Grain Direction?

[teardropty]

I am building an all woody tear and would like to (for looks) run the 1/8" birch plywood (not bendy ply) with the grain direction from front to back on the outside. I know most designs call for the plywood grain to run parallel with the axle. Is there a structural or other important reason NOT to run it with the grain from front to back (perpendicular to the axle)? I really would like to avoid seams in the plywood that would be created with running the grain parallel with the axle. Thanks for any advice.

[madjack]

...It has to do with bending...it is easier to bend cross grain than to bend with the grain...the advice you have received applies more to 5" wide campers, than to 4" wide...5 wide ply is MUCH more expensive than 4 wide...
madjack

[Miriam C.]

TDTY, if that 1/8" Birch is a very thin veneer with white under you might want to rethink using it. Mine has thousands of small cracks everywhere it bent. The varnish had no effect on the outcome. I am thinking real plywood birch might not have done that.

btw you can also use door skins but bend slowly.

Good luck and you can run it the way you want but may need to boil some water and carefully bend.

[toypusher]

Watch out for knots and patched areas because it will crack or even break at those points. If you can find plywood without any large knots or patches in it, that would be best for your application.

[teardropty]

Well, it's done! I ran the plywood the way I wished and it went down smooth. 1/8" birch was easy to work with. No water/steam needed. Thanks for the encouragement! It's nice to have people telling you that its ok to do what you want. Gives me the guts I need to get this build finished and looking good.

[toypusher]

Congrats! Now WHERE are the pictures????

[teardropty]

Hey Kerry,

The pics are coming.... Between the TD and the holiday not much time to get the pics uploaded. But they will be in my album soon. Thanks everyone for the help!

[toypusher]

Looking forward to seeing the pics!!

[Joseph]

I used 3mm (slightly smaller than 1/8") marine plywood and had no trouble bending it for the body. The hatch was another matter. Even though I thought I had overcompensated, it "sprung."

If you go to my Teardrop Construction page you can see how I fixed it on page 3, but it wasn't fun.

Joseph