Which plywood to use?

[Sean Powell]

Hello new to the site and sorta new to woodworking. My wife wants me to build a dresser for our new baby's room and This will be my first big project. I've built smaller things but nothin this size. She wants as cheap as possible so I looked at lowes, Home Depot plywood and it was about $45 for a 4x8 of red oak plywood. I know they don't sell the best stuff. I usually go to clarks hardwood in Houston to get my materials and I planning going there today to see what they have. Is there anything that's cheaper but better quality than that of lowes that I could ask for.

[Charles Wiggins]

Hello new to the site and sorta new to woodworking. My wife wants me to build a dresser for our new baby's room and This will be my first big project. I've built smaller things but nothin this size. She wants as cheap as possible so I looked at lowes, Home Depot plywood and it was about $45 for a 4x8 of red oak plywood. I know they don't sell the best stuff. I usually go to clarks hardwood in Houston to get my materials and I planning going there today to see what they have. Is there anything that's cheaper but better quality than that of lowes that I could ask for.

Welcome Sean. Glad you decided to join us.

I would not buy ANYTHING that my local Lowes sells to use for furniture. It tends to be inconsistent in thickness, even within a single sheet and have voids and gaps. Most of what Home Depot sells is about the same, unless you can find some PureBond plywood. It's not a good as the hardwood ply that you would generally find at a good hardwood dealer, the face grade is B, I think, but it's far-and-away better than the junk that the bog box stores normally stock. You'll get much better results and won't have to deal with the frustrations that come with the junky stuff.

[Matt Day]

You probably need to include more information to get a good answer. Finish type planned, jointery you plan to use (fasteners?), etc.

[Brett Bobo]

Hi Sean,
My recommendation is Mason's Mill & Lumber located close to the Beltway and Tanner on the West side of Houston. While Clark's does carry a wider array of material in terms of exotics or unusual pieces, I've found Mason's Mill to have the best prices and of equal quality (FAS) for the more common domestics and exotics. Another big benefit for me is that there's no charge for delivery, regardless of the order size.

My second choice would be Houston Hardwoods located close to 290 and W 34th as they have a pretty good selection of sheet goods.

While neither of these dealers will likely be cheaper than the BORG material, the quality will be superior. Having said that, depending on how you plan to finish it (painted, for example), it could very well be close to a wash.

[Allen Grenz]

Well I can tell you that in my area grade A hardwood ply at my hardwood dealer can approach $100 a sheet for 3/4".. It certainly is worth it though if you need it. The only thing I can bring myself to use that crappy Lowes stuff for is shop cabinets.. The problem I find with the Lowes stuff is that its never flat.....never/// My experience with Home depot stuff is it is full of voids and not glued correctly...

My advise would be this, go to your hardwoods dealer and just tell them what your doing and what your looking for... They will generally get you set in the right direction .. My dealer has shop grade stuff that's better than the box stores. That might be a good option for you too...

[Alan Bienlein]

We just sent back A-1 3/4" oak plywood back to our supplier because it was actually worse than what you could get at Home Depot. When we cut the oak ply from Home Depot on the cnc it came out perfect. No tear outs or voids and $10 a sheet cheaper.

Clarkes is best if your looking for some exotic no one else will have. Houston Hardwoods is ok but is hit and miss as far as quality goes.

For projects I build that use oak or birch plywood I just go to Home depot as they are close by, open 7 days a week and the quality is just as good as any supplier that caters to cabinet shops.

[Richard Coers]

If cost is the biggest factor, forget the build, and go to IKEA for a dresser. About the same money for the completed dresser as you will have in material. If that's not an option, you may be able to get shop grade plywood. It's a good grade except for maybe a sand through on a corner. or some surface defect. As mentioned, if you are going to paint it, shop grade works very well.

[johnny means]

If cost is a big factor, MDF is plenty cheap. You'd be surprised what you can create with MDF and a little paint.

[Peter Quinn]

Sean, Congrats on the new baby and welcome!

The plywood at both my local big boxes is bordering on criminal. Hog wash. They have columbia pure bond...but where is the grade stamp? Real hardwood ply gets a grade stamp. The stuff at my hard wood supplier all has a grade stamp. Shop grade, C-3, AA, I don't care what the grade is, it should be clearly identified. One gentleman I converse with who seems to know a good deal about the lumber market says the big box pure bond is all rejects. A plywood plant makes a lot of sheets in a production run. They have a certain defect and failure rate, all those get dumped on one cart and sold to the lowest bidder. From what I've seen, sounds accurate.

On the oak ply front, I can remember sorting an enter lift of plywood at my local big box and not finding a single sheet I would consider using, $10/sheet cheaper but easily half the quality of my regular supplier. There have been some real improvements at my local big box in the past several years....the plywood dept has not been one of them. So proceed with eyes open, and expect to pay more for better material.

Ditto the IKEA suggestion. I got my kids dressers second hand, reasonable quality, nearly free, not heirlooms to go through life with, but cheap and functional, decent to look at too. Cost less than a sheet of plywood and a few BF of lumber for FF plus drawers and hardware.

[Matt Day]

Are you confused yet Sean?

[Sean Powell]

Well think y'all for the suggestions. Going to try the hardwood dealers around town to see what I can find.
On the ikea furniture, had there stuff before and not the greatest quality. Would like this piece to last a long time and not fall apart due to there stuff is made of mdf.

Planning on using dadoes,small amount of screws and glueing everything together. On the drawers using either box joints or dovetails. My wife wants my to paint with chalk paint that while I'm going to shop grade materials.
We'll thanks again.

[johnny means]

Sean, don't confuse low cost materials with poor craftsmanship. The most expensive materials are just kindling without good design and technique. While a skilled technician can build fine furniture with the most affordable materials. My little girl, her friends, her daddy, and her older brother have been bouncing on this loft bed for 9 years now. It is solid as a rock, does not creak or rock at all, the doors have never binded or fell off the hinges. It is also 95% MDF. The only part that is not MDF is the bunkie board which is OSB, an even cheaper material. Anyway, my point, my advice for you is to not accept "common" wisdom. Learn the strengths and weaknessess of the techniques and materials available to you. This will yield far better results in the long run than buying the "best" material you can afford.

ForumRunner_20140111_000542.jpg

[Lee Schierer]

If you take into account the amount of waste you get when making projects from plywood, glued up hardwood boards is generally cheaper than using sheet goods. As an added bonus the project is solid wood and can be refinished indefinitely without sanding through the veneer. You also don't have to deal with edge banding. For my money, I generally use solid hardwood for all show surfaces, poplar for framing members and reserve plywood for drawer bottoms and backs of cabinets.

[Bradley Gray]

If you are going to paint the finished product I would vote for MDF. The downside is weight.

[johnny means]

If you take into account the amount of waste you get when making projects from plywood, glued up hardwood boards is generally cheaper than using sheet goods. As an added bonus the project is solid wood and can be refinished indefinitely without sanding through the veneer. You also don't have to deal with edge banding. For my money, I generally use solid hardwood for all show surfaces, poplar for framing members and reserve plywood for drawer bottoms and backs of cabinets.

Generally speaking, solid wood yields much more waste than plywood. One can pretty much bet on 25% or more waste when milling solid lumber. Unless you see this as usable material and are actually willing to glue it up into panels.