jacliff Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 Hi all- haven't been able to find much on this topic. Marine grade plywood is expensive- in most cases the cost of shipping just one sheet is about 2-3 times the cost of the sheet itself, making ordering a specific thickness very costly. Nearby, I've been able to find 3/4" marine, but i need 1/2". Has anyone ever tried planing the ply down to 3/8" (or any reduced thickness) and then water-proof gluing a new face veneer on the thinned ply to get a thinner sheet overall? I want to give it a try, but would like to learn from others' experiences/past mistakes beforehand. If you haven't worked with marine ply in the past, the lowest grades are still almost $90 a sheet. Hence, all the homework before taking the plunge. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 I suspect that reducing plywood will be problematic. Hand planing will certainly tear out as you proceed through the plies. A power planer may be just as bad, and the glue is hard on the cutters. I would guess that using a router flattening sled to mill away the material might work, but would likely need a lot of sanding to get smooth enough for the new veneer. Mind sharing what the project is all about? Maybe someone can suggest a better solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacliff Posted June 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 I'm replacing bulkheads in a 23' sailboat. I'm considering just using a 1/4" sheet of regular ply from home depot and encasing it in fiberglass to get the right thickness... and then cutting out the bulkheads and running some epoxy along the exposed edges. But this may end up being just as expensive as ordering the 1/2" marine... any innovative ideas out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 Find a local hardwood dealer, marine supplier, boat yard, lumberyard, plywood dealer, etc. They can order-in marine-grade ply a lot cheaper than you can. Familiarize yourself with the different grades – marine ply price varies widely with grade (up to around $230/sheet) – you get what you pay for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 I sure don't know much about boat building, but I don't think trying to thin down plywood is a good idea. Is there anyway you could glue up panels of moisture friendly solid wood and cutting them to fit? Wood like cypress or maybe teak? There are some guys on here that are accomplished boat builders, so if you hang in there they will probably chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 Boats cost money -- get used to it... Just get the ply you need. Rot is bad, leaking is worse... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 Try looking at these guys. Boulter Plywood is who I get my material from. Cost for shipping is the same for 1 sheet or 3. To help keep cost down, look at merranti ply versus okoume. Both excellent but one costs a bit less than the other. Trust me, what you save with less expensive ply will be spent on additional resin and time trying to make a sub-par plywood work for your needs. I've learned that you can swear once when you write the check for the good stuff, or swear every time you have to re-work a panel to make it right... Planing plywood would be a disaster; I really wouldn't try it . Depending on the size pieces you need you could look at having the full sheets cut down; might be able to ship regular ground rather than freight. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Dry Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 I'm replacing bulkheads in a 23' sailboat. I'm considering just using a 1/4" sheet of regular ply from home depot and encasing it in fiberglass to get the right thickness... and then cutting out the bulkheads and running some epoxy along the exposed edges. But this may end up being just as expensive as ordering the 1/2" marine... any innovative ideas out there? Could you make the new bulkheads from 3/4" if 1/2" is impossible to find? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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