1/8" ply in SE MI

[Tim A]

I'm in the middle of a DR200 build and needed to get some more. I had enough left from a previous project to do one cab, and it went on with no problem. I stopped by my local supplier and picked up another sheet. This is the same place I've been getting it from and never even thought to check. They must've gotten it from a different manufacturer, it's not the same product. The first piece cracked severely when I tried to install it. After looking at it I realized it was single ply. The old stuff was 3 ply.

I ended up soaking the rest in the bathtub and got through ok, but don't want to deal with that again. So I called them today and asked about bendable ply. They can get 4x8 sheets of barrel cut (bend the long way) for $37/sheet, 3-5 days. When I told him what had happened he said that for some reason they've been selling birch ply like crazy and it may have been a filler order, but I should check next time to see if they have the right stuff in before I buy. If they don't I'll have to order the bendable stuff.

If you're doing a build and aren't too far away, the place is Fingerle Lumber in Ann Arbor. Of course with the price of gas it may be less expensive to buy on line.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

with the price of gas it may be less expensive to buy on line.

In most cases probably so. What's prohibitive about ordering plywood on-line is shipping, but the size and weight of what you need for 1/8 inch to do even a dozen DRs makes on-line ordering of it just as viable as for all the other parts. I'd go on-line for 1/8" if I didn't have a lumberyard that stocks it a quarter mile from my house.

[Tim A]

Well, that was premature!

I found a place in Toledo that sells full sheets of 1/8" Poplar bending ply for $25 a sheet. They carry just about every ply imaginable with decent pricing. 1/2" Baltic Birch in 5 x 5 sheets is $31.95, 4 x 8 sheets are $35.95. They also have 1/8" Baltic Birch 3 ply 5 x 5 for $12/sheet.

Something interesting, 7/16" Baltic Birch, 5 x 5 sheets, $22.50. Seems like that would work just fine for these designs and save a bit of weight. Number of plys not given on the 7/16", but the 3/8" is 7 ply and the 1/2" is 9 ply.

Might be a bit of a drive, but if you're planning a larger build and get everything at once it's probably worth it. I'm only 30 minutes from there, and they're open Saturdays.

www.toledoplywood.com

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Well, that was premature!

I found a place in Toledo that sells full sheets of 1/8" Poplar bending ply for $25 a sheet.

Full size sheets will nail you on the shipping. UPS, and I'm sure everyone else too, charges on the basis of size or weight, whichever is the highest. Buy smaller pieces and save big on shipping even though the weight is the same.

[Tim A]

Yeah, but since I'm a half hour north of Toledo and my kid goes down there 3x a week for boxing, I can take him and pick the stuff up at the same time.

I'll bet if someone called they'd cut and ship for you.

[LelandCrooks]

I just bought my first 1/2 bb in a while yesterday. Went from $23 a sheet to $38. Dayum, to quote Tim.

[Tim A]

I called Toledo Plywood. They will be happy to cut the bending ply up any way you like for $1.50/sheet, but they will only sell full sheets.

They will ship, however, since they aren't a place that normally does shipping, they'll have to do the UPS call thing and charge for packing.

I told him I'd put them on the forum (see link above). If you're looking, give them a shout. There's a toll-free number on the website. It would probably work out ok for larger orders. The place that sells the 2x4 panels would work out to $56 with shipping, I'm reckoning a full sheet from these folks would be about $46 shipped.

[David Carter]

It was the increase in BB price that made me go with Arauco for my DR250's and T39's. When I purchased BB locally in January 2007 for my O10, I got 5x5 sheets for $25/sheet. When I asked again in November 2007, it was up to about $40/sheet. Arauco is $23/sheet for 4x8 at the local Lowe's.

For 1/8" bendy, I ordered online VanDykes.com. It worked fine for the butt cheeks on my DR250's since I boxed in the back, but I wouldn't want to use it for the horn sheaths on a DR200. It's not birch. They advertise it as Italian Poplar. It's single ply wimpy, bendy stuff with a stiffer veneer layer on the outside face. One good accidental jab with a screwdriver would puncture it. I know because I accidentally dropped my cordless drill with a phillips screwdriver bit onto one of the butt cheeks of a DR250 during the build. It only fell about 12", and the bit punctured the veneer layer and went about halfway through the rest of it. I sealed it with a big blob of PL before boxing in the back of the cab.