Bending 1/8" plywood for interior ceiling?

[citylights]

[color=#4000FF][i][b]I'm sorry to inform you but yes China does import plywood to the US.

You guys are right. I looked it up. Stupid US exports raw wood to china, then we buy back plywood. Environmentalists are regulating our plywood industry out of existince, but China can turn their rivers red with pollution making our cheap products. Ok, so I am yet again disgusted about our import export laws. And now back to the regular teardrop stories.

[CarlLaFong]

Some day, when the Chinese flag is flying over the White House, our g/grandkids will wonder, "WTF happened?"

[2bits]

ahh.. Yeah... Baltic birch at whatever price, and rolled toward the folding grain. Done... you have even more fish to fry!

[markhusbands]

For the inside of I used 1/8 red oak ply, cut into 4x4 sheets and bent parallel to the face grain. For the outside I used luan cut into 4x4 sheets bent parallel to the not-so-nice face grain. The red oak finish ply went on MUCH easier. I was really surprised. Had I known I probably would have just paid a little more and used only the red oak ply.

[rowerwet]

Some day, when the Chinese flag is flying over the White House, our g/grandkids will wonder, "WTF happened?"

look into China's history, before the Communists took over, quite likely the future for us, hey I can't be out of money I still have more blank checks.....

I find almost all the cheap plywood at Home Depot is from China, Lowes has Cheap Luan made by http://www.patriottimber.com/ called sureply. I've had good results building boats and my TD with it, only had one panel fail while bending, their glue is also waterproof.

[tony.latham]

OK, I guess its clear I need to make a run to the specialty lumber yard. I hope this baltic birch isnt too expensive....

I just ordered eight sheets of 5x5 1/8" Baltic birch and was quoted $7 and change.

Speaking of plywood, I used 1/4" floor underlayment on my sandwich sides. Great stuff - solid core, looks like birch, says it's for moist areas and is a few bucks cheaper than 1/4" AC.

[grantstew8]

Hi
I'm probably using really cheap imported ply however I did not think it would bend into position for the tight curves inside the galley hatch.
It did.... and I was surprised


http://youtu.be/al6vNlPtZ5c

The galley hatch did not land on my head....I would have shown that as an out-take....

[Woodbutcher]

I have never been able to buy 1/8" Baltic Birch anywhere close to 7 bucks a sheet. I just paid 14.00 from my distributor. I would stock up at that price.

[Larry C]

I have never been able to buy 1/8" Baltic Birch anywhere close to 7 bucks a sheet. I just paid 14.00 from my distributor. I would stock up at that price.

I agree with that.. $7 is really cheap. You may want to check and see if it's truly Baltic or Russian Birch. It may be a China knock off.

[doug hodder]

If you got to a regular "lumberyard" you'll find that there are all sorts of paneling in a variety of top veneers that are actually thinner than an 1/8" and it bends just great with no cracking issues. The real issue is too many people want to go cheap...break a couple of sheets of crap and next thing you know, you have the price of a nice piece of material into it, but you still have crappy ply. If anyone is wanting to cut a corner, be prepared for the backlash on it all. Just cough up the dough and do it right from the start. Doug

[tony.latham]

I have never been able to buy 1/8" Baltic Birch anywhere close to 7 bucks a sheet. I just paid 14.00 from my distributor. I would stock up at that price.

I agree with that.. $7 is really cheap. You may want to check and see if it's truly Baltic or Russian Birch. It may be a China knock off.

When the rubber hit the road it was SEVENTEEN a sheet. I musta had a drop or two of Tight Bond in my ear when he gave me that so-called $7 quote.

I'm just glad I didn't have to drive three hours to Missoula to get if!

[Junkboy999]

Belay70 check out this post. The piece of wood you see me bending with my hands ia ¼ thick and a 1 foot square. It we bent back and forth by about 25 - 30 people at the end of the woodworkers guild meeting.


I’m not sure if it will look good stained, but will get a few samples next week and test them out.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=57206

[rick e]

Some day, when the Chinese flag is flying over the White House, our g/grandkids will wonder, "WTF happened?"

look into China's history, before the Communists took over, quite likely the future for us, hey I can't be out of money I still have more blank checks.....

I find almost all the cheap plywood at Home Depot is from China, Lowes has Cheap Luan made by http://www.patriottimber.com/ called sureply. I've had good results building boats and my TD with it, only had one panel fail while bending, their glue is also waterproof.

I am trying the "Sureply" from Lowes. It is nice stuff, made in US, and available here in Florida. Good info about panel wood on the "Patriottimber" website. I wish I could get some of the Baltic, or Russian, birch you guys are talking about. Everyone seems to be out of it.

[Tom Kurth]

Lotsa bad info and conflicting info on plywood out there because there are so many options today. I don't even assume that what I have to say here is entirely correct, just to the best of my knowledge. Most 'Chi-ply' is indeed junk, but there is at least some that is reasonable quality. Paxton, the BIG commercial supplier in KC offers a line called 'Dragon-ply' that seems to be OK. I understand that they have their own inspectors on site. Even some of the junk is useable, just be selective on a per piece basis and be aware of where and how you are using it. The Baltic/Russian birch these days is not to be trusted entirely despite its reputation. We recently got some 'five by fives' in our cabinet shop that were delaminating--unheard of a few years ago. Different plywoods have different make-ups in regards to direction and number of plys. Use your common sense about the direction of application and the type of plywood. Wood is inclined bend along the grain, not across the grain. There is also a variety of products of sheet goods that are designed for bending. Two I know of are 'bendy-ply' which is plywood with all the plys running the same direction and 'kerf-ply' which is a Masonite-like product with kerfs cut in the back side. Another critical area is what kind of adhesive is used to assemble the plywood. Most is made with exterior (water-proof) grade glue but you can't assume that--if it doesn't say it, you just don't know for sure. Bottom line can be summed up with two caveats: 1) Do your homework, know what you are getting and what it is made for. Use it accordingly. 2) Assume that you get what you pay for. Cheap usually equals junk.

Best,
Tom