Replies

1. 
   Ray | Jul 25, 2008 07:10am | #1

   You're right, not much of a source of 'good' plywood here in the South, once you get away from Atlanta.  I'd suggest you find a cabinet shop, or someone who makes Church furnishings and ask them about a couple sheets of good plywood.  At the least, they can tell you where they get their supplies.

1. 
   BioHaz1906 | Jul 25, 2008 07:45am | #2

   Even better you can buy a cabinet maker's scraps sometimes which usually is enough to make smaller projects.  I got some Mahogany ply from a cabinet maker and it really turned out well.  You can always mail order plywood but no regular service will deliver a full 4x8 sheet.  You either need to order 2x4 sheets or give the place the dimensions you want and then they will cut it up and send it out to you. 

   Bio

1. 
   Ray | Jul 25, 2008 03:43pm | #6

   Right on, Bio  I finally depleted my stack of 3/4" ash plywood scraps I got from a cabinet shop too many years ago to think about :-).  That stuff sure is pretty.

1. 
   BioHaz1906 | Jul 25, 2008 04:07pm | #7

   Yeah, having a cabinet maker friend is huge especially with the price of gas which in turn makes it more expensive to ship.  If my buddy gets wood it comes on a truck with several other deliveries and it is a lot cheaper.  When ordering, excess is ordered in case a mistake is made and that cost is simply passed to the customer in the final cost, but if he/she is a good cabinet maketer there are plenty leftover sheets.  My last buy I got a 4x8 sheet of Mahogany (3/4"), 15 bdft of Spanish Cedar and about 4 bdft of Maple for 150 dollars.  I don't think you can beat that.  Lunch money for my buddy, but a treasure for me.

   Bio

2. 
   flairwoodworks | Jul 25, 2008 08:17am | #3

   Baltic birch has no voids in it, so I use it when I need the absolute most strength or where the edges will be visible.

   Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com

    - Success is not the key to happines.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

3. 
   MikeHennessy | Jul 25, 2008 03:04pm | #4

   You can get furniture grade ply in just about any hardwood (except maybe some exotics). With the exception of 1/4" ply, most, if not all, is two-sided -- although one side is often of lower grade than the other. You will NOT find this in a blue and white and/or orange and white-themed store. Indeed, fewer & fewer "real" lumberyards are carrying it. You may need to go to a ply wholesaler.

   That said, I'm not sure I'd use it for a chest. The ply is really thin -- so thin that you need to be extremely careful not to sand through it when you're fininshing it. And edge banding (if you are refering to the veneer type) is also pretty thin. A chest that will get lots of loading/unloading with stuff will look pretty beat up in fairly short order, with dings in the ply, edge banding mucked up, etc. Further, although it's a bit easier to deal with since you don't have to join up the panels, it's not really not much cheaper (if at all) than solid stock.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

   PS: Just re-read your OP. You're banding with solid wood. IMHO, that's more of a pain than just joining up solid stock. I usually reserve ply for cab backs & framed panels.

1. 
   zolton | Jul 25, 2008 03:13pm | #5

   Mike,

    Using plywood for the sides of a chest like this would work if he used solid wood in the corners - kind of like building a table where the aprons tenoning into solid wood legs.

   Otherwise, it's very difficult to deal with mitered corners on big pieces of plywood. As you said, the veneer is quite thin and you can't really "sand in" a corner and make it a nice rounded edge. And the veneer on those corners, again as you pointed out, would be very vulnerable to damage. Using solid wood corners would eliminate a lot of those issues. However, the design would necessarily be different than a standard six board chest...

   ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

2. 
   BioHaz1906 | Jul 25, 2008 04:10pm | #8

   I agree using the ply for the chest it a bit of a stretch for anything other than the bottom panel and maybe the top.  When edging the material it has to be dead on to make it look well and you must have NO chip out when ripping the ply or it will definately show it the final project.  With the width this chest is going to be I would take the other suggestion and glue up boards.  Save your sheet goods for something bigger where you have to worry more about wood movement and such.

   Bio

1. 
   jfantaci | Jul 25, 2008 05:01pm | #9

   Thanks for all the advice--quick and to the point.  I glued up boards for the top of the "prototype" and that worked well.   I may go that route.  I'll just need to pay more attention to matching the grain, etc. 

4. 
   Dave45 | Jul 25, 2008 05:06pm | #10

   There's a world of difference between "birch" and "baltic birch" plywood - mostly in the way they're made and the number of plys they have.

   The stuff you find at Home Depot or Lowes is usually pretty low grade (few plys, many voids, and who-knows-what for the core).  I avoid using it as much as possible since it often turns into a pretzel after it's been cut.  Also, the "good" side veneer is usually so thin that even a light sanding can cause problems.  It's easy to sand right thru the veneer or thin it down to the point that the core ply will bleed into your stain/finish.

   "Baltic" birch is somewhat misleading since it's often used for any good quality birch plywood (several plys, no voids, etc) even if it was never anywhere near the Baltic Sea. - lol

   For your boxes, I suggest a furniture grade, A1, plywood.  It will cost quite a bit more, but you won't be fighting with it and it will give you a much better finished product.

1. 
   jfantaci | Jul 25, 2008 05:44pm | #11

   Thanks Dave-- that's information I can use for lots of things in addition to my "box"!

1. 
   Dave45 | Jul 25, 2008 05:57pm | #12

   Any time.

   While I'm on a role, I'll also say that I've had very good luck with Home Depot's dimensioned hardwoods.  My local HD has Birch, Red Oak, and Poplar from a vendor called Millstadt (?) and I've found it to be very good most of the time.

   I usually get my hardwoods rough sawn with one straight edge from a local lumberyard and mill my own stock, but don't have a problem getting wood from HD if it saves me a longer drive.