I'm hoping there be some real feedback in this thread. I used white select (or is that select white?) birch 3/4" plywood for my kitchen cabinets. To choose the pieces, I went to one of our larger lumber yards in the area (long before HD days), and went through three stacks of plywood to get what I wanted, three very tall stacks. The grain was very similar on the pieces that I purchased so it all looked matched when they were built, but not without a lot of looking and a very helpful, and patient, lumber yard employee.
That wood was truly beautiful; that was a bit over 20 years ago. About ten years ago, I bought a single sheet for a project; the choice was *not* appealing and not even fun to work with. The piece I bought was comparable to the least of those I had looked through before. A couple of months ago, I looked at some. Note I said "looked at," not bought. There was nothing there even remotely comparable to what went into my cabinets.
Are others as disappointed as me at the quality of what is readily available? I'm talking about overall availability, not just at the warehouse yards. For the utilitarian projects I'm building now, I use mostly the "seconds" from Shurway though do buy some of what is supposed to be good. Honestly, the seconds are just as good as that I've paid much more for. I'm a bit concerned about being able to find good wood when I'm ready to make something I'd like to pass on to my children/grandchildren . . . is there good stuff out there, something worth the time and effort that went into my kitchen cabinets?
The Pacific Northwest is supposedly lumber country, so I wonder what's happening in the rest of the U.S.
Glenna