How to make make a 12-foot piece of ply?

I need a 12-foot by 8.5" piece of 3/8" ply. The box stores only carry

8-foot ply stock. Already I have a 4x8' sheet of 3/8" ply. Is it possible to make a 12-foot piece? I have most common tools.
Reply to
Phisherman
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There are lots of ways depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Can you tolerate a seam?

Are you trying to bend the finished piece?

What is the application?

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Phish . . .

Do you know how to make a SCARF ?

Another sheet, some care & attention, a few minutes with a plane, a relatively flat place, a few brads, some GOOD glue, a bit of plastic wrap, some clamps & scrap '2x's . . . and Bob's Your Uncle.

Regards & Good Luck, Ron Magen Backyard Boatshop {PS - if you are unfamiliar with the word or process - drop me a line and I'll give detailed info}

Reply to
Ron Magen

Phisherman wrote: | I need a 12-foot by 8.5" piece of 3/8" ply. The box stores only | carry 8-foot ply stock. Already I have a 4x8' sheet of 3/8" ply. | Is it possible to make a 12-foot piece? I have most common tools.

I've spliced 3/4" Extira to make 12-foot sheets - and would guess than the same method would work for ply. I routed a pair of 1/3-thickness steps 3" wide on the edges to be mated and joined with epoxy - with full-width clamping. You can see the clamping lash-up in the top two photos at the link in my sig.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

Or you could buy 1/8 stuff, cut out extra bits from 3-4 sheets and do a glue up to make a larger piece using staggered joints. Getting a press to clamp it together might be an issue.

Pete :)

Reply to
cselby

Phisherman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Strange. The plywood dealer I use has 12' stock. Maybe not in rift-sawn Appalachian Cherry veneer, but in a number of very useful grades and types.

Check with another dealer, one who sells to a lot of cabinet chops. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

Or check with local cabinet shops -- since he only needs an 8.5-inch strip, it's barely possible there might be an offcut available. Doesn't seem real practical to buy an entire 12' sheet for one strip.

Reply to
Doug Miller

You want him to knit the plywood?

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Darn right.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Dammit, Ed, you owe me a new keyboard.

I know enough to swallow the coffee before opening any of Buddy Matlosz's posts, but you caught me unawares.

Reply to
Doug Miller

DAGS "stitch and glue" process

Frank

Reply to
Frank Boettcher

Google for "scarf joint" and a jig for the same. There are a few ways of cutting this. One of the easist & most common uses a jig and a hand held power planer. I've seen different figures for the strenght of this joint and it varies with the angle of the scarf, but it is strong enough to be the standard method of making longer plywood panels for boat building.

Reply to
Larry W

I think I remember that 6:1 or some ration like that works. Make a ramped jig that allows you to use a router.

Try these links.

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Reply to
Lowell Holmes

Thu, Jul 19, 2007, 3:23pm (EDT+4) snipped-for-privacy@nobody.com (Phisherman) doth claimeth: I need a 12-foot by 8.5" piece of 3/8" ply. The box stores only carry

8-foot ply stock. =A0 Already I have a 4x8' sheet of 3/8" ply. =A0 Is it possible to make a 12-foot piece? I have most common tools.

If you don't have some uncommon tools, you can't do it.

Get about a 14 foot log. Mount it on a lathe, shave off a thin roll. Cut strips from the roll about 14 inches wide the long way, shorter pieces for crosswise. Put together, with glue, apply a lot of pressure. When the glue is dry, trim. No prob. Any other questions?

Or, you could do it in any number of simpler ways' but, since you didn't say what you want it for, I'm not telling.

JOAT I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do them. - Picasso

Reply to
J T

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says they make up to 5' x 12' panels (and they're not the only one). Any good lumber yard (i.e. not Home Depot) should be able to locate and order some for you. You might pay a premium for it.

Reply to
Roy Smith

Thanks for all the replies. This is for a shelf inside a 12-foot valance I'm making. I found some good info on scarfing ply which is often used in boat building. After some thought, I decided to make the shelf out of solid pine (1/2" thick) and attach it to the valance sides using a split tenon with 1/16" space allowance in the mortises for seasonal changes. With requests, I'll post some pictures in the pictures group.

Reply to
Phisherman

-- After some thought, I decided to make the shelf out of solid pine (1/2" thick)

Hollow pine would be lighter.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

It's tough to cut the pine so that it follows the hollow heart and still ends up straight. Usually have to steam bent afterwards and plug at least one end.

Better just to get a balsa plank and skin it with 3/8 pine for a lightweight torsion box.

;-)

Bill

Reply to
BillinDetroit

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