Hi all,
Does anyone use furniture grade plywood, Cherry. Walnut, etc.?
If so where do you purchase it?
The reason I ask is that I see that Wall lumber has prices in the 50-60$ range, when I went to my local lumber yard they are talking about prices in the $150 range, Home depot sells oak ply for $45. What’s the deal?
Replies
Scott
The last time I bought cherry ply it was $96 for 3/4; walnut was $122. That was about 4 years ago. Bought it here in Richmond VA from a place called Plywood and Plastics; guess what they sell?
Around here, HD / Lowes sells 3/4 oak ply for <$40 a sheet, maple is about the same.
Kell
They sell sandwiches?
Just kidding, That all sounds about right base on the prices I have found. Still I wonder what the catch is with the prices at Wall lumber. Anyone have experience with plywood purchases from them.
Thanks for your response Kell.
I get all of my ply at a local hardwood supplier--Youngblood. They are in the Mpls area. Anyway, I pay around $100 give or take for 3/4 veneer core depending on species...cherry, mahogany, walnut etc...
Oak ply on the other hand comes in a wide range of grades and cuts. You can get crappy stuff that is rotary cut and will warp at Homey D for about $35/sheet. On the other hand, you can get quartersawn usually w/ sweet ray flecks for mission style stuff at lumber suppliers, for around $125/sheet.
I know that if you get mdf core, the prices are ususlly about 60% of veneer core.
It's probable that Wall is a wholesaler, but their prices may not include shipping, which can really drive up the per sheet price if you're not getting a whole pallet.
I would check with them reguarding the grading and the cut of the face veneers. I think FWW has an article in the current issue dealing w/ different types of ply that exsplains grading and the rest.
Good luck.
Peter
Peter
jpswoodworking.com
There was a thread a couple of months ago about the $30-$35 oak plywood that's showing up at HD lately. Wasn't very flattering! I went and checked it out afterward, and most of the stuff was very poor -- microthin veneer, large voids showing even in the whole sheets, discoloration. I found 3 sheets to buy for utility stuff, just because it was cheaper than cheap, but not for building a good bookcase or anything.
Rumor in the thread was that the ply was made on factory ships off-shore. Never did confirm that though.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Scott what is the grade for $45.00? I recently paid $110.00 for A1 Cherry at the local hardwood dealer. Stuff at Home Depot IS $35-40 a sheet but only for knaock together shop stuff not for quality work. To many voids and patchs.
Thanks to all who replied. Yes the Wall price is probably without shipping. As far as the grade of the $45 ply... Heck I don't know. It's from H-Depot, How good can it be. As far as I'm concerned H-Depot has awful lumber, I've seen some incredibly twisted wood for sale there.
I've ordered from Wall before, (the UPS packs) I generally make tables and my experience with them has been good. I'm considering some case work. I've played around with a bench and some closet system using MDF, Melamine, and some maple and birch ply from H-Depot and Lowes (I think Lowes has better quality than Depot)
While my local lumber yard has a large selection of quality lumber they tend to be expensive and lumber is surface to exact size while still needing to milled so I generally use them for special or time when I need a single large piece. So I was suspect of there ply pricing.
I like the conveinence of the delivered wood, I get it rough, and as I said the quality is good, so now I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on "ordering wood online".
I'm from central NJ.
I recently paid $110.00 for A1 Cherry at the local hardwood dealer..
Late post but about what I payed.. When ya cut it NO VOIDS! You get what you pay for I guess.
Scott1,
At those prices why isn't solid wood more common?
I buy FAS grade Black walnut for $52.80 for 32 bd.ft. (4'x8'=32 bd.ft. of 4/4 ) and white oak for $25.60
Sure I need to dry it and run it over the planer/jointer but isn't it worth it?
I look in the wood price guide (it comes out every week) that sawmills use and most of the country is priced similarly some places are a tiny bit cheaper on some and tiny bit more expensive on others.. There is rarely a differance of more than 10 cents a bd.ft.
But frenchy, I think you're the only one in the country getting hardwoods at those prices."I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
-- Bertrand Russell
Nikkiwood,
I don't believe so, others have written in and said they pay similar prices.. The Hardwood price guide goes out to just about every sawmill in the United States and various mills often advertise in it..
I don't see a lot of hardwood sawmills in the southwestern part of the country advertize so perhaps that part of the country may ot have much hardwood available (check with woodmizer for a list of smal scale sawmills in that part of the country..
If you'd like to buy some wood at the prices I pay call up either Dan or Connie at Johnson bros lumber in Cannon Falls Minnesota and I'm sure they will be happy to sell you whatever they are sawing.. Their prices are based on the guide..
The really great deals like the 10 cent fiddleback maple and 17 cent Black walnut and 15 cent 5/4 ash are strickly on a when available basis.. Thins and slab wood are always available..
NO, there are at least two of us! I live up in eastern Ontario, and I can get rough red oak and maple, FAS for $1.50 a foot from local small sawyers, primarily across the border in western Quebec. Cherry runs around $1.75 for mill run, $2.50 for clear. Pine is about $.75 per foot for relatively clear rough stock. For those of you who live south of the border, you should discount these prices about 25% to account for currency differences.I should point out two other factors that definitely affect the price I pay. I've known several of these sawyers for many years, and I've always dealt fairly with them. If I'm dealing with millrun stock, I take what I get and don't gripe or pick through the stack. They have an expression around here..."Take it as it rises" which means you take your boards off the top of the stack and don't paw through the pile. Secondly, these guys now know what kind of wood I like and I'll often show up and find that there's a small stack set aside that just happens to meet my desires. I always buy the whole stack, even if I don't have a need for all of it at the time. I've gotten some wonderful birdseye and curly (tiger) maple this way, and I received an email from an old guy about 1 hour north of Ottawa just yesterday that said he had "a few good boards of curly cherry", 6/4 stock in widths up to 9". I can't wait to see the stuff! $3 per board foot, which is about twice what he charges for regular cherry. FWIW, there is a third factor at play here in determining the actual price of lumber. Cash is King...I always show up with paper money and don't even ask about checks or credit cards.Regards,Ron
$2.50 for clear Cherry! DANG.. I'm moving to Canada!
$52 for 32bdft of walnut
$100 labor to assemble 4x8 panels.Makes plywood look well priced.
GeorgeR,
I'm not sure why you'd make 4x8 panels simply to cut them into 24 or 30 inch peieces.. But maybe you have a reason..
I do know that the old idea of working with nice straight flat plywood panels seems to be a thing of the past and no longer can you expect a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to be 3/4 inches thick.
Maybe I'm a wood snob and maybe my opinon is full of bull but to me there is something superior to solid wood that plywood will never have.. Does it take longer to work with solid wood? Probably although not as much as some would believe.
I am not saying that everything made of plywood is inferior to everything made from solid wood.. Heck there is too much skill involved in working with either wood to claim that!
he idea of it taking a hundred dollars of labor to make a 4x8 foot panel out of solid black walnut does seem to be a bit much I mean we're talking about as few as three glue lines.
Those prices are low. They are most likely 1 good side, probably rotary cut and probably not a good ply.
I order from Bristol Valley regularly. Their struff is pretty good, although I hust got a sheet of 1/4 inch and was not realy happy. It was 3/16 and I felt should have been at least 7/32 and was only 3 ply. I should have asked more questions before I ordered it.
What you need to find out is the grade and dont ask the supplier what the grade is because while there are standards, everyone has their own interpretation of the grade levels.
Ask for what you want book matched, slip matched, or a roatary cut. Specify what you want on the B side, and definitely ask for the final thickness and what is the number of ply.
I usually pay about $110 for 3/4, bookmatched 2 good sides. plus shipping.
The 1/4" sheet I just got was $77.00 but again I was not realy happy with it. When getting 1/4" stock make sure it is 5 ply.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Plywood prices
I'd say EXPENSIVE!
Picked up this week a sheet of 2 sided cherry 3/4 ply locally for $75+ tax, about $84.00 total. This sheet had some curl to it, the veneer appeas to be flat sawn.
Alan
I've purchased regularly from Wall.
If you'll look at Steve's catalogue, his mahogany prices are significantly lower than other suppliers are also.
Probably because of volume -- he has quite a warehouse, filled with all sorts of stuff.
Other than that, I don't know. Steve's always supplied good quality lumber.
Regards,
Yes, I just ordered some mahogany from Wall, "red hot deal" at the site.
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