. If it just wasn't
such a b*tch to sand!

Incidentally, here's a tip that many of you probably already know.
When selecting 1/4" sheets to glue to a CDX backing, select those that
are warped UP at the edges (in my experience, the 1/4" sheets are
virtually all warped one way or the other). This way, you can use
fasteners, or simply clamps, just at the edges, and the middle is,
essentially, self clamping. Just set it with a block and mallet and
you're done.