Decent 1/2 plywood SOS for THTLP build.

[But it Hertz]

Hi All,

I'm gathering the materials for my next build but I'm striking out on plywood for my THTLP build. I'm in Apple Valley, CA.

I need 72 inch lengths for the build and Baltic Birch (which is sold in 5x5 sheets) would necessitate a join which I don't want to do because I'm going to finish it so you can see the wood grain.

My local Home Depot has some decent looking Aurauco for $32.97 for a 4 x 8 sheet but it is 3/4 inch thick... I figure this would make it heavy and maybe change the response of the cab because it is thicker, right? Can I use this? This would be the path of least resistance for sure. I can pretend it isn't heavy as it will just sit there for ever!

I found some wood that I haven't actually seen in person at an LA based lumber yard called Jones Lumber. They have Baltic Birch 5 x 5 sheets for $28 each and also "1/2 inch Premium Birch 12BIR, with 5 equal laminates and no voids". They sell sheets at $58.62 each or $46.65 each for 4..... plus $200 shipping to my house!!

My local Lowes can get stuff delivered from Jones Lumber every Wednesday and they don't pay shipping.... but they also don't get any discount either, so I'd end up paying $66.67 per sheet for this stuff, because Lowes would add a margin, which is fair enough I suppose.

Uuugh. What to do? Any suggestions please?

[wallywally]

I'd do the 3/4" for the exterior and 1/2" interior. Just keep the interior dimensions the same and the response will remain unchanged.

[Radian]

I recommend sticking to 1/2" all around, because even with that it'll still fetch around 90 lbs all said and done. 3/4" would definitely put it into the triple-digits, and could end up hampering your willingness to test placement options.

Maybe ACX for the outsides and BB for the inside then? Sounds counter-intuitive, but BB is still a heck of lot easier to work with in the end than ACX. Might as well strive for easy where you can.

[But it Hertz]

Sooooo. I still don't know what ACX and BB actually means!!

[Radian]

ACX is a type of pine plywood sheeting. The letters are a way to categorize the quality of the material it's made out of. Good 1/2" ACX will have 5 even plies, will look nicely sanded on one side, and will look okay / decent enough on the other.

BB stands for Baltic Birch plywood. It's sold in 5x5 sheets and will have 9 very dense plies. It's usually delivered wrapped in its own protective sheeting (even with a small order) which will be distinguishable at the lumber yard by all the fancy northern European or Russian labeling....at least my last batch was.

[But it Hertz]

OK, thanks for that explanation!

So do you reckon $66 per sheet for the 1/2 inch 5 ply premium stuff is too much? I need 3 sheets according to the plans.

Seems expensive!

[Bruce Weldy]

OK, thanks for that explanation!

So do you reckon $66 per sheet for the 1/2 inch 5 ply premium stuff is too much? I need 3 sheets according to the plans.

Seems expensive!

Seems reeeeeeaally expensive to me.

[Tom Smit]

That may simply be the price in your local area. Be careful of the BB 5-ply since it could be just a very thin veneer-coated plywood. That thin veneer will not hold under joint stress.

Shipping.....could you rent a truck for less to pick it up?

[But it Hertz]

I have a truck but its a fair round trip. 160 miles or so... plus time, I'd only be saving $70 or so for 4 sheets minus $50 or so in gas!

I think I'll order 1 sheet that will arrive tomorrow and check out the quality. If it is any good, and if I haven't figured out any better alternatives by next week I'll order more for next Wednesday.

[mr.lussier]

28 bucks for the 5x5 baltic birch is a good price. 4x8 sheets do exist, but not all suppliers have it in stock, for some reason I'm not aware of. It should be under forty bucks and 9 ply so I don't know what your sixty buck 5 ply birch actualy is. Have you considered building everything arauco from your local home depot and then applying veneer over it ? It may be the most practical solution for you.

There must be quite a few boat and airplane builders in CA. Have you tried searching google for forums ?

[But it Hertz]

28 bucks for the 5x5 baltic birch is a good price. 4x8 sheets do exist, but not all suppliers have it in stock, for some reason I'm not aware of. It should be under forty bucks and 9 ply so I don't know what your sixty buck 5 ply birch actualy is. Have you considered building everything arauco from your local home depot and then applying veneer over it ? It may be the most practical solution for you.

There must be quite a few boat and airplane builders in CA. Have you tried searching google for forums ?

I have seen some veneered subs here and I thought they looked great. My problem is I can't locate any 1/2 inch Auraco, only 3/4 inch at Home Depot!

[But it Hertz]

Success!! Sherlock Holmes reporting....

So I went to the Arauco Ply website and called the contact number in Atlanta, GA.

I spoke to a very helpful girl who told me lots of good information.

Looks like the ply I want is AC grade 1/2 inch (more accurately 15/32) sanded on both sides with a part number #720458.

I asked what AC meant. A grade is clear & unblemished, D grade has up to 15 repairs with B & C grades somewhere in between. So AC grade is perfect on one side not so on the other. Ideal for what I want... and is also the most common sheet they sell so easiest to find.

As I read else where here, they had a yard burn down recently so 1/2 inch ply is restricted because demand is higher than supply. They expect the new yard to come on line 4th quarter 2013.

They don't deal with public and wouldn't give me any pricing info but she gave me the number of their main distributor "Blue Linx Corp" who can be contacted at 770.953.7000.

Called Blue Linx Corp and spoke to another very helpful girl there who wouldn't sell to me or give me any pricing info unless I purchased by the container load but told me she does distribute to my local Lowes every other Tuesday. She reserved 4 sheets and gave me her name along with my local Lowes phone number.

I then promptly spilt coffee all over my keyboard. D'oh.

After the clean up I called my Lowes pro desk, who by now I'm on first name terms with, and gave the Blue Linx information & Arauco part number. My Lowes girl called me back 10 minutes later with a price of $40.64 per sheet! No delivery charges - Woooooooooooooo!

So later today I'm off to open an account with Lowes and get this stuff ordered. I will have my plywood next Tuesday

Seems like anyone can do this... so no need to use inferior wood any more! You can call Arauco Ply, get the part number of exactly what you want and then with a little giggery-pokery get it delivered to your local Lowes.

[But it Hertz]

More information about grades here.

A Grades
Synthetic repairs are permitted up to 6.
Boat type wood patches permitted up to 6.
Small, wood-based putty repairs are allowed.

Technical Information here.

[mr.lussier]

When I think about it... Since the number of plies is what's important, I guess you could have used 5-ply 5/8 BC exterior plywood. WAY cheaper, available anywhere, and probably no heavier than baltic birch. I should have thought about it earlier...

[But it Hertz]

Well for this particular build I want it to look pretty because it is going into my living room, but that sounds like a good option for other projects... so long as it is void free.