Black walnut plywood question

[John Stanfield]

Hi, this is my first post. As a hobbyist woodworker, I've lurked on this site for a while as I honed my skills and built my tool collection. In fact, the site's so helpful that I usually just type my woodworking question site:sawmillcreek.org into Google so I can get straight to the answer!

I'm about to get started on a set of bookshelves for my house. I was going to use 3/4" oak plywood in the most efficient manner possible (the cost of hardwood plywood adds up quickly!), and then edge-band solid oak to hide the plies where necessary.

I stumbled on what appears to be a great deal. A gentleman in a neighboring city has offered me 21 sheets of black walnut plywood for a fraction of the cost I'd expect to pay. It bears no markings (no manufacturers stamps on the plies), so I can't figure out the source. The seller told me it's high quality black walnut veneer on one side and birch veneer on the other, and it came from a lumber wholesaler/distributor. I'm inclined to believe the seller because he is the owner of a reputable business, and this plywood is apparently left over from a very large project. It's beautiful and certainly looks and feels nicer than the nicest plywood I've ever encountered -- but I'm no pro. The lumberyard nearby sells black walnut plywood for $139/sheet, so this sounds like a good deal.

Anyone ever stumbled across something like this and later regretted it?

[Montgomery Scott]

Buy it all. I had the opportunity to buy some cherry ply at a great deal some years and haven't regretted it.

[Jamie Buxton]

Think ahead to how you'd use this plywood. For instance, on your bookcase, many of the parts are visible on both faces.

Perhaps this a great price on something you can't use.

[Van Huskey]

Think ahead to how you'd use this plywood. For instance, on your bookcase, many of the parts are visible on both faces.

Perhaps this a great price on something you can't use.

Thats the first thing I thought of.

[Prashun Patel]

Single-sided veneer doesn't sound too usable on a bookcase or anything I can readily think of.

Personally I'd pass.

Unless you know what you want to use it for, the only thing I'd stock a lot of is solid stock in 4/4 or 8/4.

FWIW, I have a 1/2 sheet of mahogany ply - and it's double sided - that I've been trying to squeeze into a project for 3 years.

Wanna buy it ?!

[Rod Sheridan]

Commercial furniture, nice walnut on the outside, birch inside so you can see the stuff stored.

We have a lot of cabinets at work made in that manner.......Rod.

[Mike Cutler]

John

If you've got the room to store it properly, and it truly is high quality, buy it all.

I used to buy only enough wood at a time for the project at hand.
Now I tend to buy it when I see it and it's a good deal. This way I always have material on hand if I want to do something.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with all the Cocobolo I "stole".

[glenn bradley]

For instance, on your bookcase, many of the parts are visible on both faces.

Perhaps this a great price on something you can't use.

Thats the first thing I thought of.

Single-sided veneer doesn't sound too usable on a bookcase or anything I can readily think of.

Just to be confusing and offer a different opinion. . . Many bookcase designs use double wall construction on the outer verticals. The shelves? That's another story. That is a lot of material so I would think it over, good price or not. There are many items I have passed on due to the fact that bringing them into my workspace would leave me no room to work. I love a good deal but, I enjoy being able to use my shop too ;-)

[Greg Portland]

Many bookcase designs use double wall construction on the outer verticals. The shelves? That's another story.

This is what I did when I built my walnut shelves. My recommendation would be to buy up all the ply and veneer a sheet of walnut onto the birch side for the shelves. For the back, use 1/2" ply (or thinner). You will of course need solid walnut or walnut edge banding to cover up the exposed plywood edges. I would recommend solid walnut given the expense of the plywood and overall project (i.e. don't skimp on certain aspects).

[Rob Price]

I would go look at to be sure what color it is. I purchased some pricey 2 sided walnut plywood for a project several years ago and the veneer was much more gray than the solid wood I was trimming it out with. I use BLO to bring out the grain and depth of the walnut, and when I did that the veneer had a very yellow tint to it, and I had to end up staining the whole project to even out the color. It still ended up very nice, but darker than I oriniginally intended. But for the big desk/hutch I was building there was no way I could afford solid wood. Note for the doors, I used single sided 1/4 ply and stained the birch backside with the same stain. It's obviously not walnut, but the stain at least matches the color of everything else, and it's inside so you really don't see it unless you're looking for it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rprice54/WalnutDesk#

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Handling, storing and using plywood can be different than solid wood. I assume this is 4x8 sheets, which will take a good bit of storage space. Aged wood will turn color and solid wood can be planed to bring out a fresh face where a limited amount of sanding is all that can be applied to plywood. I've not dealt with walnut so don't know how this would apply. An experienced woodworker that I learned a good bit from said that in general plywood should be used withing six months. The veneer becomes brittle and can chip badly when using old plywood. I've had several chances to test this and in general this is true. All that said, if the deal is good enough and I figure to use it then I would buy it.

[Thomas Delpizzo]

I say if you're confused about it, buy it all and truck it to me here, in NY. I'll store it for you. You can come by as you need it in about a year or two!

Actually, I'd buy it. You can veneer it or stain it. It would also make beautiful wainscoting. You'd probably have way more than needed for that project and bookcases in the same room.

[Henry Ambrose]

Assuming you have space to store and ready cash -- BUY IT.

[John Stanfield]

Thanks everyone for all the thoughts. I just got back from picking it up a few minutes ago. The seller said "I forgot to mention, 1/2 of them have walnut veneer on both faces." He even had a forklift so I didn't have to load it by hand. I think it was $500 well spent.

[Thomas Delpizzo]

To show your class by thanking everyone who responded with such good advice, you should give them each 4 pieces!! You are one lucky dog! Enjoy building with your find.