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Plywood cost

5K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  andr0id 
#1 ·
I live in central New Jersey. Just wondering what you guys are paying for big box plywood and also cabinet grade . Also when would you say it's ok to use plywood from big box stores. I've just been using big box birch plywood but too many imperfections.

4x8
3/4 birch $53 5ply home depot
1/2 birch $45 3ply home depot
1/4 birch $40 1 ply home depot

Gonna go to a local Ace hardware that makes cabinets and has a good selection of wood to get cost

Also what about using 5/8 Baltic birch. When/why would you use that.. It just seem like a curve ball.
 
#2 ·
Just bought some HD 1/2" plywood.. $35 for a 4x8 sheet in Columbia SC ..Allegedly cabinet grade..It's technically aggravation grade slightly thinner or thicker depending on whether you want it to actually fit in the dado groove you just cut..
 
#3 ·
Big box plywood gets a bad rap, but it's good for what it is. Is it the same high-quality stuff you get at the lumber yard? No, no it's not. It also costs half what the lumber yard stuff does. would I use is in high-quality furniture? No, probably not, but for general purpose stuff like building a basic table, shop cabinets and the like, it's plenty serviceable.

In my area, HD/Lowe's have 3/4 softwood ply sheets for about $35-40, hardwood face for $50. Local lumberyard has softwood for $80 and hardwood for $100+. Yeah, the hardwood is better quality, but the HD stuff gets the job done fine
 
#4 ·
A very good grade of 5/8” Baltic Birch can be stronger than some 3/4” Fir and should have no voids.
The downside might be that most pre-made moldings were made for 1/2” or 3/4” woods.
 
#5 ·
I guess it depends on what yôu are going to use it for. I buy furniture grade ply for furniture and big box ply for other construction. I buy the good stuff from the local plywood supplier. 3/4" maple veneer was $62 a sheet.
 
#6 ·
I buy 5'X5' baltic birch ply for $24 per sheet for 3/4". You do have to buy at least $200 worth at a time. You can mix lumber ply and whatever to get to the $200 limit. I like to keep lumber on hand so I don't have to run down there every time I build something.
 
#8 · (Edited)
In my area, we have multiple sources of lumber. I paid $35.47 each for two sheets of 3/4 inch 5x5 Baltic Birch plywood at a local supplier. I just paid the price they asked; it seemed like a good price at the time. I did not ask them for a discount, nor did I purchase a large quantity.

I just called another local supplier. They want $32.12 for the same 3/4 inch 5x5 Baltic Birch plywood.

I just called yet another local supplier. They are a big chain of home and lumber stores with 10 big box type stores (the size of the big box stores) in our area. They want $42.37 for the same 3/4 inch 5x5 Baltic Birch plywood.
 
#10 ·
We only have one local source for Baltic Birch and they get $29 for 5x5 sheet of 1/2" - they don't have 3/4". I'm heading out shortly to pick up a sheet of 1/2" Purebond from HD to make some Longworth chucks. It's not for cabinets but the product looks good in the store.

David
 
#14 ·
Plywood cost Baltic birch

Went to 2 places today 1/2 in Baltic birch 5x5 $45 in one place $48 in another
3/4 Baltic birch 5x5 $64 in one $75 at the other

I know the sheets are smaller 7sf but I don't feel that its too much more than the home depot shop grade birch..

Last week I went to a different place but about 1 hour from me and cabinet grade birch from china 3/4 5x8 was $55 and domestic was $73. Both VC C2. Seems like I would rather spend the extra 10-20 bucks for a way better product
 
#15 ·
Went to 2 places today 1/2 in Baltic birch 5x5 $45 in one place $48 in another
3/4 Baltic birch 5x5 $64 in one $75 at the other

I know the sheets are smaller 7sf but I don't feel that its too much more than the home depot shop grade birch..

Last week I went to a different place but about 1 hour from me and cabinet grade birch from china 3/4 5x8 was $55 and domestic was $73. Both VC C2. Seems like I would rather spend the extra 10-20 bucks for a way better product
Until you compare the two, you do not really know which is the best value.
Just saying...
 
#17 ·
Just a follow-up to my earlier comment about picking up a 4x8 sheet of Purebond 1/2", $45, for making Longworth chucks; I made a 14" set but it is far too light and flexible to use for that purpose. The Purebond might be a good product for many things but I cut the two discs for the chucks - the Purebond weighed 2 lb. 1 oz. and I could flex the discs without trying very hard. So I picked up a sheet of the 1/2" Baltic Birch, 5x5, $29, cut a set of 14" chucks, and they weighed 3 lb. 2 oz. and were very stiff.

Plus, the face veneer on the Purebond is so thin that two light passes in the drum sander with 220 grit cut through in one place. I can run the Baltic Birch through the drum sander 5-6 times without cutting through the face veneer. I'll use the Purebond for other things but won't use it for Longworth chucks.

David
 
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