Hope For Lowe's Yet...............Maybe???

[John Hollaway]

Like most others, I swore off (and at) Lowe's veneer core plywood years ago. If I wanted potato chips I'd go to the grocery store. HOWEVER, I took a glance at their VC plywood this morning in passing and found, much to my surprise, that they were stocking some USA-made cabinet ply from Roseburg (never have I had any problems with Roseburg) with face and back veneers in Oak, Birch and Maple. Forth-Nine and change per sheet. If any of you have used the Roseburg product from Lowe's, what is your opinion? Thanks?

John

[Cary Falk]

I bought a piece of 1/4" maple plywood from Lowe's I am not sure if it was Roseburg or not. If you held it up to the light you cod see quite a few spots where the core was missing.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Just returned three sheets that delaminated on me. Prefinished them and when I went break them down, they simply fell apart. Seems that there was a whole production run, as several stores had same issues. After using Columbia Forest Products poplar core, the stuff from Roseburg SUCKS. Lots of voids in core, and interior plys vary greatly in thickness, plus strips of bark. Not good for shelf pins or standards.

[Greg R Bradley]

Just returned three sheets that delaminated on me. Prefinished them and when I went break them down, they simply fell apart. Seems that there was a whole production run, as several stores had same issues. After using Columbia Forest Products poplar core, the stuff from Roseburg SUCKS. Lots of voids in core, and interior plys vary greatly in thickness, plus strips of bark. Not good for shelf pins or standards.

They may get the occasional thing "right", but not for long as consistency is a foreign concept to Blowes in their constant search for the bottom. They ARE just giving the customer what they want, which is the illusion of getting a good deal. That does include the occasional item worth buying.

[Brian Henderson]

You have to remember what Lowes and Home Depot exist for, to service the contractor trade and the home DIYer. They don't even pretend to cater to the serious woodworker, so asking them to provide something that they don't even pretend to provide is a bit silly. If I was building a wall, I'd go to Lowes. If I'm building fine furniture, I'm going to a store that caters to that kind of thing.

[John Hollaway]

Thanks everyone.

John

[Edward Oleen]

You have to remember what Lowes and Home Depot exist for, to service the contractor trade and the home DIYer. They don't even pretend to cater to the serious woodworker, so asking them to provide something that they don't even pretend to provide is a bit silly. If I was building a wall, I'd go to Lowes. If I'm building fine furniture, I'm going to a store that caters to that kind of thing.

I pity the "home DIYer" who tries to use HD's plywood: it is full of voids, and falls apart as soon as you try to cut it. I know a few "home DIYers", and none of them have ever used a full sheet of 3/4 ply for anything - uncut, that is.

What Lowes and Home Depot exist to provide the most bucks for the investors: to hell with the customer, and especially the employees. In my experience the only time that the quality of either climbs out of the sub-basement is when the other is within shouting range, so that the customer has a choice of where to go.

I don't buy even a light switch at HD, if I can help it. I have an electric supply house not far away which has better prices, knows what they are selling, has a far better stock, can help me get the right item, and is an all-around better place to shop. The only reason I would ever go to HD for electrical stuff is if I were desperate on Saturday night or Sunday.

The same holds for plumbing, etc. You name it and the specialty stores run rings around HD.

I've got three building supply places within 20 miles of my home. They've gotten used to my walking in and asking for a sheet of 1/2" Baltic Birch - they'll "special order" it for me and I'll get it within a week, which is okay with me, because if I went to HD or Lowes and asked for it all I'd get would be dumb looks.

[Ken Combs]

Just returned three sheets that delaminated on me. Prefinished them and when I went break them down, they simply fell apart. Seems that there was a whole production run, as several stores had same issues. After using Columbia Forest Products poplar core, the stuff from Roseburg SUCKS. Lots of voids in core, and interior plys vary greatly in thickness, plus strips of bark. Not good for shelf pins or standards.

And, I'll bet that problem was well known to the maker. They probably called the Lowe's buyer and offered them a real deal on the entire production run!


All discount retailers, Lowes, HD, Walmart, etc constantly push vendors to reduce pricing and don't really care about quality. So the buyer didn't ask any questions, just snapped up a bargain.


1

[Chris Hachet]

They may get the occasional thing "right", but not for long as consistency is a foreign concept to Blowes in their constant search for the bottom. They ARE just giving the customer what they want, which is the illusion of getting a good deal. That does include the occasional item worth buying.

I could not agree more, although their paint seems to work fairly well.

Everything else there....not so much.

[Chris Hachet]

And, I'll bet that problem was well known to the maker. They probably called the Lowe's buyer and offered them a real deal on the entire production run!


All discount retailers, Lowes, HD, Walmart, etc constantly push vendors to reduce pricing and don't really care about quality. So the buyer didn't ask any questions, just snapped up a bargain.


1

Yep, the race to the bottom.

[Mike Monroe]

I used some Menards MDF once on a 4-H project, anything else I get from hardwood supplier that has decent sheet goods. The big boxes have the best deals on bags of charcoal at the end summer though. Hard to mess up a bag of charcoal; plan ahead and save.

[Brian Henderson]

I pity the "home DIYer" who tries to use HD's plywood: it is full of voids, and falls apart as soon as you try to cut it. I know a few "home DIYers", and none of them have ever used a full sheet of 3/4 ply for anything - uncut, that is.

What Lowes and Home Depot exist to provide the most bucks for the investors: to hell with the customer, and especially the employees. In my experience the only time that the quality of either climbs out of the sub-basement is when the other is within shouting range, so that the customer has a choice of where to go.

I don't buy even a light switch at HD, if I can help it. I have an electric supply house not far away which has better prices, knows what they are selling, has a far better stock, can help me get the right item, and is an all-around better place to shop. The only reason I would ever go to HD for electrical stuff is if I were desperate on Saturday night or Sunday.

The same holds for plumbing, etc. You name it and the specialty stores run rings around HD.

I've got three building supply places within 20 miles of my home. They've gotten used to my walking in and asking for a sheet of 1/2" Baltic Birch - they'll "special order" it for me and I'll get it within a week, which is okay with me, because if I went to HD or Lowes and asked for it all I'd get would be dumb looks.

They're not made for making furniture out of. Most of their plywood is made for use as subfloor and the like. Lowes and Home Depot cater to the home builder and home modifier. That's where they make their money. I don't know why you're so upset about it, you don't fit into their demographic. So be it. They cater, at least in the lumber area, to contractors. Most of these lumber suppliers do. I had a friend who managed an 84 Lumber and he told me that the only reason they were open to the public is because lots of people came in and bought decks and sheds, which have a tremendous mark-up on the wood. If not for them, they'd just be there for contractors and big housing companies that come in and order $50,000 worth of wood a month. Even big hardwood sellers are set up for the big companies that come in and buy a ton of wood. Little guys like us who might show up once in a while and buy a couple of boards here and there, they really don't like us, we're not the core of their business. The home woodworker, the non-professional, really has nowhere to go where we are the guts of the business when buying wood.

[Brian Henderson]

Yep, the race to the bottom.

Like it or not, they're making money hand over fist and they're the ones opening tons of new stores and everyone goes there. That shows that the majority of people are interested more in saving money than in having high quality products. You and I might not like it, particularly when it comes to woodworking. That's why Harbor Freight has more than 500 stores and Woodcraft has 70.

[Larry Edgerton]

You have to remember what Lowes and Home Depot exist for, to service the contractor trade and the home DIYer. They don't even pretend to cater to the serious woodworker, so asking them to provide something that they don't even pretend to provide is a bit silly. If I was building a wall, I'd go to Lowes. If I'm building fine furniture, I'm going to a store that caters to that kind of thing.

I would like to qualify this statement. Lowes/HD cater to the Lower End contractor. They are no better at framing lumber than they are at anything else.

[Chris Corwin]

One place that does cater to the "small" guy is Southern Tier Hardwoods located just outside of Binghamton NY. They have nice stock already planed and with a day's notice they can get you just about anything. They are a smaller business and I really appreciate the customer service. I travel over 2 hours to them instead of the 1.5 hrs it would take me to get to a different bigger company even though they have more selection.