For a few years now I have focused on smaller projects involving quality hardwoods. Recently I took on a larger built-in that I figured would be fine with plywood, as I was going to use face frames, molding trim, and paint.
I went to Home Depot with my frame of reference stuck in 2010, the last time I bought 4x8 sheets for another large built-in (different house). I remember Purebond as the brand that was of sufficient quality that it held up under the needs of that type of project.
Boy, have things changed.
The best piece I could find was a maple veneer. I checked for voids between the plies, and there didn't seem to be any, so I mentally put the sheet in the category of the sheets I used to buy there a decade ago. Purebond it is not. Where to start?
- The edges weren't straight or even square to the face of the sheet.
- The outer veneer is probably 1/128" thick if it's that (I should have noticed that in the store).
- The back face is just plain unacceptable: foot-long voids that I'll need to fill and sand before painting, lower-quality maple veneer compared to the front. (I didn't pull the sheet to look at the back!)
- SO...MUCH...PITCH! My crosscut blade, dado stack, and router bit –– heck, the whole router table around the bit –– were all gunked up after a very few cuts. What is that glue they're using? Yuck.
The sheet is flat enough, and with no inner voids it will likely hold up in use. But what a piece of inferior product it is.
C'mon, folks; back me up. Surely you remember when Purebond was an acceptable medium-quality sheet good (suitable for face frames and painting)? That memory is what brought me back to Home Depot. I am now done with buying plywood there.
I know what you're thinking: I wasn't observant enough. Guilty as charged. I let my positive memory of Purebond prejudice my judgment of the junk they're selling today. But now that I'm down to the rabbeting stage on all the parts, it's too late to start over.