New plywood at Home Depot???

[RockysDad]

I was passing through Home Depot this weekend and saw a 4'x8' sheet of plywood that was labeled "cabinet wood". Not sure what that is but it was cheaper then their birch ply and seemed to have more layers and no voids at about .7" or so. I am assuming they are used for cabinets but they do look pretty good for speakers too despite their yellow color. Anyone seen these or have tried them? Seems cheap enough...

Just wondering...

[Cal Weldon]

I haven't seen that but I remember about 20 years ago they used to have a plywood that was solid wood pieces about 1/2" thick with a plywood laminate on the outsides. I thought that was called cabinet ply. I'll go look for it.

EDIT: I see it's called Lumber Core. Here is a brief description:

"The ability of Lumber Core plywood to bounce back makes it an excellent choice when constructing long or wide shelves in cabinets or closets."

[Pano]

Cal, I've built from that type, thin ply over boards. Don't know what it's called tho.
The plywood at the big box stores seems to change a lot, it's good to keep an eye open for the good stuff, as RockysDad has found.

[sreten]

Hi,

Everyone rates birch ply for cabinets but in some respects they are wrong.

e.g. if building portable PA / music cabinets you might have the choice of
3/4" birch ply or 1" cheaper ply that is half the density so weighs 1/3 less.

Stiffness is a cubic function to thickness, the bigger the joints the better.

Cheap plywood can be better than the expensive high density stuff,
the latters main advantage is its strength, but that hardly matters.

rgds, sreten.

[nigelwright7557]

Originally Posted by RockysDad

I am assuming they are used for cabinets but they do look pretty good for speakers too despite their yellow color....

I cover my speaker boxes in thin carpet.
It gives a neat and durable finish.
It means the colour of the wood or its finish doesn't matter.

[kevinahcc20]

If it's lumber core with thin veneer skins it will probably move more with humidity changes than a plywood with a more balanced ply layup.

[phivates]

The description sounds more like "okume" than lumberply. If Homer stocks it, he got it cheaper. Stockholders first, us not so much. Luck does happen, according to our local casino, so as with so much of this, try it.
Maybe it's here in Oregon. I'll have a look tomorrow.

[planet10]

The bamboo plywoods are similar in construction to lumber core.

dave

[Neil Davis]

This is the link to the product at Home Depot:
Arauco 32 sq. ft. Pine Cabinet Panel-781850 at The Home Depot

It's made from Radiata pine grown in Chilean plantations. Here is a link with more info about the product:
AraucoPly, MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE - ARAUCO

The stuff looks OK and it is reasonably priced, but obviously it is not going to be as strong as hardwood plywood

[slomatt]

I bought a sheet of this at Home Depot a couple weeks ago. It's a good value for $30, but nowhere near comparable to a high quality piece of birch ply. Some of the plys overlap, it was not perfectly flat, and there are a few voids. The biggest issue I have with it is that the veneer level is very thin and peels easily. But, for the price it works great for my project.

- Matt