Home Depot - don't trust the label

[phil_o]

I had a request for a small plywood project. I went to Home Depot and bought a 1/4" x 2' x 4' panel. 1/4" thick, at least that's what it said on the sticker, the ones they always put on the good side and they are damn near impossible to remove.
I cut the sheet in half to 1' x 4' and tried to clamp it down with my clamps designed for 1/4" material. The clamps couldn't do it. The material was only .187 - 3/16" thick. Good thing I noticed this before cutting. My cut was set to .2", it would have gone all the way through and ruined the project.
I've had bad plywood experiences before at Home Depot but now I know you can't even trust the labels.

Phil

[tri4sale]

I had a request for a small plywood project. I went to Home Depot and bought a 1/4" x 2' x 4' panel. 1/4" thick, at least that's what it said on the sticker, the ones they always put on the good side and they are damn near impossible to remove.
I cut the sheet in half to 1' x 4' and tried to clamp it down with my clamps designed for 1/4" material. The clamps couldn't do it. The material was only .187 - 3/16" thick. Good thing I noticed this before cutting. My cut was set to .2", it would have gone all the way through and ruined the project.
I've had bad plywood experiences before at Home Depot but now I know you can't even trust the labels.

Phil

Reminds my how TV's are now advertised as 55-Inch Class TV" and so forth, when they are only 54" across. Pretty soon you'll see the labels say 1/4" class wood which means it can be anywhere from 3/16" to 5/16"

I picked up a sheet of 4x8 1/2" thick from Lowes, but it varried from .48 to .52 depending on where I measured. Can't trust the labels anywhere.

[dlcw]

Same goes with wood dowels. Incredible range of readings on a supposed dimensioned dowel.

Thicknesses also vary greatly when purchasing plywood from a wholesale supplier. 3/4" prefinished American Maple plywood ranges from .70" to .755" with .03" variations within a sheet. Same with 1/2" and 1/4". Huge variations in thickness. Even 5/8" Appleply (supposed high end plywood) varies greatly in thickness.

Kinda disappointing, but I guess that's life in the never ending quest to cut costs, but raise prices.

[khaos]

Do you think this is partly because the wood was not fully dry when manufactured. Or the relative moisture is higher lower at the usage geography?

[Brady Watson]

It's all due to greed. Plain & simple. Vote with your dollar.

-B

[Ajcoholic]

For the majority of my cabinetry I use particle core veneer. I buy a few lifts every few months of maple, and mini lifts of oak, ash, etc. I can say all my veneers are with 5 thousands no joke. That's why I prefer pc over veneer core. For my backs I use a 1/2" poplar core ply that is about .45" and isn't too bad although it does very much more in thickness. But for a back rabetted onto the case thickness variance isn't critical.

Since I groove my face frames onto my cases, variance in the veneer wouldn't be an option for me. If a customer specs veneer core, I buy what I need usually custom ordered and use it up. All the ply I get is produced here in cansda in either ontario or Quebec. It's not bad stuff at all.

I looked at imported ply once. Never bought any. Never will. Too much variance and warping in what I saw.

Never bought anything from the local HD, or any other hardware store. But. Know they stock the lower grades if material in our local store. And sell it retail for what I buy premium for from my wholesaler.

[phil_o]

In my case I'm guessing the issue had more to do with a minimum wage employee who never bothered to check. He/she probably was texting while allegedly working.

Phil

[jTr]

Joe says:

Do you think this is partly because the wood was not fully dry when manufactured.

I believe so. I've had it measured as low as .705 thickness. Look at the telegraphing of substrate, especially on pre-finished UV Maple plywood. They're sanding with large wide belts, so I'm sure it's smooth when coming out. May help if the mfg held the stacks for a week of curing prior to sanding, but clearly that would destroy efficiency of the whole process.

I also agree with Andrew, particle core (MDF) is quite reliable for thickness and smoothness (no telegraphing). Currently using some red oak that ranges from .738 to .740.
I personally prefer the "classic" core, which is fir center veneers and ~1/8" sub-skins of MDF to accept the veneers and stay smooth. However, hitting $95 per sheet, local supplier is pushing more and more towards the MDF core and eliminating that option. I Just hate the weight and not being able to claim a "no particle board" product.

As to home center plys - I always find my self wandering to the ply aisle due to pricing temptation, but just horrid stuff. Top sheet or three are always curled, and you just know once you pull an optimal looking sheet, it's gonna walk across the shop once fully exposed.

Certainly, plywood has become a "buyer beware" venture anymore.

jeff

[Ger21]

This is nothing new. Router bit manufacturers have been making undersize "plywood dado" bits for over 20 years.

[phil_o]

A lot of Home Depot's "better" plywood is just plain trash. I bought 3 sheets of birch plwood (regular plywood) all three sheets delaminated. I might buy quarter sheets for convenience on a small project but I'll never buy full sheets. Now i know enough to measure it before I buy.

Phil