Shopsmith Forums

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 1:05 am**

friscomike wrote:Howdy,

I agree on using good quality wood fr jigs, they are just like a tool. I was just wondering about using 13 ply for jigs. The wood is 3/4", but I'll need to go out to the shop and measure the veneer.

The stuff was $134 a 4X8 sheet. Since I haven't bought much plywood in a while, I was a bit shocked. I'll be using it to build a television and stereo insert for a large antique wardrobe we picked up in Belgium. It is in the bedroom facing the bed, so my wife will love it. (It is the second thing I will build with the new Shopsmith, the first beign her potting bench .)

Best Regards,
mike

Hey Mike,
I am no expert on plywood, but I was under the impression that fewer thick plies are better then many thin ones. To me 13 plies making up 3/4" seems...well, close to being like the Chinese plywood in Nick's illustrations from another thread. Maybe Russian 3/4" plywood is good quality, but I wood at least expect the veneers to be thicker then a few sheets of paper. At any rate, it sounds like you have a couple of good projects in the works! Keep us posted, okay?

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 1:27 am**

EEEEK,

I was worried, so I did a bit of research and found an interesting discription of the wood I bought: http://www.woodworkingseminars.com/wp-content/s7334.pdf. It is recommended for jigs in the article...sooooo, away we go..gold plated jigs

.

Thanks for the comments and info,
mike

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 2:55 am**

friscomike wrote:EEEEK,

I was worried, so I did a bit of research and found an interesting discription of the wood I bought: http://www.woodworkingseminars.com/wp-content/s7334.pdf. It is recommended for jigs in the article...sooooo, away we go..gold plated jigs .

Thanks for the comments and info,
mike

Thanks for the link, Mike. Now I know a lot more about the baltic birch. It looks like 13 ply might even be standard for it. Well. project or jig, either way,a good choice!

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 11:51 am**

a1gutterman wrote:Hey Mike,
I am no expert on plywood, but I was under the impression that fewer thick plys are better then many thin ones. To me 13 plys making up 3/4" seems...well, close to being like the Chinese plywood in Nick's illustrations from another thread. Maybe Russian 3/4" plywood is good quality, but I wood at least expect the veneers to be thicker then a few sheets of paper. At any rate, it sounds like you have a couple of good projects in the works! Keep us posted, okay?

Tim
I think the number of plys actually increase the strength. Kind of like a bundle of sticks. There is probably a point of a trade off but I don't know where that point is.
Good baltic ply and this Phenolic ply has probably 12 plys give or take. I usually look more if the plys are uniform in thickness and for voids. I like ply wood that has plys around an 1/16" thick. While I never measured the actual plys, I'm guessing.

Ed

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 8:02 pm**

Ed in Tampa wrote:Tim
I think the number of plys actually increase the strength. Kind of like a bundle of sticks. There is probably a point of a trade off but I don't know where that point is.
Good baltic ply and this Phenolic ply has probably 12 plys give or take. I usually look more if the plys are uniform in thickness and for voids. I like ply wood that has plys around an 1/16" thick. While I never measured the actual plys, I'm guessing.

Ed

Thanks, Ed. I can not say why I had the impression that fewer and thicker plies are better, I just had it. Learning something new on a daily basis is a good thing! BTW, most plywood have an odd number of plies, and for good reason]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plywood[/URL]

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 10:07 pm**

I learned alot about plywood while building my baby's changing table. Baltic birch is the best to work with. I used 3/4" for the top, bottom and basically the entire case construction and 1/4" for outside panels with poplar rails and stiles. (not many people have 120lb changing tables but I figured my sons ass was worth it!!!)

I'm sold on baltic birch. 1/4" is great for templets, especially for repeatabiltiy. 3/4" is great for large/heavy use jigs and furniture. I've always understood that the more plys the better (I've not clicked on the PDF link yet though) I'd be interested about the apple ply and hearing more about it. Here in east central Indiana, baltic birch is about $78/ 4x8 sheet and from what i've seen lately, its not flat-but I believe thats a storage issue on the suppliers part.

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 11:05 pm**

With Baltic Burch I think it is the quality of the ply's. The core is the same veneer wood as the sides with no voids or knots.

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2008 3:28 am**

Here in Northern Calif. I found that I could not find phenolic plywood at wood suppliers without buying a unit of it. I did find it at a concrete/massonary supply house. They use it for making forms that can be reused again and again without delamination. I found 3/4" 12 Ply 4x8 sheets for 55.00 each. They had it in stock. Check your supply house for it. Here I found it at White Cap Construction Supply. They are all over the states. They are also on the web.

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2008 1:59 pm**

retcaptb wrote:Here in Northern Calif. I found that I could not find phenolic plywood at wood suppliers without buying a unit of it. I did find it at a concrete/massonary supply house. They use it for making forms that can be reused again and again without delamination. I found 3/4" 12 Ply 4x8 sheets for 55.00 each. They had it in stock. Check your supply house for it. Here I found it at White Cap Construction Supply. They are all over the states. They are also on the web.

retcaptb,
What is the White Cap product number for the phenolic plywood?
Thanks

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2008 3:24 pm**

In reading about the White Cap plywood, all the reports I've read (5 or so) have said that this plywood is construction grade and not cabinet grade. Also, it's not easy to get ahold of, often requiring minimum order from White Cap if they don't have it in suppy. They've been able to use it for odds and ends, but all say it wasn't what they were expecting and were a bit disappointed.

For an indepth thread on the topic: http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthread ... &bodyprev=

Jim

Shopsmith Forums

Favorite Wood For Jigs

Phenolic Plywood Supplier