Warped Sheet Goods ?

[iamnothim]

Hi,

I’m in the final stage of a remodeling my laundry room.  I made new cabinets and put up bead board and molding.
I have to finish the sink counter, shoot the crown and cabinets, and hang a shelf/clothes pole I made out of cherry.

I also have to make a new door (upper left most) because I had a devil of a time with warped sheet goods.  I used 3/4” refinished maple ply and 3/4” Medex brand MDF.  I’m in So Cal and the temp / humidity is ideal, so that’s not it.  I think the culprit is leaning the sheet goods on edge against a wall in my garage.

How do you store your sheet goods?

btw:  I used General Finishes Milk Paint and Pre-Cat water born Urethane applied with a Erlex HVLP.  Great stuff it came out looking like furniture.

Many thanks

Laundry Room

 

[jacko9]

I think that some sheet goods produced in China have a manufacturing technique that is less than ideal with overlapping plus, etc. (see picture of a section that represents the whole sheet).  Sorry for the picture quality, I'll try again.

Jack

 

[rnt80]

I would agree with Jack.  My supplier stopped carrying domestically produced pre-finished maple ply and stocks the pre-finished birch from China instead.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to deal with warped pieces. The majority of the cabinet work I do is frameless so it's not like I can use the face frame to straighten these pieces out.  I'll probably be switching to the maple but at $20+ more per sheet it will certainly cause me to raise my prices.

 

[Sparktrician]

The last couple of sheets of Baltic Birch I got were left leaning against a wall and did develop some curvature as a result.  They're sitting the other side to the wall to see if the curvature will be released in a couple of weeks.  They're US-made, so I anticipate good results. 

 

[iamnothim]

I just checked my invoice and to my surprise it was Birch ply most certainly Chinese.

I made two purchases a couple days apart.  The first was domestic 3/4 maple.  I know because they gave me the choice and I took the better stuff...... 

Here's where I admit to stupidity....  my friend helped me by driving his pickup to the wood supplier.  Somewhere along the 20 mile drive eight sheets of 3/4" maple ply left the bed of his pickup.  We both lashed it down so we share the blame.  They are so slick they slid right out the back.  Now first we were horrified that we killed people on the freeway.  So with much trepidation we retrace 20 miles right to the parking lot of the supplier.  Not a trace of them anywhere.  I'm thankful that no one was hurt and some lucky guy got some great sheet goods....  It's our guess they never made it to the freeway.

What that means is when I went to replace the order and spent $60 for delivery I must have cheaper out and got the imported birch.  That won't happen again.  The warping was a huge struggle.

 

[GPowers]

My sheet good suppler said there is no such this as Baltic Birch from China. He said Baltic Birch is from Russia, period. That is why they call it Baltic.  That's what he said?

 

[iamnothim]

My sheet good suppler said there is no such this as Baltic Birch from China. He said Baltic Birch is from Russia, period. That is why they call it Baltic.  That's what he said?

Gee.  I think I'd rather have it from China

 

[tiralie]

My sheet good suppler said there is no such this as Baltic Birch from China. He said Baltic Birch is from Russia, period. That is why they call it Baltic.  That's what he said?

Gee.  I think I'd rather have it from China

No you don't. That stuff is crap.
Baltic Birch is from Russia, birch plywood can be from anywhere even heaven forbid Canada.
All Baltic birch is Russian but not all birch (veneered) plywood is Baltic or even birch ply.
Tim

 

[jbasen]

I read a tip in a book or magazine one time (can't remember exactly where) that suggested spraying the concave side of the  warped plywood with water and then laying the plywood concave side down on a flat surface with some weight on top.

I haven't had the need to try this myself but I just wanted to pass it along.  Hopefully it will help

Jay

 

[jacko9]

I read a tip in a book or magazine one time (can't remember exactly where) that suggested spraying the concave side of the  warped plywood with water and then laying the plywood concave side down on a flat surface with some weight on top.

I haven't had the need to try this myself but I just wanted to pass it along.  Hopefully it will help

Jay

I would suggest a better tip - Don't buy Chinese Plywood [wink]

Jack

 

[coug]

I had the same problem this past week.  Bought two sheets of 3/4 birch ply that was "good on both sides" and when I got home noticed they were both warped pretty bad.  This stuff was $50 a sheet, so took it back, but you could see that others were warped on the stack.  He told me they had a new supplier, maybe they need to go back to the old one!

 

[tbellemare]

One of my Mechanical Engineer friends inevitably has bowed/warped wood at his place. He's always hanging his diving weight belt from them in various configurations trying to correct the bend.

I don't know if it has ever worked but I think it entertains him...

I sometimes get a kick out of it because of the perceived futility.

Tom

 

[land_kel]

So after reading this, store sheet goods flat?

Tim, what's wrong with Cdn made birch plywood?

David

 

[semenza]

  Not that it isn't possible for NA made plywood to warp, but I have had several problems more than once with Chinese plywood. So I quit buying it except for something like utility shelves. When you end up redoing the finish or remaking parts for a job it quickly becomes worth the extra cost for North American plywood.

  I like the 6mm Russian plywood for drawer bottoms it fits perfectly in true 1/4" grooves and has a lot of rigidity compared to other  "1/4 inch" plywood. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't fit my plywood rack that I built for 4' wide sheets because it comes 5' x 5'.

  Yeah, the prefinished plywood is really slick. When you strap it onto a truck , work it out so that you can wrap at least one strap over the back end edge just as a safety to keep it from sliding out.

Seth

 

[tjbnwi]

Spec Columbia sheet goods. Problem solved.

http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com

Believe it or not Home Depot can get it. Figure out what you want on the Columbia website, call the HD Pro desk, give them the SKU #226-917 along with the type of plywood you want. It takes about 2 weeks for it to come in.

Tom

 

[tiralie]

Tim, what's wrong with Cdn made birch plywood?

Nothing, I was making a (bad) joke about the Canada–United States softwood lumber dispute...sorry 'bout that.

 

[land_kel]

Ok, long time since that fight was in the news... Not sure if there was something yto your comment, but good old politics

 

[iamnothim]

Spec Columbia sheet goods. Problem solved.

http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com

Believe it or not Home Depot can get it. Figure out what you want on the Columbia website, call the HD Pro desk, give them the SKU #226-917 along with the type of plywood you want. It takes about 2 weeks for it to come in.

Tom

Tom,

I went to the Columbia web site.  They have many, many plywood products.  Which one do I pick for pre-finished maple.  3/4"?
Thanks

 

[tjbnwi]

Spec Columbia sheet goods. Problem solved.

http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com

Believe it or not Home Depot can get it. Figure out what you want on the Columbia website, call the HD Pro desk, give them the SKU #226-917 along with the type of plywood you want. It takes about 2 weeks for it to come in.

Tom

Tom,

I went to the Columbia web site.  They have many, many plywood products.  Which one do I pick for pre-finished maple.  3/4"?
Thanks

I use the ClassicCore plywood.The MDF sublayer makes the veneer very flat, while the plywood core give the panel very high strength.

The have an 800 number you can call and they will give you the item number for what you want. The pre finish is a very hard UV cure finish. No glues stick to it, I think I've tried them all. You need to scuff the finish where you want a glue joint.

Tom

 

[iamnothim]

Update Thread