Oak plywood dilema

[lonepine]

I had purchased some 1/4" oak plywood finished on one side,the other side is birch.It was from Home Depot. It was less that $20.00 for a 4' X 8' sheet. Sounded resonable to me, and had it cut at the store into 4 sections for transport.The saw they used ripped up along the kerf line...I was scrolling and found several instances where the oak veneer would just "pop" off. Is this product "inferior"? Sure looks it to me. Any suggestions would be helpfull.I don't know if anybody else experienced this. ...Bob

[CanadianScroller]

Inferior?

inferior is a relative term. Baltic Birch Ply is definatly best for scrolling.
There are sometimes voids in normal plywood and therefore glue wouldnt hold the oak in place.
I am not sure but you may be able to sandich your oak between some cheap luan for cutting. It wouldn't help with the void situation but it may keep the oak a little more stable till the project is done.

[Greenfield_Bob]

Funny that you said that about the oak plywood from HD, I was there just today and happened to look the oak ply and it was popping off just like you said. The oak was no thicker than a piece of paper.

Bob

[jttheclockman]

It is an inferior product as well is alot of their plywood. If you can buy from a hardwood dealer when dealing with hardwood plywoods and such. This is why they can sell it so low.

[GrayBeard Phil]

Bob:

The BORG (big orange retail giant) and its clone are Home Improvement stores, and should not be confused with a hardware store or a lumber yard.

Since you live near PGH, PA, try this link http://www.woodfinder.com/
There are real live lumber yards near you that will get you all kinds of special plywood for hobbist to use.

however:
--They may charge extra to cut your order down for transport
--They may only be open during the business week, and business hours
--They may have a minimum order dollar amount if they special order for you
--They will however tell you these things over the phone

BTW: there is a difference between birch plywood and Baltic Birch plywood. Another type of plywood to look out for is Appleply (trademark name.) I haven't heard much about it lately, but the top veneer was availible with several types of hardwood.

If you just want to look and feel B.B. plywood, look for a crafts store in PGH area called Michael's, they sell small BB sheets for crafters at about a 70% markup.

If you don't mind the UPS shipping charges, several WEB stores sell small sheets of BB and hardwood plywood. Look at Wildwoods web site. There is a very highly recommended Ocooch Hardwoods (www.ocoochhardwoods.com). Both of these advertise in SSW.

Phil

[oaklysawyer]

Never seen oak plywood down south here from HD worth taking home and certainly not suitable for scrollsawed work. Particle board core and paper thin oak on top. BB is worth the extra.
Here is Appleply
Hard to find and expensive.

http://www.statesind.com/prod/ind_2a2.html

Fred

[lonepine]

Oak Plywood

Well...looks like I'll have to use someone other than Home Depot. That plywood may be made in China for all I know. Anyway thanks for all your tips. I will keep my ears open around here, I can't be the only one who uses the stuff. Mail order may be the ticket...And to think all I wanted to do was make sawdust!...Bob