Big Box Ply


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Hey Spoke... I have always been pretty skeptical of using ply from HD. I have not heard many good things about it. The best thing that you can do is take a look at the sides of it. Look for voids and look to see if the layers are staying together. The experience that I have had with that kind of ply is the layers tend to come de-laminated and it is full of voids. It typically had a red glue that is keeping it together. I have a store around here called Menards that has VERY good ply. It is 7-ply veneer core that is rated B-2. You can go HERE to see about ply grades. Good luck.

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The Purebond stuff is supposed to use a different glue - that's part of their positioning. It's from Columbia Forest Products, Formaldehyde free, supposedly more moisture resistant, and made in North America. Does any of that make it better? I don't know. I'm tempted to get a sheet just to try it out and see how it fares. I've seen some good reviews, and some not so good reviews.

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If I were going to call it anything, id call it shop grade plywood. Good for shop cabinets and utility stuff but thats about it. Maybe low budget face framed kitchen cabinet carcases as long as they are not resale.

Don

Ha - you read my mind. By "try it out", I was thinking of either a new outfeed table, or some new shop cabinets :)

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In my area, you have to pay close attention...

Using 3/4" birch as an example, I've seen everything from 5-ply that looked decent enough for shop furniture, to badly warped 12-ply "faux Finnish" that had bumps where joints inside layers met, to other 5-ply that was warped enough to stay warped under several other sheets, to stuff that measured ~ 5/8" thick (15mm??), sold as 3/4".

Depending on if I turn right or left, I am equal distance from a Home Depot or Lowes. Both have had the entire spectrum at one time or another.

I go to various parts of the Midwest on a regular basis, and have seen the stuff Sac mentioned in Menards stores. It looked pretty good, but I've never seen it in Connecticut. I really wish Menards would head east!

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Hey I just got back from Menards. If they carry the Purebond brand, I didn't notice it. I did pick up several sheets of 3/4 for a project here at the house. I also found out that they can get Hickory, Walnut and Cherry ply. Special order and around $100 per sheet.

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I bought several sheets of the Home Depot Purebond 3/4 and 1/2" birch ply for a custom master closet. I had purchased other hardwood ply from Lowe's and Home Depot in the past and had bad luck. This is good stuff in terms of clear faces and minimal voids. The 1/2" was used for drawer boxes and received only clear coat, but the 3/4" was dyed with General Finishes Dark Brown with shellac and High Performance over it and the color was very even.

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I recently built an outfeed table top using the 1/2" birch on top of two sheets of 3/4 MDF. I'd rate it mediocre...Don's got it right, good for shop furniture but I wouldn't use it for anything else. It's better than the cabinet grade ply it's sitting on, but still not great. Thin veneers and some voids.

outfeedtable003.jpgoutfeedtable001.jpg

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I used 1/2" pure bond for sides of a crib I built. Went with this because of the formaldehyde issue (it's laminated with soy glue). Overall the quality was good for what it is. It didn't twist or warp (stayed nice and flat), there are some small voids scattered about here and there but nothing big. The veneer quality is OK. Not the best looking patterns on the sheets I dug through (birch), but very little patches were used (if any). It's been in use now for a year and no de-lam. Overall rating 7/10 IMO.

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I am not a fan of home depot and that is no secret. But the crap on Lowe's shelf was so bad I was forced to go there yesterday. There are five sheets sitting in my garage cut in to no less then fifty pieces. Dados and all I can't find a void in any of it. Have not glued anything yet.

I hate to say it but they might have got that one right. For the price.

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