Warning - Rant

Rennie Heuer

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Constantine, MI
Why is it you can spend $60 on a sheet of paint quality birch ply from an otherwise reliable lumber dealer (not borg) and still not get something that will lie flat?:bang::bang::bang::bonkers::bonkers:

Rant over.
 
I once bought several sheets of cherry ply, like Rennie, from a local plywood dealer, with whom I had done business for years. Each sheet, IIRC was about $90. I built a floor to ceiling unit, and upon applying finish [Watco] found a 1/8" wide gap in the substrate just under the veneer. It absorbed the finish very differently, and left an ugly mark across the piece. Unfortunately, I discovered this after the piece was assembled. Glued, biscuited, solid. What a headache.

Anyway, I did go back to my vendor, with a piece of the defective sheet, and received a refund for the sheet, but.....

Rennie, feel free to rant.
 
if you noticed it before you bought it, and bought it anyway, no cause for a rant.
Harsh :rofl::rofl: But true - although it was a minor amount it seems that, once removed from the 'movement restricting stack' it found the freedom too much to handle and went wild.:rofl:

I once bought several sheets of cherry ply, like Rennie, from a local plywood dealer, with whom I had done business for years. Each sheet, IIRC was about $90. I built a floor to ceiling unit, and upon applying finish [Watco] found a 1/8" wide gap in the substrate just under the veneer. It absorbed the finish very differently, and left an ugly mark across the piece. Unfortunately, I discovered this after the piece was assembled. Glued, biscuited, solid. What a headache.

Anyway, I did go back to my vendor, with a piece of the defective sheet, and received a refund for the sheet, but.....

Rennie, feel free to rant.
Not likely I will get a refund, but not likely they will see many more of my dollars either.

It's a sign of the times. Dollars over quality. I see it a lot of stuff. I can't find decent boat building lumber anymore. Clear wood? :rofl: Yea right.
Can't argue that!

Karl - these will become interior shutters, 23" wide and 58" tall, attached to window casing with a 48" continuous hinge (it's what the customer wants). I don't want to chance screwing a hinge into the edge of an MDF sheet or core. I'll be heading out to my hardwood supplier later today for a 5x5 sheet of 12 ply 3/4" baltic birch. I hope to have better luck with that - and my dealer will sort through the pile with me looking for the best sheet.:thumb:
 
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I once bought several sheets of cherry ply, like Rennie, from a local plywood dealer, with whom I had done business for years. Each sheet, IIRC was about $90. I built a floor to ceiling unit, and upon applying finish [Watco] found a 1/8" wide gap in the substrate just under the veneer. It absorbed the finish very differently, and left an ugly mark across the piece. Unfortunately, I discovered this after the piece was assembled. Glued, biscuited, solid. What a headache.

Anyway, I did go back to my vendor, with a piece of the defective sheet, and received a refund for the sheet, but.....

Rennie, feel free to rant.

Got one better than that I had to build fireworks display shelving for a large Fireworks mega store a few years back and used paint grade maple ply. I build all the cabinets (several used full sheets) and primed them and all was good until I put the top coat on and that were things went BAD. The finish dried and parts started to washboard and what I found is they had put a wood filler in the edges of the plywood to cover up the gaps in the cove veneer the gaps started at 5/8 on the edge and would go up to 12 in the middle of the sheep. Found one that was almost 3' wide. I had cut out and bondo all the voids. Called my supplier and he sent out new plywood same thing. They flew a guy from the plant in Washington state to see what the problem was. He said they were allowed a 1/2 gap under the face veneer and I told him I could deal with that and check them out that when he measured every sheet and the closet her came was the 5/8 one. :doh:

Then he asked me what I expected from the plywood I asked him if it was paint grade and he said yes and I told him then I expected to be able to paint it. :dunno:

They replaced 9 units of this stuff and what they brought me was the same.
I had to buy Bondo by the gallons to fix the problem as I was running out of time they said the would cover cost but when I turned a bill in for $22,000 for extra labor and cost to me redoing things the backed up and said no way.:doh:

My attorney made them eat the cost of 9 units of ply in the end thats over 335 sheets. :doh:
 
Tracker bars to Jay and I are wood pieces with holes in them, to blow air through, to make a sound, that plays with the air from other holes, called music, and heard in organs.

So the pun: back on topic (wood related) or on track (tracker bar) responding to Jay's (organ guru) post.

Pretty private joke, Rennie. Sorry, should not have been so obtuse.
 
Karl - these will become interior shutters, 23" wide and 58" tall, attached to window casing with a 48" continuous hinge (it's what the customer wants). I don't want to chance screwing a hinge into the edge of an MDF sheet or core. I'll be heading out to my hardwood supplier later today for a 5x5 sheet of 12 ply 3/4" baltic birch. I hope to have better luck with that - and my dealer will sort through the pile with me looking for the best sheet.:thumb:

I wouldn't want to use MDF for that either, but more from a weight standpoint than a holding power of screws on a piano hinge. There's a ton of screws to spread that load out over. If its being painted why not glue a piece of solid onto the edge? Or if you can run a strap across the back to control warping why not make them out of solid? Plywood paints up like crap is why I mention this.

I've sent several sheets back over the years, or have the salesman stop by the shop and check it out before cutting the stuff up and throwing it in the dumpster to get a refund. Last year I got a unit of plywood that had five sheets somewhere in the middle of it that when ripped down the middle they would balloon up and split at one of the layers. Its just how it goes sometimes.

How about one of the hybrids? Where its still VC, but there is a layer of MDF under the outer veneer layer? I buy plywood only for carcass's, and drawer bottoms, so if its a little wavy I don't care. My main goal is to keep them light so delivery doesn't suck so bad.
 
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