Sandply plywood

[regis101]

Was at Home Depot today. They are starting to carry sandply plywood. It is made of veneer skins with a softwood(?) core. No plies as in traditional plywood.

The 18mm / .708 stuff was very flat and strong. Couldn't tell of the weight.

Does anyone have info about this product? I'll browse around on the net, also.

Thanks,

[regis101]

Well, I'm not coming up with good words about Sandeply. I hope that I have the name correct. This stuff was not multi-ply. It has a solid core albeit many pieces or strips of wood core

[caseydog]

Seems like it might be a good alternative to birch plywood if you plan to cover the wood, anyway. Seems a few cabinet builders are using it under laminate. Most comments I found are not good relative to using it for finishing. The outer ply seems to be soft and mediocre quality. Definitely doesn't sound like a stain-grade product.

If it is flat, straight and rigid -- and it costs five bucks a sheet less than birch -- it might be usable for roughing out a teardrop.

CD

[doug hodder]

Having used some Chi-ply in the past....I'd avoid the cheaper plywood wanna-be's. The headaches, hassle and poor quality will way overshadow the cost savings. Granted....I know nothing about the material, but there are a lot of cheap/ import alternatives that are using poor quality wood materials in their makeup. I'll bet we see more of them in the future also. Check it out closely as only you can tell if it's the way you want to go. Think about it's ability to hold a screw and take a stain, will it explode when you try to bend it...mine did. Just my opinion. Doug

[regis101]

Here on the left coast, the 19/32 is going for 45 per sheet

[ajricher]

Just used a sheet of this stuff for bunk bases in my TTT rebuild. Stain and finish was annoying - it fuzzed up and didn't take stain at all well. I didn't have any trouble shaping it though - it cut cleanly and with a minimum of fuss.

Not my first choice (I much prefer birch but the big box stuff has microscopically thin veneers), but definitely usable for what it was. They were actually getting a price premium for this junk, though - shop carefully.

On re-reading this it occurs to me that I didn't mention the source - the sheet I had was stamped "Made in Ecuador" all over the edges. After doing a bit of research I discovered that this stuff is made from managed forest growth and manufactured to be a sustainable resource - a good thing in general if true (but I am suspicious of such claims in general).

This would explain the lack of consistent stainability and the like - this stuff is made from fast-growing softwood species that are factory farmed.

Alan

[dh]

I do not remember exactly what it is called, but back in college we would get those pre-built little pine boxes and make "stash boxes" I liked to stain mine, and minwax put out a pre stain for soft woods. It made a night and day difference in how the soft wood would take a stain.

[regis101]

Yes. I saw the made in Ecquador stamping also. The thicker stuff appeared to have a solid softwood core. No plies except for the veneers.

[kennyrayandersen]

Having used some Chi-ply in the past....I'd avoid the cheaper plywood wanna-be's. The headaches, hassle and poor quality will way overshadow the cost savings. Granted....I know nothing about the material, but there are a lot of cheap/ import alternatives that are using poor quality wood materials in their makeup. I'll bet we see more of them in the future also. Check it out closely as only you can tell if it's the way you want to go. Think about it's ability to hold a screw and take a stain, will it explode when you try to bend it...mine did. Just my opinion. Doug

I think Doug said a mouthful – you generally get what you pay for with tools, material etc. Still if you are really careful, you can get away with some stuff if it is used in the right application and protected. Generally though, since I consider my time valuable (compared to the materials), I tend to get the better stuff. It’s easier to work with, it lasts longer and generally give your project (whatever that may be) a much more professional look.

[aggie79]

If you have a blue box store in your area, you may want to try out the Arauco plywood. It is not a finish ply, but is very stable. The veneers are solid and don't have the voids of the cheaper plywoods. It is not baltic birch, but is the closest thing to a stable, solid plywood that I've found at a big box store.

[regis101]

The big orange one carries the stuff. Prolly the blue one does also. Thanks for the heads up.