Purchase cabinet-grade plywood online?

Dan Birnbaum

Member
Messages
31
Location
Frisco TX
I've been having some trouble finding good cabinet grade plywood around me... does anyone have any good experiences from ordering online?

I'm building a few diamond shaped wine racks and would love a bunch of 2'x4' sheets.

Thanks!
-dan
 
I've purchased from Wall Lumber in North Carolina before. I got several sheets of 1/2 inch baltic birch (5x5) and 3/4 ply from them. I didn't have any problems with their services. The only problem I had was some happy fork lift driver boogered up the bottom sheet face pretty good. I was still able to use it, so I don't know how they would have handled a complaint.
 
I've been having some trouble finding good cabinet grade plywood around me... does anyone have any good experiences from ordering online?

I'm building a few diamond shaped wine racks and would love a bunch of 2'x4' sheets.

Thanks!
-dan

Dan,
Why don't you call one of the milwork places near you and ask where they get their supply from? Maybe they might even let you purchase through them if your not in any competition with them.
Worth a try.
Ted
 
with shipping the way it is, especially if its to a residence, it pays to call a few local yards and tell them what youre looking for.
Odds are, if they dont stock it, oneof their distributors would, and if its not apiece or two, they might be able to get it for you within a few days.
Im currently finding out about some exotic decking, and one of the guys near me can order it for me, so Im waiting on his price.
 
Thanks for the responses, guys. Here in Dallas, I called a place called "Choice Plywood" and they told me they didn't have any plywood and hung up. The place I usually buy hardwoods from is moving to another warehouse and I've been told twice "let me see if I can get some for you tomorrow and I'll call you back." They never call back.

Is there a shortage of plywood I didn't hear about?
 
Clue to your delima is the Phone, Counter guys make their money on commissions etc. small jobs don't make money. I get mine by going to a lumberyard that specializes toward custom builders. They are used to working with small orders. WALK IN and talk to them, you'll get a better response. Not early in AM as they are getting out contract orders etc. I find 2:00 on Friday a great time as they are finishing for the weekend and don't mind a little distraction at the end of the day. Works for me. Good luck.
 
Around here, all the real building suppliers (not Lowes, Home Depot, etc) carry birch cabinet grade plywood. I could be wrong, but I suspect your building suppliers do too.

As others have said, walk in with cash in hand to a plywood supplier/wholesaler and act like you belong. They don't know if you home shop or big shop. My experience is they don't care. Just tell them what you want and pay them so they move on to the next guy.
 
I will say that I checked around. One place I found had 4x8 .75 birch ply for 90 bucks per sheet. None of the others I checked carried it. It was cheaper for me to order than pay that price. I will say that I have since found a place that is "wholesale" only, but like Jeff says if you walk in and act like you belong they will sale to anyone.
 
I buy from Austin Hardwood in Austin...(not as obvious as it seems - see www.plesums.com/wood/tips/lumbersources.html) now owned by BlueLinx. There is an Austin Hardwoods branch in the DFW area - see www.bluelinxhardwoods.com/BlueLinxHardwoods_ContactUs.aspx?c=2 for map, times, contact, etc. I haven't shopped there, but I know others who have.

Austin Hardwoods/BlueLinx has become my favorite vendor. At least in Austin, you may pick your boards from the top few layers of the stack, or for a substantially lower price, can buy a minimum of 100 bf "off the top." Their plywood selection is good - the quantity price kicks in at 5 sheets, but isn't a huge difference below the one sheet price (like there is for the hardwood). The quality of the plywood I have gotten from them is amazing... often 11-15 plies, often full 3/4 inch (19 mm).

The last time I compared prices, a single sheet of 3/4 Red Oak from BlueLinx was just under $50 per sheet, and the crap (by comparison) from Home Depot was $46.

I have had good luck buying from Wall Lumber, but I have had to make a large order to keep the freight cost from killing me.

If you only need a small amount (that I might have in my inventory), email me... I will be driving to Frisco next Sunday afternoon, and will be there much of next week.
 
I have used Austin Hardwoods (BlueLinx) in Dallas for quite a few hardwood purchases. In fact, I purchase almost all of my hardwood lumber there. Since the BlueLinx change, the selection of plywood has increased greatly. You didn't say what type of hardwood plywood facing you were looking for. The last time I was there, they had birch, oak, maple, and some others that I can't remember now. The only plywood that I have purchased from them was birch and I purchased the shop grade for some shop cabinets I was building.

Texas Wood World (located behind the big TI plant at 75 and 635 also has come plywood, but I have not purchased their plywood. If you haven't been there in the past year or so, they are worth checking out. They changed ownership and are now stocking quite a bit more than they were under the previous ownership. http://woodworldtx.com/

There is also a company in north Fort Worth that specializes in plywood. I have never been there, but one of my co-workers told me about them. He built 28' sail boat and told me that is where he got his marine plywood. I work and live in the NE part of the DFW area. My co-worker said that the price at the Fort Worth plywood place was good and the selection was great. But given the price of gasoline, he did not think that the price was that good for a only a couple of sheets. If you want, I will ask tomorrow about the real name of this company. (I believe the company may be http://www.plywoodcompany.com/)

Craddock Lumber is another company that sells plywood. I don't know about the quality or current pricing. The last time I checked with them, they were reasonable, but that was 3 or more years ago.
 
Texas Wood World (located behind the big TI plant at 75 and 635 also has come plywood, but I have not purchased their plywood. If you haven't been there in the past year or so, they are worth checking out. They changed ownership and are now stocking quite a bit more than they were under the previous ownership. http://woodworldtx.com/

Reviving an old thread... Woodworld in Dallas had some great plywoods for my project but according to them, nobody in Dallas carries 1/2 inch mahogany plywood and I need 1 sheet to finish.

Anybody know a place in TX that carries this or a company that would ship it?

Just looking for 1 sheet of 1/2 inch mahogany ply.

As an alternative, I since this will just be the back of the wine rack, I suppose I might do a sheet of 1/4 inch mahogany ply and a 1/4 of mdf or something to make fill the 1/2 inch.

Thanks for reading.
 
.....
Just looking for 1 sheet of 1/2 inch mahogany ply.

As an alternative, I since this will just be the back of the wine rack, I suppose I might do a sheet of 1/4 inch mahogany ply and a 1/4 of mdf or something to make fill the 1/2 inch.

Thanks for reading.

Why don't you just use the 1/4 inch plywood. I make most cabinets (visible from the front only) with just the 1/4 inch back. Ample to provide stiffness from sway, and ample for appearance. If you have a 1/2 inch rabbet, no problem... the ply can be set into the rabbet. If you need support for hanging, use a filler at just the top and bottom (not the extra weight of a full 1/2 inch back)
 
Since this thread has come back to life, I would like to point out that Austin Hardwoods (BlueLinx) in Dallas has closed down and moved all operations to the Austin TX store. I have now been making my hardwood purchases at Lone Star Hardwoods, 2729 Southwell (1 block north of Walnut Hill on Denton Drive), Dallas, TX 75229, phone 972-247-3427. They are open from 7:00AM to 3:00PM. Really nice people to work with. They don't carry Plywood, but they did tell me that that had they could recommend a place. If you head to Lone Star Hardwoods, make sure you take either your check book or cash, they don't take plastic.
 
Top