Been hunting, found what I was looking for.

[OFWW]

Flat plywood.

Classic Core® J Classic Core® Classic Lam®

Classic Lam is what I wanted due to painting my new cabinets.

J Classic has tighter spec's or so it says. 1/2" to 1"+ plywood for all three.

These are available all over the world, and through Home depot and some hardwood venders.

These are interior glued, not exterior glues like MDO and HDO, the same company supplies those as well, HD is one of their vendors and you can ask for vendor sheets and wood samples on these products.

From what I see all are considered F L A T. So painting will not amplify hidden voids and knots, and the Classic Core has veneer layers on the outside like the J-Classic.

It is worth the look, and lucky me, a worst case is a seven day wait unless the local store stocks it.

And that is my bottom up look at it.

So if the experienced guys would give their top down comments, it would be appreciated.

[John McCoy]

OFWW wrote in news: [e-mail]:

A bit of a tangent here, but my experience with Columbia Forest Products at Home Depot is poor - the plywood had many internal voids and tended to delaminate. I have heard from others that Columbia is a quality vendor, so I assume that what they supply to Home Depot is a lower cost, lower spec product than what they sell elsewhere.

So I would proceed with caution in sourcing those products thru Home Depot.

John

[Leon]

Like products from China, Ford, GM, Porter a Cable, etc., they all produce from pretty good to pretty bad. I suspect that HD is stocking something on the cheap end of the spectrum from Columbia to please it's customers.

[Leon]

I don't recall the brand of MDO I bought for my current job bit it is pretty close to being the thickness as it is sold as, 1/128" over 3/4". On a side note I going it amusing that the Columbia sheets are 1/2" longer than the size you expect. This is becoming common place and "sometimes" helpful. Not helpful if you need 8' or 4' and have to remove the excess. Like if you are putting sheets up on walls with normal stud spacing.

That is what they call flat, I would also hope that the product lays flat and does not bow or warp.

Thanks for the info!

[woodchucker]

Totally agree. I too have had problems with Columbia at HD. Major warp as soon as I got it out (wondered if it was still wet)

Voids, big voids. Fills on a Cabinet grade sheet. Disappointing.

[OFWW]

Actually I sourced it through the vendor, I will be going in Monday to get local pricing.

But believe me, I hear ya.

[OFWW]

I saw a local hardwood store that has some of the Classic Lam, about five sheets, but they didn't know what it was called so the girl at the counter gave me a price which was a bit high like 65 bucks a sheet, and I think she just gave me a price on veneered stuff. They guy in the stockroom said they just got it in recently on a sales pitch from the supplier, and he didn't know much else about it. I am going to double check with them after I get HD pricing.

The sheets were at eye level and they looked mighty flat and the top sheet slid smoothly.

I may call the supplier to see if what they sell to HD is different in grade. After I get the pricing.

Your welcome

[OFWW]

A good deal of HD's stuff here is from roseburg, and the better stuff is shipped wrapped. But the yard in LA from their wholesaler is abut

12 acres in size, so keeping their stock dry would be a problem in rainy weather.

But they, like Lowe's, buy middle of the road graded veneer, one side usually sucks bad. So that is one of the questions I am going to ask them. What they call paint grade usually means flaws on the skin that you shouldn't notice once it is painted.

There is supposed to be other venders who use their pulp for say, maple, as a compressed "mdf" outside layers, but I have not been able to verify that.

Anyhow Pure Bond is the overall name for this class of their mdf plywood for the interior.

Keeping my fingers crossed. :)

[Swingman]

~ No one here who can tell you if a particular brand/stack/batch/type of plywood will suit your purposes, anymore than they can sell you a winning lottery number.

~ PlyWOOD, is a wood product. There is nothing about wood that can be guaranteed, by manufacturer, dealer, and/or their salesman, to be flat, straight and defect/void free ... but you can buy smartly (often simply buying enough to give you extra) and then learn to deal with the inevitable defects.

~ Experience helps, but is no guarantee you will not be fooled on occasion.

~ You can cut your losses by finding a supplier with an informed sales staff who can give you the best odds of getting what you want _from their inventory_ (preferably a dealer that also sells hardwood). Simply tell them your _specific_ project requirements, and buy accordingly.

~ If a salesman doesn't know what he is selling and you buy anyway, you are the sucker.

~ If what they sold you is not suitable for what you spec'd, don't fail to let them know. Most places will often offer a knowledgeable customer a refund, replacement, or adjustment because the product sold did not meet the previously stated specifications.

~ As always, YMMV, Caveat emptor ...

[nailshooter41]

Quoted for truth. I have purchased "cabinet grade, void free" that had a g reat deal of voids. More than once. When I complained to the lumberyard, they in turn put me to the website that defined the guarantee of "void free " as having less than XX 3/4" voids per sheet. Playing the odds of finding those voids in the amount that would void that promise, the odds are well stacked on their side.

On the other hand, I have bought inexpensive plywood simply for its paintab le face, and found it to be void free and me wishing I had bought more.

No kidding. Robert

[Leon]

Sounds precisely like the definition of "Water Proof", on a TiteBond III bottle of glue, when you look up the testing methods as set up by the "Adhesive's Good Ole Boy's Club".

The title of the testing says Water Proof in the title but no where in the explanation is there a mention other than "water resistant".

More and more I am finding that the "import" is better than the domestic.

[OFWW]

In this particular case no one I talked to has the foggiest idea about the products. The local hardwood store at best had a vague idea that it was suitable for cabinets, painted, and the other related veneer for cabinets and furniture. But they were waiting for feedback from customers.

I should have phrased by question differently, sorry.

I was hoping for some input from someone who may have been familiar with the particular product line, Pure Bond. I also included the sales cut sheet for the product line just so anyone can see the blurb from the manufacturer. They seem honest enough about the product, reduced after effects from voids, knots, etc. They even spec out 11/16's as an option.

From the same manufacturer the have "DrawerSIDES" in varying sizes and finishes with a 1/4 groove for the bottoms. I liked the UV white option and am contacting vendors for either a sample, or one piece to see how it is. As I stated the supplier on the plywood is will to ship out samples of the product.

Which has links to the various product pdf's and from there to the literature and free sample links.

I have seen mentions of products like this in a couple books which did not mention vender names, just the type of material, although none mentioned the product with a veneer on the outside which would also be flatter than normally seen. At least if one can believe the manufacturer.

It was funny last night when I logged on to their system, it saw my area code or ip address as somewhere else that threw me over to Saudi Arabia, and the locations of their venders over there. LOL.

[nailshooter41]

Ditto. In a rush to finish up a cabinet repair, I bought some 3/4 ply from HD off a brand new lift. It clearly said "Product of Chile" on the ends. I sawed it up for paint grade shelves and it was great quality as well as inexpensive. I have to say though, I have no idea what kind of wood was on the faces. It was white and close grained, and it was sold as something l ike "cabinet grade" plywood.

Almost no voids, and sanded/primed/painted great.

Robert

[Leon]

I have run across something called "sandi". It is often suggested as a substitute for birch plywood.