Plywood choices

[TrevorMag]

The plans were very emphatic about 9-ply Baltic birch, but in Hobart Australia sources are limited.
Bunnings and Mitre10 offered premium "radiata pine" (5 or 7-ply, can't recall) and "marine" (9).

I chose marine, and (a) it was expensive, and (b) my unloaded Simplexx 210 weighs 17.5 kg / 38.5 lb!

Now in a few of the forum posts, I read that "Arauco" is an acceptable substitute (with thick Duratex), and that "Arauco" = "radiata pine".

Grrrr, wish I'd known that a few weeks ago, or it had been mentioned in the plans...

[DJPhatman]

Australian Hoop Pine has also been used extensively by you guys "down under". But, any plywood with at least 5 equal thickness plies is acceptable.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Now in a few of the forum posts, I read that "Arauco" is an acceptable substitute (with thick Duratex), and that "Arauco" = "radiata pine".
Grrrr, wish I'd known that a few weeks ago, or it had been mentioned in the plans...

Other plywood species are acceptable, so long as there are at
least 5 full equal thickness plies, with no thin veneer outer layer. One such species is
Arauco radiata pine...
Simplexx 10 plans, page 3.

[TrevorMag]

Other plywood species are acceptable, so long as there are at
least 5 full equal thickness plies, with no thin veneer outer layer. One such species is
Arauco radiata pine...
Simplexx 10 plans, page 3.

Can't explain how I missed that.
Mea culpa, accusation withdrawn.

[Grant Bunter]

G'day Trevor,
Happy Australia Day!

Quite apart from it being in the plans, there's nothing quite like asking the question in the forum.
All us Aussie forum members have already been through the mill (so to speak) sourcing supplies.
And we don't mind helping.

Sorry you had to find out the hard way though...

[escapemcp]

All us Aussie forum members have already been through the mill (so to speak) sourcing supplies.
And we don't mind helping.

Same applies with Europe (and many other continents)

[Bruce Weldy]

Other plywood species are acceptable, so long as there are at
least 5 full equal thickness plies, with no thin veneer outer layer. One such species is
Arauco radiata pine...
Simplexx 10 plans, page 3.

Can't explain how I missed that.
Mea culpa, accusation withdrawn.

Hey, don't feel bad....after all - your plans come upside down, right?

[DJPhatman]

Hey, don't feel bad....after all - your plans come upside down, right?

No, silly! They are upside down, the plans are the right way!

[TrevorMag]

This one probably directed at Harley, though happy to hear from anyone who can help.

I finally found a plywood seller just outside Hobart (after my 17.5 kg unloaded Simplexx 210 experience).

Plenty of Arauco choices (even using that name) which are probably OK for the less demanding models / 12mm panels.
But if/when I do a Jack Lite, no way.

He's got / can get hoop pine B/B "exterior" in 4, 6.5, 9.5 and 12.5mm.
It's from Queensland, and is quite expensive (around $120 for the 12.5).

My question is: is 4mm & 6.5mm what you use for Jack Lites, or are we looking at different suppliers?

[Grant Bunter]

This one probably directed at Harley, though happy to hear from anyone who can help.

I finally found a plywood seller just outside Hobart (after my 17.5 kg unloaded Simplexx 210 experience).

Plenty of Arauco choices (even using that name) which are probably OK for the less demanding models / 12mm panels.
But if/when I do a Jack Lite, no way.

He's got / can get hoop pine B/B "exterior" in 4, 6.5, 9.5 and 12.5mm.
It's from Queensland, and is quite expensive (around $120 for the 12.5).

My question is: is 4mm & 6.5mm what you use for Jack Lites, or are we looking at different suppliers?

Not Jack lites, but the DR250's I built also use some thinner ply in parts of the build.
It's not 5 equal plies like Baltic, it is 3 equal plies, but I used the 6mm/ 1/4" and 3-4mm/ 1/8" radiata (same as Arauco) based ply from Bunnings, and a couple of years down the track, there has been no issues with cab integrity.

Your supplier is probably using his regular supply sources.
Ask him to look outside the box a bit.

Plyco in Melbourne does Baltic birch and Hoop pine if that's what you really want to have and are prepared to pay for, both in ply price and shipping.

Ausply is in Wagga Wagga NSW and is a ply manufacturer. They produce Hoop pine ply, the outer faces being hoop pine and the inner plies being radiata. They also produce radiata ply with 5 equal thicknesses for 1/2" /12mm.

That's not an exhaustive list by any means, and they are both much nearer to you than QLD.

By the way, if you build again and need radiata ply, Bunnings stock true 8 x 4 sheets in 12mm (ie 2440 x 1220) rather than the usual 2400 x 1200 sheets. Ask them for the non structural 12mm ply.
You might have to pick through the sheets a bit to get half reasonable faces, but this is the lightest ply I could find...

[Harley]

For my Jack lites I use Italian Poplar, simply to make them light-weight.

They are sturdy enough in this material, but if you want to be able to smash them, then dropping off a three storey building would do the trick.

Australian Hoop Pine is the closest you'll get in Australia and NZ to Baltic Birch and it's very expensive, about twice that of IP and at least twice the weight.

Some Baltic Birch is actually available here, but it has an extra plastic type veneer backing which you can't glue to. It's used for commercial kitchens and the importers see no reason to bring in bare sheets.

[TrevorMag]

I've just looked at what our local Mitre10 offers, and (my inexperience notwithstanding), we have:
(Concentrating on 12mm, 6/7mm, 3mm)

• "Project Panels" brand "Premium Plywood", 3mm - 3-ply, veneer outers, warp-prone, not suitable
• "Project Panels" brand "Premium Plywood", 7mm - 5-ply, veneer outers, warp-prone, not suitable
• "Project Panels" brand "Premium Plywood", 12mm - 5-ply, NO veneer outers, suitable
• "Project Panels" brand "Marine Plywood", 6mm - 5-ply, NO veneer outers, lightweight(!), suitable
• "AWP" brand "Luan Handypanel" 3mm - 3-ply, veneer outers, not suitable
• "AWP" brand "Marine Ply" 12mm - 9-ply, NO veneer outers, VERY heavy, very stiff, suitable* (if weight is not an issue)

So many traps for new players:

• Within a single product line, the 12mm is good, smaller sizes not (veneer outers on some sizes but not others!)
• Marine ply is good from one supplier, horribly heavy from another
• No suitable 3/4mm to be found at all

[Grant Bunter]

I've just looked at what our local Mitre10 offers, and (my inexperience notwithstanding), we have:
(Concentrating on 12mm, 6/7mm, 3mm)

• "Project Panels" brand "Premium Plywood", 3mm - 3-ply, veneer outers, warp-prone, not suitable
• "Project Panels" brand "Premium Plywood", 7mm - 5-ply, veneer outers, warp-prone, not suitable
• "Project Panels" brand "Premium Plywood", 12mm - 5-ply, NO veneer outers, suitable
• "Project Panels" brand "Marine Plywood", 6mm - 5-ply, NO veneer outers, lightweight(!), suitable
• "AWP" brand "Luan Handypanel" 3mm - 3-ply, veneer outers, not suitable
• "AWP" brand "Marine Ply" 12mm - 9-ply, NO veneer outers, VERY heavy, very stiff, suitable* (if weight is not an issue)

So many traps for new players:

• Within a single product line, the 12mm is good, smaller sizes not (veneer outers on some sizes but not others!)
• Marine ply is good from one supplier, horribly heavy from another
• No suitable 3/4mm to be found at all

Uh huh.

No Bunnings nearby?
I did all the chain type hardwares to find, if for nothing else other than ply (well, 12mm, 6-7mm and 3mm), bunnings is the only place that seemed to stock ply with equal thickness layers at reasonable prices.

Harley mentioned Italian Poplar. Only one place I could find that, Sydney, and a few years back it was about $130/sheet.

I don't think the "Project panels" come in larger than 1200 x 900, at least as far as I've seen...

[Harley]

Harley mentioned Italian Poplar. Only one place I could find that, Sydney, and a few years back it was about $130/sheet..

I buy only quality ply from genuine ply stockists/manufacturers. Bunnings ( and Selleys for that matter ) never appear on my plywood/glue shopping trip plans.