pls believe Chinese plywood

What is the chinese wood telling me?

-- Glenn, New Mexico

I can’t tell if you’re trying to sell Chinese plywood through LumberJocks or if you’re just trying to say that Chinese plywood is better than people are saying it is.

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

I’ve had good experiences with Chinese birch ply. It’s maybe
not as stable as baltic birch but it’s okay for a lot of work.

Sorry, Miki. I can’t afford to buy any more chinese plywood. The sheets that I bought were glue-starved and delaminated like crazy. They were also terribly warped as a result. The upfront price was cheap, but the additional labor cost to use the stuff was way too high.

-- The days are long and the years are short...

Nope. The “cabinet grade” plywood made by SamLingUSA was pure junk. And Lowes did give me my money back.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

I buy Chinese birch plywood from the same hardwood distributor that I buy my furniture lumber from. I don’t know the brand, but I’ve had real good luck with it. 3/4” runs about $29 a sheet. Don’t know what they get for it at Lowes or Home Depot, but it’s been worth it for me. I’ve been using it for the cabinets in my new house. I use it for the basic structure of the cabinets then I cover it with 1/4” Ash plywood and it saves me about $20 per 4’ x8’ sheet. 3/4” Ash runs about $75- 80.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

it’s about $45-$55 dollars a sheet at lowes and home depot. and it’s not worth it.
When you cut it, it delaminates and warps like nothing i’ve ever seen.
If you want people to buy it and accept it as a quality product, then you need to institute better qualty control procedures.
I know grizzly tools has alot of there machinery made in china, my bandsaw was made there. It’s a good saw, but grizzly makes a point of using very good quality control procedures when making it.
Try that with the plywood and see what happens.

Watch out people, the dragon is loose and there is no stopping it. China is coming hard and fast.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

I recall a Chinese wood company representative posting here some time back. We were a bit rough on him, but he took it like a man and gave good answers. The upshot was that he said that Chinese companies could certainly make a better product, but the cost would be higher and they would have to be sure of a profitable market. Can’t blame them for that. The problem lies with American companies that demand the lowest possible cost and to heck with the quality. As long as this satisfies the majority of their customers (in dollar amounts), nothing is going to change.

-- Robert - Visit my woodworking blog: http://littlegoodpieces.wordpress.com

Is there anything wrong with grading the product in such a manner that the consumer can tell what grade the importer has purchased?

ie. A1, A B C, D, Borg etc.

The Far East market must begin to do this or they will most certainly lose their market share and quickly.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I made a trip to the lumber yard today and was educated a little more on the grades of China birch that the county is selling. This yard carries C-1 grade, which means it’s birch plys through out. A C-2 would be birch on the outside and who knows what on the inside. The salesman told me that most of the big box stores are carrying an E-? grade, which is the stuff that is rolling up and full of voids. The grading system is a little different than the US but I don’t think the big box stores know what they’re selling anyway.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

Tenontrim:

I don’t care if the boxes have no clue, I just want some way to see what I’m paying for.
If it takes legislation so be it.
I believe in free enterprise and capitalism but not in deception.
Let me be the one to make the chioce of quality.
Interesting that the offshore guys have an standard that apparently the borgs are not willing to share with us.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I guess the answer, Bob, is to buy from a yard that will tell you what you’re getting. Like I said originally, $29 for a 3/4” 4×8 isn’t bad. If you can’t find out what you’re buying at one store, go where they will tell you.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

bob and Tenontrim:

yeah , both of you said the truth . the people whoever work on buying do should know what they have pay for . that make the buyer feel worthy to buy it. here , we do .

-- Everything is possible!

Actually, I DID find a use for some Chinese plywood that looked more like a longbow than sheet goods <chuckle> If you cut it into 6” squares, it makes great gussets for sawhorse legs!

Not much else, though… It’d take a lot of sawhorses to use it up.

I’d rather pay a little more. Like you, Bob, I just want a way to know what I’m getting.

-- Robert - Visit my woodworking blog: http://littlegoodpieces.wordpress.com

All right Miki, since no one has, I’ll ask the obvious question here.

Why make that low of grade of finished plywood in the first place?

It is unfit for any use, cabinets, toy chests, book cases, that I can see.
It is unstable, full of voids and the veneer is paper thin.
If it gets wet it becomes a breeding ground for fungus, both imported and domestic.

Personally, I do not believe the buyers here are being told the truth about the China grading system, specifications or quality. Not that they would care until the law suites started flying…

The bottom line is that the communist Chinese have a documented history of flooding the U.S. and world markets with dangerous products, like toys with lead based paint and toothpaste containing diethylene glycol (DEG). DEG is used in antifreeze and as a solvent.

Why should we believe their “Cabinet Grade” plywood is any different?

-- .