HD/Lowes Plywood

[Jim Summers]

Cost is the same? You have got to be kidding.

Anybody see any of the 13 ply 3/4" cabinet grade (even chinese) at the BORG recently?

I forgot to further qualify, I have been working with cherry for the most part lately. The borgs here don't sell any type of cherry ply. So where I get my solid wood, the plywood they sell is about the same for the equivalent solid in bf. The veneer is to thin for me on the ply you get from borgs. So probably borg ply is cheaper than solid wood route.

[Rick Moyer]

I forgot to further qualify, I have been working with cherry for the most part lately. The borgs here don't sell any type of cherry ply. So where I get my solid wood, the plywood they sell is about the same for the equivalent solid in bf. The veneer is to thin for me on the ply you get from borgs. So probably borg ply is cheaper than solid wood route.

Assuming $48/sht that's $2/bf. Can you buy cherry lumber for that where you are?

[Neil Brooks]

I wonder if anybody has tried ordering Columbia Forest Products Purebond hardwood plywood from HD?

Somebody, above mentioned it.

Last night, I was watching a taped episode of Hometime, and -- as they toured a fairly substantial cabinet shop -- I noticed PureBond was the brand THEY were using. I took notice. Sure, they'd be driven by price, but ... probably not if it was garbage.

I plan on trying it, on my next furniture piece.....

[Prashun Patel]

I will say that on 'furniture' that might require some flushing of edge banding, then the thicker veneers of quality ply is really desirable. Even on the times I've found decent oak/maple ply @ HD, I have experienced sand-thru. Well worth the extra price to buy quality here.

[Kyle Brooks]

I seen the local custom cabinet guy at his other job the other day and said something to him about how I was not happy with the oak plywood at Manards. He said to me, "you are not using that cheap crap are you?" I told him not any more but I need to find some place I can get some good quality lumber and plywood. He told me to let him know what I need. He can order it with his that he gets out of KC. Might be a little more but I know it is twice the quality of the big box stores around. The other thing he did say was that he could get about anything. Quartersawn white oak, walnut, baltic birch, all for what I considered not a reasonable price. Anyhow my two cents. I'm not happy with the big box stores on their lumber and plywood either. I think a lot of it is leftover crap or the cheapest it can be made.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> Might be a little more but I know it is twice the quality of the big box stores around.

The big box stores sell what is generically known as "cabinet" grade veneered plywood. It's face grades are generally "BC" and it's not intended for high grade furniture. A cabinet shop will generally be buying "furniture" grade veneered plywood with face veneers graded "AA" or "AB". That's the reason the plywood at the big boxes is less expensive.

[Tim Howell]

The B-2 plywood I ordered from a cabinet shop 85.00+15s/h ( note my post above) was from Columbia Forest Products. Next time I will use the MDF core as much as I hate the stuff. I think you will get a more even veneer face and less chance of the nasty pore tears I got in the B-2 grade due to the variations in the underlying core veneer. There is a photo of my ply in the finishing section here under "Grain filling red oak plywood"

[Ole Anderson]

I remember years ago I got some Oak ply from the BORG that had a OSB or particleboard core, one layer of pine or fir on each side with a Oak final ply of measurable thickness. I would use that again in a heartbeat. And I still have some smaller pieces of their 13 ply Chinese birch at worked well for shop jigs and my router table.

[fred klotz]

Columbia Plywood has a plant in Klamath Falls Oregon, near me. A tenant in my rental worked for them and when my home burnt down, Columbia donated a truckload (a 1 1/2 ton truckload) of plywood to me for subflooring. I knew them to make quality plywood, and figured it would be damaged, blows, etc. It was all first quality, I couldn't use it for subfloor and have used it for many projects. The sheets in my lumber shed in storage almost 20 years later, are still flat and straight. I highly recommend their product.

[earl wojciechowski]

I just finished building a chopsaw stand and some cabinets for my workshop. I had used 3/4 ply from Lowes. For what I was making, this wood was adequate. As has already been mentioned the top veneer layer is exceedingly thin. Also, had to be careful choosing the sheets, as some were really bad. I did have one corner of one sheet separate. The wood also had this weird tint and when I applied the finish, there was some blue bleed thru. Having said all this, the price was right for shop furniture. I definitely would not use either Lowes or HD for furniture quality items. I would spend the extra $$$ and go to my local lumber store to buy what I needed. Hope this helps.

Earl

[Joe Gard]

Greg,

I know this quote is a couple of years old, but I too live in League City and am wondering which local hardware store you are buying from? I'm looking for some Oak plywood to use on a kitchen island i'm building.

thanks in advance
Joe Gard

Just used some 3/4 from Lowes and it was not the best. Found a void where I was drilling the pilot hole for hinges and it pushed through the other side a little. Home depot here has better birch and oak than lowes. A lot of filled spots also but I had gift cards. I will be buying the next sheets from our local hardware store for $33 a sheet.

[Bob Potter]

Here in Iowa it's Menards for good plywood. 3/4 x 48 x 96 red oak @$ 49.00 per sheet and $ 39.00 when on sale. Much better than HD or Lowes. Also the same for birch.

Bob

[David Ragan]

I bought the best 'Baltic birch' big box had, and spent hours and hours filling and sanding cause it was painted glossy black. Never again. too many voids, etc.

the local lumber yard has much better plywood with no/minimal voids. when I buy it for jigs, and for anything beyond crude rough stuff, it will be come from lumber yard. The purpose of plywood is to be stable, and less hassle in the long run. If I make something and it looks crappy on the edge (voids) I am not happy with it. You get what you pay for 98% of the time.

[Mike Schuch]

I buy the same grade plywood that HD/Lowes carries at pretty much the same price (some times cheaper) from my local lumber yard and get a much better product. The sheets at my local lumber yard are stored flat and stay flat when working on them. Every sheet I have ever gotten from HD/Lowes has always had a considerable bow in it making it much tougher to work with.

The last time I did a counter top I did it with plywood from the local lumber yard but ended up one sheet short. The lumber yard was closed so I bought one sheet from Home Depot on a Sunday to finish the sub-counter. I put the one sheet from Home Depot on the counter; then I tore it off and replaced it with a sheet from the lumber yard the following day. No matter how hard I tried I could not get the Home Depot plywood to lay flat!

Home Depot/Lowes just sells junk when it comes to wood!