Another one about the Borg

[Chris Johnson]

I recently went to HD to pick up some plywood for the frame and drawer boxes for a dresser for my neice. I was shocked to see that they had 3/4 CABINET GRADE plywood for only $26. That is at least half price in my area. Well I got what I paid for. I have never seen so many voids in plywood as well as poor gluing of the plys. It seems the more I machine this stuff, it just falls apart. the worst part has to be when I cut dovetails in it for the drawers. The plys in the pins are falling out and it looks horrible. So just in case any one else encounters this "great deal", buyer beware, its crap!!

[Ellen Benkin]

It is probably more likely to happen at HD, but I had the same experience at a plywood store. I purchased some very pricey walnut plywood for a specific project and, since they only sell full sheets and I can't carry them, I paid for a couple of cuts to make the material manageable. The saw operator and I were surprised when he cut into the VERY EXPENSIVE plywood and found almost no glue in the middle of the sheet. I was very happy that I hadn't taken the sheet home to cut it there and then have to drag it back. He pulled another sheet, cut it for me, and it was fine. Bad plywood can be found anywhere and at any price.

[Mike Henderson]

I had the same experience as Chris - bought some 3/4 inch oak faced plywood at the borg for about $26/sheet - made in China. The stuff came apart, had many voids and overlaps, and was generally c*%p. Taught me a lesson - we have a company in this area who specializes in high quality "Baltic Birch" type plywood. Not only is their stuff of much higher quality, they're great to do business with. I tell them what I need, and if they have offcuts that will work for me, they'll sell them at a good price. And they express the same interest no matter whether the order is for $20 or $1,000.

Mike

[Travis Porter]

I saw this stuff and was planning to buy some, now I know better!!! I will definitely stay away from it.

[JayStPeter]

There was a recent thread about Sandeply (which this price sounds like). I've found it OK for shop cabinets and such.

The worst plywood I've ever bought was also the most expensive. I bought some 3/4" cherry ply with bookmatched veneer. It looked beautiful, but the plys were coming apart all over the place. I'd cut off a piece and it would fall right in half. The veneer was so thin that it would sand through with no effort to show the purple colored glue that was holding it on. The plys under the cherry must've been balsa wood, even a minor tap with something metal would put a dent in it. For the cash, I'd much rather have 5 or 6 sheets of sandeply than 1 of that.

Jay

[fred woltersdorf]

i guess i lucked out.i bought 2 sheets of $26 ,3/4" birch/maple ply from hd about 2 yrs ago,just got around to cutting them up for a workbench. was pleasently surprised to find zero voids and no delaminations.i wish now i bought a bunch more.

[Bill Ryall]

I just picked up a couple sheets for a shipping crate (hey- it was cheaper then 3/4" CDX). That was all it was good for. It was complete crap.

At least I wasn't building cabinetry...

Bill R.

[Steve Rowe]

Um? - Perhaps it is sold by weight and not by volume. After all, that is how manufacturers justify cereal boxes being half empty - just think of the possibilities here, we could call it void ply.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I bought 40 sheets of the 3/4 birch/maple plywood 3 years ago at HD. 3 of the first 4 sheets I cut came apart. I took it all back It was some nice looking plywood.
I have purchased a few sheets since without any problems. I just checked them out well before buying.

[Russ Massery]

The home depot by me is selling plywood MADE IN CHINA.And boy is it junk!
A least they still sell the Roseburg brand that's made over here.

[Tom McDermott]

My experience has been that the 3/4" hardwood ply made in North America was pretty good, while the low-cost Chinese brands oftentimes had problems. I bought 7 sheets of Columbia Forest Products 3/4" Maple/Birch 2 years ago at HD and all of it was good stuff - but the price was $42 a sheet. I'm sure it's higher today. The leftover scraps have worked well for a number of fixtures - machined well.

[Scott Berg]

I agree with Tom, the "cabinet grade" plywood (many thin plys) is crap, layers delaminating, severe warping, etc.
However the "birch" plywood (6 or 7 pys) has been good and have been able to make several nice shop projects with it.