Hello all, Im looking for a source for birdseye maple veneer on ply wood
or MDF to make some slab doors for a kitchen. My supplyer here in milwaukee
quoted me over $400 a sheet(4x8x3/4) at those prices, I might buy a vacum press
and lay up my own. any good reliable source will be helpfull
thanks mark cherry
Replies
WoodShaver
I am just north of you in Grafton. Try Parkwood Chicago 800-551-0086 ask for Jeff Johnson he will get you set up with what you need. I have a small book of samples from his last visit if you would like to take a look contact me at [email protected].
Dale
Thanks for the info timber/ parkwood is who gave me my first quote.
So your in grafton; my shop is just north of germantown on rockfield rd
not to far away. are you a fulltime woodworker?
Yes, I am a fulltime furnituremaker and woodcarver. I will be building a new shop in Mequon starting in April. I will be located at roughly 60th and Donges Bay. I do have a large shop space for rent here in Grafton if you know of anyone interested. It is about 3,000 sf 12' ceilings and maple floors. It is located on the river by the falls 1 blk south of hwy 60. $750.00 plus utilities. Did Parkwood give you a good price? Other than them I don't know of anyone else in are area. Maybe you could find some good stock at Kettle Moraine and do some resawing.
Take Care
Dale
Hi timber, your not to far away, from my shop, I to make furniture and do a little carving, Id like to meet you some time, if you dont mind. see the work you do.
and show you some of my work. as for the birds eye maple , I think parkwood is
were im going , to puchase the stuff. thanks for the info.
Feel free to stop by any time. I am located at 1300 14th ave. I am one blk south of hwy 60 on the Milwaukee river. Just E mail me a day or so in advance. I will be here until the end of April after that I will be at the Mequon location. At this time I am working on two bookcases along with a sofa table and a dvd cabinet. I will be somewhat in your area Friday when I go to Kettle Moraine Hardwoods I am looking for a slab of Walnut for a mantel I will carve.
Take Care
Dale
feel free to stop by my place any time , Im south of hwy 60, if you take division rd
south,to rockfield rd go,right(west) over train tracks turn right , Im in a old white factory bldg. cant miss it . look for the smoke stack.Ill be there all day friday.
take care.
So far Friday looks good. Can you send me your Email and I can let you know if there is a change. I am thinking about 11:30 or so. If not Friday how does Monday work? I will be in the shop Sat & Sun mornings if you would like to stop by.
Thanks
[email protected]
In a house I built for myself a couple years ago, I needed maple plywood for doing a lot of bookcase work, built-in seating, and cabinetry. Bought about 24 sheets 3/4 x 48 x 96 from my local source, and lo and behold, the back side of 20 of the sheets was done in birds-eye. Not densely figured, but all birdseye none the same. Nice stuff. Paid the regular price, under $40 at the time, for the ply. Which side do you think we used?
Your best bet is probably going to be buying the veneer and laying it up yourself. By the time you figure materials and labor you won't be far from that 400.00 though. You're going to need over 64 sq ft of veneer at 2.00+ per sq ft plus glue, substrate and your time. You do have a lot more control over the finished product and that alone is worth the effort.
I'm on the east coast, so I can't help you with a local supplier. But I can tell you that $400/sheet sounds about right from my experience. I had to buy about 20 sheets of 3/4-in. bird's eye maple as a custom order in the late 1980's. I paid $320/sheet for it then.
If your doors are simple flush, flat panels (no frames), then I'd advise you not to use plywood because it won't stay flat. MDF or flakeboard would be a better choice for the core.
HI BILL , these doors are for a frame less kitchen, your right about the plywood,
mdf is what Im going to use. thanks for the info.
Depending on how figured the veneer is it may or may not be a good deal. For highly figured birdseye around here your looking at anywhere from $3-$7 sq ft. and that's if you buy a whole log (that's usually 3000 sq ft or more). Joining long veneers without a veneer jointing saw is a fair amount of work (especially birdeye), and then you have to stitch it and press it. Wrestling a 4 X 8 sheet into a vacuum bag isn't much fun either.
If you can have some input as to how the veneer is laid up then I would say just go and buy it from the supplier. Another option would be to contract the veneering out to a shop with a hydraulic press (their rates should be comparable). I used to work in a shop that had one and I could veneer a panel in 5 minutes (not including jointing and stitching of course). Last but not least, birdseye is squirrly stuff to work with and I wouldn't recommend learning to veneer with it.
Birds eye these days can be had for 2.00 a square foot for good looking characteristics. Architectural grade run's about 4.00. The biggest factor in costing is the width of the veneer that you require. Smaller width will cost less than wider width.
Figure about a 30 to 50% waste factor. If your finished cabinet faces are say 500 sq feet, you'll need to to but about 700 to 1000 raw.
Your cost of a DIY would be about 2000 for the veneer, a 300.00 vacuum press which includes a 4x4foot bag and a 1 cfm pump. Use MDF core and a balanced backer (lesser grade of maple) and time. Compare that to your cost of ready made face and you'll know whether you want to DIY or outsource the faces.
Your benefits will be personal satisfaction, a new tool and higher quality due to your ability to match the elevations. Buying sheets may make that a little difficult if the sheets are not from the same tree.
John Ersing / Veneer Systems / 856-309-5137
John Ersing
Veneer Systems
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