# Depot versus Lowes Ply



## Resurrected

OK I know their usually both junk, but I was board today and walking the two stores and behold I saw at depot Made in the USA Ply. (Pure Bond), Then got to lowes and found Pacific something with a big giant sign saying Made in China. Thought this was humorous. My curious thought though was on pure bond is it a half way good plywood. I've got the certain customers who just want to pinch pennies. And they questioned me on the price of my sheet of oak I get from the mill versus the box store.


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## bandit571

IF there is a Menards store in your area, go check theirs out. On their "good" hardwood plywood, each sheet is plastic wrapped. The stuff in the racks ain't that great, but they are at least as inexpensive as the other BORG's stuff.


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## Sawkerf

I haven't used big box ply for a few years and when customers ask why, I tell them that the "real cost" of it has to include all the hassle I have to deal with when I try to use it. Remember the old commercials with the line "Pay me now, or pay me later"? - lol


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## Gregn

From what I have read I would rather have the Pure Bond Brand.
http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/PureBond.aspx
At least they are formaldehyde free and made here.


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## Gofor

The wood you see in the big box stores is somewhat dependent on where they are located and the time of year. Here this week I can buy 2×10 SYP cheaper than 2×8 SPF, but the "hardwood" ply is not even worth hauling to the curb, much less trying to make something of it.

Go


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## stevenhsieh

Wouldn't it make sense to support family owned store than big box stores?


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## Resurrected

I'm just saying whats the differnece between the two. And is Pure bond any good. I usually get My wood from CR muterspawn. There a hour down the road, but when the customer wants it cheap he will get it that way. He told me he wanted me to use the stuff from lowes.

What do you do? Not do the job or just tell him the down falls and leave it on his shoulders?

I choose the money


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## allmyfingers

we have used the chinese plywood, many voids and the birch veneer is so thin don't sneeze near it or it will blow off! just bought the usa purebond for a custom closet job, looks good through first rips and at $44 per sheet versus our local supplier(who we support as much as possible) gets $58 per sheet Home Cheapo wins this one.


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## DougH

If you use the cheap stuff and it shows in the project, they will blame you, not the material.
Price based on the job and cost of material, where you get the materila is not their concern.


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## tyskkvinna

I'ved used the Purebond several times- I like it. I have yet to find a small supplier for this locally that I like and I can't justify the long drive (several hours) for it on a regular basis..


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## Rick Dennington

I buy my USA made ply from my local lumberyard (well, about 12 miles away), along with a few hardwoods.
That Chinese crap ain't fit to build a dog house with. I can get oak, cherry, bitch, etc. for just a few bucks more a sheet. I'd rather pay a few $$$ extra for good quality….anything.. When I go to buy, I usually buy anywhere from 3-6 sheets at a time. Then they give a little discount cause of quanity, and it saves me from having to go back as often,and make that long drive to town.


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## craftsman on the lake

I recently got some Canadian maple veneered ply from a local lumber supplier for about $3 more than the chinese junk at Lowe's. Mind you, I'm an avid Lowe's and HD patronizer but some stuff like the finish ply isn't good for much. Their construction sheetgoods are okay.


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## Rick Dennington

Sometimes, but not always, I'll use some Chinese crap ply to build a project or piece of furniture for my shop.
I 'll use it mainly because that's what I had on hand and never used, so to keep it from warping so bad out of shape, I'll use it. But for customers I work for and personal household use, never…....!!!!


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## Resurrected

What if its a painted project. Though guys.


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## Rick Dennington

Hey Resurrected,

I say if it's painted, then it shouldn't make any difference what kind of ply or wood you use…Paint will cover up any imperfections anyway…..If they are there, just fill it with wood putty and go on…...lol.


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## Millo

No Menard's here (as far as I know) but I noticed the same thing when comparing HD and Lowe's last month. In an article I read the HD came out not as bad as some others.

I ended up getting Birch at a local lumberyard for less than the Lowe's one, which was cheaper than HD. Of course, the Birch is less amount, so anyway it's not really "cheaper" than Lowe's, but oh well… Thing is, this Lumberyard was out of city limits.

Maybe next time I'll buy the PureBond.

Check this out:
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/basics/choose_the_right_plywood


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## allmyfingers

paint can't cover up voids and top veneer so thin you can't sand out any imperfections. my opinion remains the same, go american purebond.


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## DLCW

I have learned to steer away from Chinese plywood because of the blades it has ruined in my shop. I cut into one piece and had sparks flying out from the kerf. Scratch one $150 plywood blade. I hit some metal on my router table. Scratch one roman ogee bit. I've seen rubber, plastic and metal sandwiched into this junk. The sheets tend to delaminate more often then not. The warping and twisting goes beyond description.

I've come to the realization that if people want absolute bottom dollar on their "custom" cabinetry, I will us the stuff but have educated them that I can't warranty against any problems with the cabinet boxes. This is reflected in the contract. The other thing I tell them is that if any of my tools, bits or blades are damaged or destroyed using this stuff, it will appear in the final invoice. I also let them know that if sheets are so warped or delaminated that they are unusable (my suppliers won't take the junk back), then their cost is going to go up because I have to replace these sheets with new ones.

Once I have explained all this and educated them on the price of going "cheap" they tend to listen to me a little more about higher quality materials for their project. If they are hell bent on going totally cheap, then I steer them towards off-the-shelf particle board cabinets at the BORG. I also make sure they are aware that these cabinets come only in stock sizes so be ready for a possible nightmare installation.


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## bandit571

Let's see: HD about 28 miles away, been there ONCE, won't go back.

Lowes (2) about 15 miles to the east,and 15 miles to the west, again, been there once in the last year.

Menards: One about 15 miles away, another 30 miles away. Seems to be my regular shopping place. Special order hardwood plywood comes in wrapped in plastic. NO warpage. Stuff in the ready-racks…variable. From decent stuff….down to "warp city". Hardwood (the solid stuff) is all plastic wrapped.

Carter Lumber Company: about 16 miles away. In a pinch, I go there.

That is what I have in my area.


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## fge

It was mentioned that the purebond is 44.00 per sheet and that is a great price for a green product. If I could get green sheets for 44.00 that would be awesome! In my area I am looking at 60.00 per sheet more or less for green sheet goods.


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## Resurrected

Flyforfun, why are you OK with the pure bond. I'm interested. Actually the price is 43.97 at home depot. This is a great savings if pure bond is a reputable plywood.

*LOWES* well I guess there going the route of china and really that is disappointing. Figured they learn their leson after the drywall problem.


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## fge

Well to answer your question resurrected, in my area, or probably everywhere, domestic is always more expensive and add to this the fact that it is "no added formaldehyde" seems really raise it's market value. Just seems to be really good value based on what your getting with a "green" product that is domestic. That all said, i dont think our HD is selling the purebond product but i do intend on checking. One negative i can think of from a cabinet shop perspective is that we would have to apply our own finish which adds work/labor. Currently we use a pre finifshed UV plywood that has a very good quality UV dinish so the insides of all of oyr cabinets have a really great dinish and all done with no extra effort on our part. If using the purebond, we certainly would charge a PITA charge for the finiwh out on inside of cabinet.

With the above stated, i have no personal exp with purebond.

Really not sure if i answered your intended question but i hope i have helped.

Please excuse my typos, i am typing on my cell phone.


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## Ken90712

I'm in the process of building an Entertainment Center and had to buy some plywood. After doing some reading and talking with some of the masters on here and the one's I meet for lunch on Wed's it became clear to me you get what you pay for. I used some plywood that I thought was decent for a flip stand in my shop it turned out to be junk. When looking at plywood to see the quality I was taught to look a the glue lines and the grain patterns. I ended buying Ash @ $90/sheet. The dadoes and cuts are perfect. The cheaper plywood once cut in half the quality become apparent with the plys opening from improper glueup. I still hate the fact paying that much for a sheet of plywood but nothing we can do!

Thx for the post


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## Huckleberry

The biggest difference I have found is the thickness of the veneer. The ply's I get from Aetna have some pretty thick veneers on it and it takes a while to burn through the veneer. That is what I was used to and when I used the ply from Pure Bond I burned right through really quickly. I started with 120 grit as I do on all of my veneers and ply's. I then had to re-veneer the damn thing. So here is the math involved - 45.00 for a sheet of 3/4" oak ply + 85.00 red oak veneer = 130.00… Cost of red furniture grade ply at Aetna 70.00… I had a client that wanted cheaper wood and it cost me 3 days and $$ because I used the cheaper stuff. If you use Pure Bond I would advise starting and stopping with 180 grit when you are sanding, and use a ton of caution while sanding.


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## ken_c

I used the pure-bond a few weeks ago - i had to remake one cabinet (a big linen cabinet) because the plywood delaminated after the finish was applied. Not fun. Aside from that, the veneer is thin like the crappy imports stuff but there were fewer voids.


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## CampD

Business 101.
Buy the better american grade vs chepo = Savings will be in less hassle fixing voids and lousy veneer.
eat the cost of the more expensive (what 20 bucks, OOooo)
Results = Happy and maybe repeat customer = seiner carpenter…. (you can all ways recoop on the next project)


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## fge

Resurected, the last few post seems to have the answer to your question. Nothing better for evalution 9f a product then personal experience. With what i have read i will not be buying purebond.

I may b missing something but i thought purebond is domestic product but maybe i am just confused. If it is both pour quality and produced in US then shame on the manufacturer.

I dont think spending more is absolutely nessessary in order to have great quality. The ply we use is around 33.00 per sheet with UV coating one sided and has tight veneers and is absent of voids and cuts very clean. I have used very pour quality stuff in the past but what we currently use is extremely high quality.


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## Millo

The guy at the lumberyard I got the Baltic Birch from said that while most of the plywood they've seen from China is crap, there are some manufacturers that actually make good-quality plywood and that's what they get, not the crapy stuff. I have seen much of the plywood that looks like a pressed deli sandwich at Lowes, etc.

I think if you trust your source (I personally have no reason to believe or doubt that guy-that was the very first time I had made a purchase at a lumberyard, and first plywood sheet purchase from a retailer) I would assume they would be open to tell you about the risks of buying Chinese vs. the more expensive domestic product. If they tell the Chinese stuff THEY HAVE is actually comparable at a lower price, then maybe you have to trust them.

flyforfun,

You do buy in large quantities, right? I was wondering, no idea who the manufacturer of your product is? I'm in Austin, TX.


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## Resurrected

OK did I mention this (purebond) says Made In The USA. Meaning Domestic product.

OK any smart person would have to know it is less quality. (Grade might be lesser Quality) But some of you seem to not be following the post to closely. Its Domestic. I will get a picture this weekend. Along with finding out the grade.


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## fge

Millo, it is an import, i will admit that but the quality is very good. I get my sheets from Blue Links, also from Rugby. Dakota hardwoods and General hardwoods in San Antonio also carries the product. Whenever i buy it i just ask for "1 sided UV 3/4 inch birch" or "2 sided UV…" etc… i have exp pour grade plywood that i had to glue the plys back together. The UV stuff we use now appears tight and free of voids. You can get the UV stuff in 1/4", 1/2" or 3/4". I will say i tried to dovetail the 1/2" UV import and the reaults were very pour. If done again i would need to tape the tails piece to minimize blow out, where as baltic birch seems to be bettwr fitted for dovetail but is not UV(pre finished)

Blue links gives me better price then Rugby, but Rugby has a much more knowledgeable staff regarding all of their products. Rugby is only about 1.00 higher on the UV ply. I have been a long time customer with Blue links. I dont buy in bulk, price breaks are when you purchase a unit of ply, but then the price only drops about a buck a sheet. Some of our jobs require a unit of ply.

Also, i find that i get my best solid wood deals from General Hardwoods and Dakota.

Hope this answers your question.

Resurrected, it is sad to think that a domestic company is cutting corners with regards to quality. I would love to buy domestic plywood but that decision is dictated by the customer and their operating budget. I dont want to sacrifice quality whenever i buy domestic, but now that i am thinking about it i bought about 10 sheets of domestic maple plywood for one of my past jobs and i remember making mental notes regarding pour quality issue i had. That was aboyt a year ago so i dont remember any details.


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