Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Does anyone have any experience using Sande Plywood? I've not heard of it before although it kind of looks like Luan (pictures on the web, at least). I am looking for an alternative to Baltic Birch for the galley drawers and wondered about using Sande..... if anyone has used it or has any thoughts about it, I'd be interested to hear.
thanks.

John

Sande Plywood?

I just glanced at it on HD's site. It looks like it has the same number of plys as construction grade stuff -–plus an extra thin face layer that will sand through quickly. The fact that HD sells it raises a flag...



Tony

HD says it's "interior grade." To me, that says they use cheap glue. With Baltic, you can throw a scrap in a bucket of water for a week and it won't come apart.

Tony

I was just reading a sticky post started by Sharon Heisley regarding delamination issues of luan and getting what you pay for. So this got me thinking along with your comment, Tony. The Sandes at HD is $60 a sheet.... baltic birch at the local yard is $130. So... have to ponder this a bit, comparing the cost difference over the life of the TD. Maybe a no-brainer. But I also wonder about the quality of the BB at the yard, as well.

Capebuild wrote:I was just reading a sticky post started by Sharon Heisley regarding delamination issues of luan and getting what you pay for. So this got me thinking along with your comment, Tony. The Sandes at HD is $60 a sheet.... baltic birch at the local yard is $130. So... have to ponder this a bit, comparing the cost difference over the life of the TD. Maybe a no-brainer. But I also wonder about the quality of the BB at the yard, as well.

Ouch. Is that for 3/4" 5 x 5' Baltic? I used it for my drawer faces but the frames are 1/2" of course.

Tony

I used the home depot 5mm(1/4") luan. It may be the Sande stuff your referring to. Used it for my cabinets and interior walls. I did cut off a corner and threw it water for over a week, nothing happened, so I used it. With its tight grain, being stained is where it looks so so. Think 9 years ago, paid $10 sheet!! Today's prices are out of control!

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Capebuild wrote:Does anyone have any experience using Sande Plywood?

I’ve used the HD Sande plywood on many of my shop fixtures and jigs but not in the construction of my TD. At one time it was a low cost option with a smooth face on both sides and nearly void and patch free— but like other wood products it has more than doubled in price in the past two years. The face veneer splinters badly so take all precautions to prevent this when cutting. I’ve also found the wood species and/or glue used in this product is especially irritating so I always wear a respirator when cutting or sanding it. Just a hunch, but I suspect there are few modern plywood panels made with a true “interior” glue, that they are labeled as interior grade and not exterior grade to save on the expense of returns, recalls or liability in the event of failure. You can always tank test a scrap to be certain.

Fully encapsulate the cut pieces with waterproof coating before installing and then again after

ensure minimal flexing

tony.latham wrote:

Sande Plywood?

The fact that HD sells it raises a flag...



Tony

Home Depot; the Harbor Freight of lumber!

John, was that a sheet of 5 x 5 foot Baltic birch for $130. A few years ago, we bought 1/8" and 1/4" 5 x 5 sheets for less than $20 each. Has it gone up that much or am I comparing apples to some exotic fruit that costs ten times as much as apples?

Tom

tony.latham wrote:Ouch. Is that for 3/4" 5 x 5' Baltic?

tom&shelly wrote: John, was that a sheet of 5 x 5 foot Baltic birch for $130.

So.... the cost at the local lumber yard was $130 for 3/4' x 4'x8'. I have no idea if that is held together with exterior glue (I'd guess not) I didn't ask. But I will.
When I first bought my ply panels back when I started this past late May or June I had purchased all my lumber from this distributor in the Boston area. I got my Okoume there and my Baltic Birch. They delivered to me for $140 otherwise it's me taking a drive for almost 2 hours. Their 4x8 3/4 inch (which is really .708) was just about $130 (if I remember correctly) and that did have exterior glue. All their other panels were 5x5 and interior glue.

The BB at the local yard is, as I mentioned, $130. That Sandes at HD was $60 or so. The rational side of my brain says don't start skimping now for something I'll regret down the road....
so I may go with the local yard's BB. I would like to know if it's exterior glue or not... least I know what I'm in for. Lot's of varnish, I suppose. Arghhh, have to buy more varnish at $55 a gallon.

OK--true, our Baltic birch is interior grade.

Tom

tony.latham wrote:

Sande Plywood?

I just glanced at it on HD's site. It looks like it has the same number of plys as construction grade stuff -–plus an extra thin face layer that will sand through quickly. The fact that HD sells it raises a flag....

* I found two descriptions of Sande Plywood, so there are variations out there. Perhaps it's only Home Depot that sells the Sande that uses "not waterproof" adhesive? Here's the descriptions I found, along with the description of the plywood I used:


* When I was getting my trailer build started, I used an 18-20 year-old sheet of birch ply, topped with luan and polyurethane as my floor. Then I needed more plywood...so I went to a Home Depot nearest to where I was building the trailer (50+ miles from home), and found some sheets of 3/4" Arauco plywood sitting out front where someone had either not paid for it or was unable to use it. The stack of plywood had been tagged as $25 per sheet (about $10-15 les than the Oak ply I was looking for.

* I looked it over, saw the Arauco sticker on it, and looked it up on the internet, using my friend's smartphone (I only had a dumb flip-phone at the time, in 2011); I read that the plywood was made using phenolic resin (waterproof, even gasoline-proof...I used phenolic carburetor spacers while racing), and had minimal voids. I bought six sheets immediately (should've bought more, at that price).

* I used "the mix" of paint thinner and polyurethane to waterproof the wood, and covered it with TSC silo or tractor paint acrylic enamels (six coats of "the mix", pure poly, and paint total), and it has been waterproof for 9 years since done. I recommend getting waterproof-glued ply, and using "the mix". Use "the mix" even if not using ply with waterproof glue. It'll still stand up, I bet.

I used some 3/4" Sande Plywood to make my hatch ribs to save some money. It's definitely lower quality than other plywoods, so I wouldn't recommend it for anything structurally important (I wouldn't use it on the ribs again!). That said, I think it would be fine as, say, the middle layer of your walls (as long as you're planning to laminate other plys on either side).