adambaum Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 I had to pickup a sheet of 3/4 cherry ply today. Paid over $120 for it. Might have found it cheaper, but most of my local suppliers are closed on weekends. I remember paying around $50/sheet just 4 yrs ago. What happened? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grain Guy Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Dude, thats crazy. Im sorry you had to pay so much, but at least you have it to work with this weekend. There isnt a place around here i can pick up a sheet of cherry on a weekend. I usually pay $75 for a sheet of 3/4 B-2 and $90 for A-1. Dont know how that compares to pricing in your area, but around here thats pretty good unless you buying 10 or more at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySats Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I think cherry 3/4 ply is around $90 at my local place. HD and Lowes have oak and maple for around 50 - 60 . Like everything else the costs are higher now to produce and ship things . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagel Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 A full sheet of 3/4 A-2 Cherry ply from my supplier is $130 and almost $80 for a half sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Plywood price varies across the country just the way it is. The. Quantity purchased plays the biggest roll. For most of the more expensive stuff your better off laying you own. Most sheet at a time suppliers are even mis grading or just label as cabinet grade and really there is no such thing as cabinet grade. Most suppliers got hurt by the economy even wholesale and cant afford to hold inventory so their lack of volume raises you cost. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?esymnz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 There's one lumber yard I'd love to go to more near me. They have massive space, like something around an acre and a half... And it's completely empty. There's only four barns / sheds on site, and none of them are at capacity. The guys I spoke with say they do a lot of construction business, so their orders come in and go out within days. The space they have is for the trucks lining up to be either loaded or unloaded. And the really annoying thing (for me) is that the rail line behind them that runs right up to the resaw shed (which is a working saw shop, just rarely used) doesn't belong to them, so they can't save price by shipping via rail. Their prices were pretty good (all things considered, especially since I'm not buying in bulk) but their location is too out of the way for me now. (Half hour drive by highway, then down into the "valley" around residential, business, and industrial... they're beside the steel yard rolling storage yard, and on the other side of the tracks - literally - from a BORG anchoring a new shopping center.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambaum Posted June 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 As per my usual MO, I made a fatal mistake and had to get another piece of cherry ply. Since it's a weekday, I was able to go to my closest supplier. Full sheet for $85. And it looks to be better quality. Remind never to buy all my supplies on a weekday. Weekend purchasing costs me too much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 local hardwood dealer cherry ply is $116/sheet... Local box store is $86. These products are the same spec on paper, there is a big difference in actual use. The box store is a China import and has thin face veneers. The hardware dealer carries North American plywood with much thicker face veneers. I use both products where appropriate. That's not always the case, though...sometimes you're better off at the box stores, unless you're wanting top-quality ply for fine furniture. A couple weeks ago I built a few shop cabinets. Went to the local hardwood dealer and got a couple sheets of "shop grade" birch ply for $45 per sheet. Complete garbage...D4...worse than that. Potato chips by the time I got home, and even worse after making some cuts. Huge voids. I ended up needing another sheet so I went to Home Depot. They had maple ply for the same price, USA made, at least C3, probably B3, actually. I wouldn't use if for any high-end projects, but it had one really clean face, was stable, and the plies themselves were head and shoulders over the hardwood dealer's import crap at the same price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 A-2 VC Cherry ply (3/4 flat sliced) is 72.00 per sheet here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 ==> That's not always the case, though...sometimes you're better off at the box stores, unless you're wanting top-quality ply for fine furniture. agreed. but in my experience, with all things being equal, the higher-priced ply available from the hardwood dealer is usually better suited for fine furniture than the box store stuff... there can be exceptions, but have not found too many locally. I am sure there are regional differences, but that is the case around here. Definitely. They don't have the really good stuff at the box stores, that's for sure. But apparently the local dealers can't compete pricewise for the mid-grade ply...that stuff flat sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Its the core that counts when it comes price. The big box stores sell 7 ply 5 core. Decent is 9 ply 7 core and good is 13. Best is 13 no face. If your paying for "A-1" 7 ply then your really just getting taken by the face the ply is still just shop plywood. 9 ply is a good one for kitchen cabinets and things of that nature where the ply is bound by a face fame and for the most part hidden and assembled in such a way that prevents warping. 13 prefaced is good for euro type frame less. 13 no face is is best for real furniture and frameless with best stability and full thickness even better is vc mdf 13 ply much like mdo but more plys, full thickness and not water resistant so the glue sticks properly for veneering. For general save money and be cheap without sacrificing quality its actually cheaper to invest in a small vacuum press. It will pay for itself real quick Then buy 7 ply no face full thickness. Home depot calls this cabinet ply, they usually have it labeled special buy limited quantity. Good plywood suppliers can get this stuff for cheap about $23 a sheet Then lay up your own PB 10 mil cherry, you end up with a 9 ply for about $60 with a face that is much better than A1. The small investment in a press will net truly flat panels and show in your work. If you lay the panels after they are cut you will never have to deal with warped panels or sink holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted June 7, 2012 Report Share Posted June 7, 2012 ==> Its the core that counts when it comes price was taking about quality within a core category... not all X core sheet goods are the same... i get void free veneer core in what ever ply i need for the application. Have found that for any given void free core, face sheet quality varies significantly. Core quality is a mystery. One thing you can count on is that the thicker the plys meaning less quantity the more the better the chance for a void and sink hole. Voids in plywood most folks want to blame on the plywood manufacturers, thus all the cheap china plywood comments. If you have voids blame your supplier. Every manufacturer has a core grading system that is not disclosed to the end user or even small suppliers. I can buy birch from HD that is full of voids and buy it from another dealer that has little if any voids, same brand made in the same plant in china. HD chooses to buy the lower quality core. Same thing goes for the new US line that HD is now selling. Its not the manufacturer its the supplier. Smaller supplier like your hometown lumber supplier are at the mercy of their wholesaler. The wholesaler buys from the manufacturer dictating what is sold to the small lumber suppliers. Face quality should never vary because grading standards are not up to the manufacturer. Face issues again are a supplier issue. If your getting faces that have filled knots like you see at the big box stores then your getting lower grade. It doesnt matter what the sticker on the shelf says. If your seeing ugly A1 you not getting A1. Thats the supplier misgrading to the consumer, one reason HD and lowes dont display the grade on the sticker, Sub C3 would not look real good to anyone that did any reseach. Don 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuilderBill Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Some good reading on plywood construction and grading: http://www.hardwoodw...ocs/Plywood.pdf I just built an aquariun stand/cabinet out of red oak ply, Peach State had 11-ply B2 rotary-cut for about $50, Home Depot had 7-ply C-3 RC for $45.00. I've used the HD stuff before, it's full of voids and doesn't like to stay flat, the 11-ply behaves much better. Or I could have made the drive to Atlanta Hardwoods and gotten A2 plain-sliced bookmatched for twice the price..... But here in Atlanta we have a choice, if you don't live near a big city with a lot of lumber yards you're pretty much stuck with what's available and just have to make the best of it. Best, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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