BORG plywood

[Walt Nicholson]

There was a post awhile back that I can't seem to find, about some $24.00, 3/4 4'x8' plywood at HD that looked good. A friend told me about it also and a couple of weeks ago and I checked it out. The HD guy called it "clear yellow pine" and said it was a new item. It had no knots, footballs, etc and felt smoother than the Birch it was next to. I bought some for a race car bed I am making for a grandson and so far after two or so weeks in the shop, no warp or other bad things. For $24 bucks I may go back and get some more for some shop cabinets I have been intending to build. Normally I would run the other way from BORG plywood but this seems different, especially for the price. Just a "for what it is worth" :D

[Chris Ricker]

Sometimes we get lucky Walt.
Today I was cutting some $24.00 stuff from Menards, it was stable and flat.
This was an exception as most of the BORG stuff I cut doesn't act this way.
I hope I get as lucky on the other two sheets.:o

[Jeff Monson]

Walt, not to sure on the plywood but thats a really cool looking bed, some more pics would be nice!!

[Walt Nicholson]

Jeff, that is a plan off the net (Great Plans, Winfield, etc.). I am making some modifications from the plan just for fun; Drilled the wheels for small bolt and cap nuts for "lug nuts", using chrome paint on the wheels and some hubcap inserts for centers. The plans show just an oval out of 1/4" for the r/v mirrors so I cut a 4x4 on the bandsaw, shaped it with the belt sander, and routed out the face to accept one of the stick-on little bullseye mirrors. The grille was just a square so I changed that and used a little Corel and Photoshop to make a personalized plate. The plans call for 2 circles out of 1/4" ply for headlights so I found some small driving lights (they wont be hooked up) and the one pic shows a mock-up I am working on to build them in on the front. I also found some small oval night lights that I will mount in the grille that will come on when it gets dark. It has a long way to go, (the other half in in primer) but it has been a heck of a lot of fun so far and the 3 year old has had a ball whatching his new bed come together. I will post some finished pics when I get to that point.

[Dave Schreib]

You have a very lucky grandson!

[Steve Peterson]

Are the outside surfaces of the plywood thick? The birch plywood has the thinnest veneer possible. Some sheets are OK, but some are a disaster if you get one with a bad glue job.

Steve

[Walt Nicholson]

Steve, I am probably the least knowledgeable person on the planet when it comes to plywood. I took a closeup of the Borg ply on the right and some Hickory ply that came from a national, high end cabinet shop in Spokane, (they have an outlet store that sells left overs, blems, etc.) on the left. It looks to me like the veneer on the spendy stuff is super thin (about 1/32") compared to 1/8" on the cheap stuff but we are talking pine vs hickory. The rest of the construction on the Hickory looks much more substantial to me but again, I really don't know what I am looking at. (their oak and walnut seem the same) Hopefully some more learned eyes here on the Creek can enlighten me. I just liked it because it seemed straighter and smoother than the other Borg stuff for about 1/2 the price and on my budget cheap is good. (and I'm not building high-end furniture).:D

[Pete Barthel]

Make sure it is 3/4", last year bought some at BORG for bookcase, sign said 3/4" but was later found to be closer to 5/8" when getting ready to make dados for shelfs after cutting to size. Same problem was just posted on another site with plywood from Lowes.

[ken gibbs]

Make sure it is 3/4", last year bought some at BORG for bookcase, sign said 3/4" but was later found to be closer to 5/8" when getting ready to make dados for shelfs after cutting to size. Same problem was just posted on another site with plywood from Lowes.



Wht is BORG?
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[Charles Wiggins]

Wht is BORG?
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Big Orange Retail Giant = Home Depot (or Lowes or Menards - any big box store, really - usually known for lack of real quality in lumber and lack of customer service)

[Paul Wunder]

I bought the same plywood from Home Depot in Fairfield, Connecticut for $23.90 and was pleasantly surprised to find a decent veneer and no voids upon cutting. I used it to make filter cabinets for my ClearVue cyclone.

[Dan Forman]

Walt---That's a fabulous bed, what a lucky kid! Thanks for the heads up on the plywood, I'm going to see if they have it in Spokane. I need a bunch for shop cabs too.

Dan

[Damon Marxer]

I have been using some of the $24 stuff from HD for shop stuff and it is actually pretty nice. Perfect for any kind of shop stuff you are building. I asked one of the HD guys and he said it is a special item so I don't know how long it will last.

Plus, it has to be better as it is made in Chile. :D

[Steve Peterson]

I saw the stuff at HD last night and was impressed. It looks like some good stuff. All plys are the same thickness with no voids visible. I suppose the inner layers are the same material as the outer layers, so it should stay releatively flat. The sheet on the top of the pile was very flat with a nice spiral sawn grain pattern. They had it labeled as 23/32", just under 3/4".

[Dan Forman]

I called the local store, talked to the manager, he said this is a new item available in all stores. He didn't know where it was made, though said they are gradually phasing out all of the Chinese plywood due to concerns over quality as well as formaldehyde in the glue.

Dan

[Caleb Larru]

There was a post awhile back that I can't seem to find, about some $24.00, 3/4 4'x8' plywood at HD that looked good. A friend told me about it also and a couple of weeks ago and I checked it out. The HD guy called it "clear yellow pine" and said it was a new item. It had no knots, footballs, etc and felt smoother than the Birch it was next to. I bought some for a race car bed I am making for a grandson and so far after two or so weeks in the shop, no warp or other bad things. For $24 bucks I may go back and get some more for some shop cabinets I have been intending to build. Normally I would run the other way from BORG plywood but this seems different, especially for the price. Just a "for what it is worth" :D

Here is the thread you were referring to:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1294097#poststop

The ply is called arauco plywood and it is pretty good stuff. I use it for all my shop cabinets and jigs. No problems whatsoever.

[Jim O'Dell]

I saw this when I was in HD over the weekend. I walked past it, and something clicked and made me turn around and look again. What caught my eye is that it seemed to be unbelievably flat!!!! Didn't look for voids as I wasn't interested in plywood at the time, but the surface seemed to be sanded very smooth to the touch. I was really surprised. Jim.

[Dan Forman]

I think we are talking about two different products here. The Arauco ply is of Chinese origin and was in another pile, and I think it might have been 13 ply, but can't swear to it. .

The stuff the OP is talking about (I think) was labeled "Special purchase- cabinet grade" sanded ply. It's made in Chile. Its the one with the 1/8" thick veneers. It's an A/C, the C side has some knots but they all appear tight.

I went to two of the local stores. The stock at the first was all bowed.:(

Went to another store, and it was all flat, so I picked up four sheets for some basement cabs. Hope it pans out. If it does, I'll be getting a bunch more for other storage projects.

Dan

[Toby Peterson]

I bought three sheets of the $24.00, "cabinet grade" Chilean ply a few weeks ago and I have never been more frustrated trying to build a square cabinet. I'll take the chinese stuff over this crap any day.

Hopefully, the OP is talking about a different product. I, for one, will not buy any ply made in Chile ever again. I think I'll just stick to the $45.00 BB.

[Augusto Orosco]

I think we are talking about two different products here. The Arauco ply is of Chinese origin and was in another pile, and I think it might have been 13 ply, but can't swear to it. .

The stuff the OP is talking about (I think) was labeled "Special purchase- cabinet grade" sanded ply. It's made in Chile. Its the one with the 1/8" thick veneers. It's an A/C, the C side has some knots but they all appear tight.

I went to two of the local stores. The stock at the first was all bowed.:(

Went to another store, and it was all flat, so I picked up four sheets for some basement cabs. Hope it pans out. If it does, I'll be getting a bunch more for other storage projects.

Dan


I bought some "Arauco" ply from Lowes a while ago. It was much better than the plywood HD had at the time. Yesterday I went to HD and saw that plywood on special and bought 8 sheets because it looked pretty decent (and at $23/sheet, it was a great price). Honestly, I didn't looked if it was also labeled "Arauco', but it was of pretty good quality (and it has been kept dry at the store... something that doesn't always happen!).

By the way, I don't know for sure if "Arauco" plywood is made in Chile, but for what is worth, "Araucania" is a Region in Central Chile; land of the the Mapuches. CELCO (Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion) is a Chilean company that manufactures engineered wood products.

[Bob Farrell]

A sign in a local HD states it is from Chile.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Wht is BORG?
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Giant cube filled with cybernetic organisms that say "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Cheaper is always better, don't worry so much about quality."