3/4" ac cabinet grade plywood

[keith ouellette]

Home depot has this on sale for $24. To me it looks like plain sanded pine with no blemishes on the face. I didn't look at the back.

Is that a good buy/ good plywood and does any other home depot have it?

[Chuck Isaacson]

What kind of cabinets are you going to make? Where are they going to go? For shop furniture, I think that it might be OK. Foe something that is going to be nice and in the house, you might want to splurge for something a little nicer. That stuff has the tendency to turn into a potato chip.

Chuck

[Alan Bienlein]

I bought 12 sheets 4 weeks ago and its still flat. I was rather amazed that it did stay flat.

[Jason White]

It's garbage. I bought some at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago because it was cheap. It twisted all to heck in just a day. The figure (if you can even call it that) is ugly as hell, too. Not sure what the veneer layer is, but it's definitely not pine or fir. I won't even use it for shop cabinets anymore.

Jason


Home depot has this on sale for $24. To me it looks like plain sanded pine with no blemishes on the face. I didn't look at the back.

Is that a good buy/ good plywood and does any other home depot have it?

[Alan Bienlein]

Buy some and try it. I've had $100 sheets of quatersawn white oak ply from my local hardwood supplier warp and bow as much as some of the stuff from the local borg. Now adays its a crapshoot anymore. For me I'm going to buy some more of that $24 plywood since it stayed flat for me.

[keith ouellette]

What kind of cabinets are you going to make? Where are they going to go? For shop furniture, I think that it might be OK. Foe something that is going to be nice and in the house, you might want to splurge for something a little nicer. That stuff has the tendency to turn into a potato chip.

Chuck


I bought 12 sheets 4 weeks ago and its still flat. I was rather amazed that it did stay flat.


It's garbage. I bought some at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago because it was cheap. It twisted all to heck in just a day. The figure (if you can even call it that) is ugly as hell, too. Not sure what the veneer layer is, but it's definitely not pine or fir. I won't even use it for shop cabinets anymore.

Jason

most was going to be for the shop and some for a kitchen type bar for the back porch to use by my grill and some for a closet remodel. Wife wants a fancy closet or else.

Now I have one 'it worked fine' and one ' buy it if you like warped plywood' and one ' it may turn into a potato chip' which I think means it will warp or turn crunchy and salty. At the price of potato chips these days that might not be so bad. Talk about eating waisted wood.

I thought the figure looked like pine to me but I'm not that great at identifying wood.

[Phil Phelps]

Is it really 3/4"? Several years back HD had some birch/maple, true 3/4" ply, and I bought ten sheets of it and still have eight. I doubt you're that lucky, but I hope so.

[Jeff Nolan]

Support local businesses and buy from a supplier in your area that specializes in sheet goods. Call a cabinet shop and ask them where they buy from...

The HD stuff is pretty low grade, which doesn't mean that it's bad stuff just that it's not good. Given the quantities that they buy in I am not even sure they really care what it is or where it comes from.

The big issue in sheet goods is that California is regulating formaldehyde emissions in sheet goods and considering the size of the CA market for construction materials this is throwing the entire market into disarray, and imports (mostly from China) are entirely cost driven with unstable core materials, different glues, and much thinner face veneers.




Home depot has this on sale for $24. To me it looks like plain sanded pine with no blemishes on the face. I didn't look at the back.

Is that a good buy/ good plywood and does any other home depot have it?

[Alan Bienlein]

Here are the pictures of the plywood right where I unloaded it in my shop.
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[John A langley]

Keith - Save your money. If it doesn't bow on you there are 3 other problems you could run into - first is, likely the edges aren't straight - second, it probably isn't square. Therefore unless you have a slider you will have a tough time cutting square panels out. The unforeseen problem is the stuff is prone to delaminating right in the center. This you won't know until you cut it.:)

Alan - If you want your veneer plywood to stay flat, buy MDF core. I know its heavy and I know its dusty but I know it will stay flat. It also is less prone to chipping on the back side as bad because you don't have veneer plywood to pull on the face as you cut it.:)

[Charles Wiggins]

My experience with BORG ply is that it's crap. I might use it for shop furniture, but that's about it.

I bought a piece of their "cabinet grade" hardwood ply once that had overlapping plys in a single layer which created a noticeable 1/8" bulge across the middle.

[Alan Bienlein]

Keith - Save your money. If it doesn't bow on you there are 3 other problems you could run into - first is, likely the edges aren't straight - second, it probably isn't square. Therefore unless you have a slider you will have a tough time cutting square panels out. The unforeseen problem is the stuff is prone to delaminating right in the center. This you won't know until you cut it.:)

Alan - If you want your veneer plywood to stay flat, buy MDF core. I know its heavy and I know its dusty but I know it will stay flat. It also is less prone to chipping on the back side as bad because you don't have veneer plywood to pull on the face as you cut it.:)

John the only material that has a chance of staying flat is mdf core. The weight isn't a problem but you can't always get it in the species you want when you need it. I've tried the only 2 local hardwood suppliers that I know of in Houston and their so called cabinet grade ply isn't any better than the borg.

I'm the type that will go thru the stack and pick out the sheets I like and yes unlike others I restack it when I'm done. I have yet to have a problem with delamination or warping. I look at the material and if my gut tells me not to buy it I go to the next store .I usually have 3 that are close by to choose from.

As far as chip out I don't have a problem with that since I use a 10" x 90 tooth ridgid saw blade to cut my ply with. Cuts the plywood like butter with no chipout.

[Heather Thompson]

Kieth,

I had some Borg ply for a disposable project a few years back, ran a dado stack through one side and hit something that looked like dental floss,:confused: it ripped the veneer. Then I went to rip it to width and hit a box cutter blade, threw it in the back of my truck and took it back to Lowes, they did refund my money but would not pay to have the blade fixed.:mad:
No more Borg ply for me and the blue Borg no see me anymore for anything.

Heather

[zayd alle]

Keith,

I just bought a few sheets of this plywood a couple months ago and made some shop cabinets. They did warp, but not excessively. I used dadoes, glue and screws, so that straightened out most of the warping as I assembled.

For me, it was a great value, because this was my first set of shop cabinets and I'd rather learn on more inexpensive plywood. But in the interest of longevity, I'm reserving my more permanent, complicated shop cabinets for nicer plywood.

Good luck!

[Harold Burrell]

Kieth,

I had some Borg ply for a disposable project a few years back, ran a dado stack through one side and hit something that looked like dental floss,:confused: it ripped the veneer. Then I went to rip it to width and hit a box cutter blade, threw it in the back of my truck and took it back to Lowes, they did refund my money but would not pay to have the blade fixed.:mad:
No more Borg ply for me and the blue Borg no see me anymore for anything.

Heather

OUCH!

Note to self: "Don't make Heather mad."

[Glenn Vaughn]

Is it really 3/4"? Several years back HD had some birch/maple, true 3/4" ply, and I bought ten sheets of it and still have eight. I doubt you're that lucky, but I hope so.

I bought a couple sheets and have had no problems with them. It is 3/4" and square.

[Harold Burrell]

I bought a bunch myself. $24 here too.

Seems ok to me. I like it.

Of course, I'm a newbie...:o

[keith ouellette]

Well it looks like only one person likes this stuff.

My problem is that I've gotten bad plywood from my local hardwood supplier. I have had both cabinet grade 1/2" and a 3/4" maple veneer plywood have ply's separate. And they aren't that great about returns.

The one thing I love about HD is that If I do have a problem with anything, from plants to steel, they seem to take it back with no questions even if you can't find your receipt.

If they still have it when I'm ready to start one of the projects next week I'll give it a try. If it is that bad I can bring it back. I can only hope Heathers experience is a one of a kind.

[Richard Dragin]

Keith - Save your money. If it doesn't bow on you there are 3 other problems you could run into - first is, likely the edges aren't straight - second, it probably isn't square. Therefore unless you have a slider you will have a tough time cutting square panels out. The unforeseen problem is the stuff is prone to delaminating right in the center. This you won't know until you cut it.:)

These are some pretty wild claims. Unless it was dropped on an edge I doubt you could find two other members here who have had more than one factory sheet of ply from the BORG that was out of square.

[keith ouellette]

Heather clued me into this editorial

http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Archives/SS112/SS112_Clamp_Caddy_files/images/Choosing_Plywood.pdf

I think I actually get the same cabinet grade plywood with a slightly different face at my local hardwood supplier. It sounds just like what is described in the article, except for the razor blades, and has a veneer that is paper thin.

I think they also have a birch plywood but it is much more expensive.

[Bruce Wrenn]

It's Arruco (sp?) plywood,from plantation grown pine in Brazil. Lowes sells exact same product for $37, but not all Lowes stock it. We have used this stuff for counter top underlayment for years, with no problems. This what Norm used on NYW program on assembly table and rolling clamp rack. But the "C" face usually looks like dog doo. Local HD originally listed it as AC grade Birch plywood, which it it isn't.

[Jim Becker]

The 1/2" cabinet grade birch ("domestic" from Canada, not from China) that I purchased a week ago was $62 a sheet at the contractor price my supplier allows me to get since I'm such a nice guy or something...oh, and it measures a half inch oversize in both directions, meaning one can cut two 24" panels from a sheet no problem...space for the waste of the cut line.

I personally have never had any satisfaction with sheet goods from the 'borg outside of MDF.

[Alan Bienlein]

Now the only plywood that I've seen marked as chinese is the plywood at the McCoy's down the road from me. I know I'll stir the pot with this but it was flatter and better looking than most of the domestic plywood I could find down here. I'm going to keep them in mind for my next project and give it a try.

[Ben Martin]

My HD and Lowe's sell the Chinese ply in my area...

Luckily, we have Menard's in the area that sells "cabinet grade" American made ply, I have had 3 sheets in the garage for 8 months now and they are still nice and flat.

[Caleb Larru]

It is arauco plywood and it is 23/32. I have used it for all of my shop cabinets, shelves, and some jigs. It finishes very well and I have yet to have ANY problems with it.

I have had a lot of issues with Borg lumber but this isn't one of them. I have found the sheets square and flat without razorblades.

I bought 10 sheets of maple ply from my local lumber guy a couple of months ago and 3 of them warped severely. By using the logic of some people around here, I should probably stop doing business with them also. :eek:

[Gary McNair]

I would agree with most of the posts that it is not suitable for cabinet work. The 2 pcs I recently bought were bowed due to being hung over the storage racks they use. I fought that bow all thru my project. At one point it became a safety issue as the bow ran up over the blade of the table saw.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I bought a half dozen or so of these a while back, and the 4 I have left are in good shape. Not all borgs are created equal, apparently. This stuff is from Chile, not China. Might be similar to the stuff from Brazil some people have mentioned. A few areas of fill on the back side, and the 'good' side might have one or two fills, but easy enough to work around. I have not hit a void yet (or any razor blades....YIKES). I would not use it for 'good' furniture, but would have no problem using it for other purposes.

That said, I *have* bought stuff in the past from HD w/out even looking to see where it was from (probably before I joined SMC, and learned the error of my ways LOL), and it definitely did delaminate while just sitting in my basement. I guess you need to just pick and choose carefully.

[Jon Endres]

I bought eight sheets of what I believe is the same plywood you all are describing, from the local HD a couple weeks ago. It is seven-ply, very clear white face with minimal grain, and a c-grade back that varied from a dozen tight knots, to one sheet that was clear both faces. They called it 'AC sanded' plywood and it was on an end-cap as a 'special'. It was cheaper than their regular CDX, and I was using it for shelving in my shed, so I am very happy with it, but it is actually better than that - it was flat and straight, pretty square, and no appreciable voids or bumps. I would buy another dozen sheets but I have no place for them. It would certainly make great shop cabinets, or even kitchen cabinet carcases if you can hide them well or paint the insides.

[Jeff Nolan]

not all imports are created alike... a truer statement could not be said.

I'm no expert on plywood but I do know that the quality begins with the core material and ends with the glue as much as the face veneer.

A good consistently reliable manufacturer is Columbia Forest Products, which uses poplar cores exclusively. States Industries uses birch and alder cores with a phenolic glue.

Face veneers are thinner and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The machinery has evolved as the forest yielded smaller trees. The problem is that the thinner veneers telegraph discoloration and other imperfections in the cross banding, so again we are back to the quality of the plywood core. Many of the Asian imports are using core materials that are of very suspect quality and this is what makes them difficult to rely on for cabinet work.

Like a lot of folks, I am shifting to using MDF cored sheet goods. While heavier, the quality is a lot better and the amount of innovation in the sheet goods industry is impressive (you can even get fire retardant MDF) and I also like to veneer my own panels using the lightweight version of MDF where I would normally just have pulled a sheet of hardwood plywood.

[Greg Portland]

I personally have never had any satisfaction with sheet goods from the 'borg outside of MDF.+1. I have purchased plenty of poor quality plywood that has been manufactured in a variety of countries (including the US). The market wants cheap garbage so "they" make cheap garbage. I get my sheetgoods from a local supplier and usually go with Appleply (States Industries brand). My main issue recently has been finding quality hardwood veneered panels (the core quality stinks and/or the veneer is extremely thin). I have been considering going with a veneering setup to counteract this issue (veneer on appleply or MDF product). If I'm going to spend a long time on a project I do not want to skimp on materials and get burned halfway through.

[Lewis Cobb]

Interesting - I just got back from the hardware store and a "session" of buying 1 sheet of plywood. First up was the "special offer" pile that was 20 bucks a sheet less than the birch cabinet grade pile. Looked clean and flat, so I ask the manager if this is domestic or imported - he tells me domestic. So we take a sheet over to the panel saw and start breaking it down - that's where the fun began. Spiltered all along the cut edge - then I spied the blue stamp "MADE IN CHINA" !!!! Back in to the shop - give him back the pieces of plywood and out the door I go.

Next stop - BORG, but they were carrying the Columbia stuff and clearly stamped on the side was Made in Canada. Right, off to the panel saw, get my nice cut pieces and home I go with a smile on my face, albeit with less money in my pocket.

I'll be on guard from now on when it comes to buying plywood. If I can't get something decent at a decent price I'll get something decent at an inflated price but I will not take the chinese stuff at any price.