Thread: Red Oak Ply

I have found anything but marine ply has a tendency to have voids or surprise holes not good for scrollers.

Have not come across that yet .I also use Marine Ply if they make it in that I would give it a go.

I've seen it here at my local Bunnings during my last visit. It looked nice as far as face veneers, but have not tried it myself.

Always liked the 6mm marine ply they sold - but was none there last time i was in store. Hopefully just sold out at the time with everyone buying up supplies because of COVID lock downs.

Else i have also been looking at some of the various laserply options through PlyCo (Buy Plywood, Timber, Veneer, MDF, Particleboard & Marine Ply | Plyco). Made for laser/cnc machining - so would think a good option for scrolling also.

The Sassafrass faced ply looks nice based off the samples they sent me (you can request a sample pack - free), and sold in 1/4 sheets. Not too bad on postage either, if you bought 4/5 sheets at once.

Thank you Wooden Joys for your input as well as others. My concern with red oak ply is that the last veneer top and bottom is extremely thin. My experience with ply like that is that if you touch it with any sort of sanding you sand right through it and spoil the job. I have used Bunnings marine ply a long time ago and wasn't very impressed with it. I did see some on my last visit there and was far more impressed than I have been. It might be worth another try.

Your supplyer for ply is very interesting. I have hesitated in the past with getting a delivery from such suppliers as I couldn't image a sheet (small size) being sent by mail. Perhaps I have something to learn.

Just for interest sake I have been using a lot of off cut floor boards that I can get at no charge. It is mostly Aust hardwood and therefore attractive. I take it out to my Mens Shed and put it through the ticknesser which is an industrial machine and bring it down to about 6 ml. It cuts very well even though it is a bit hard on blades but the price of blades is much less than buying wood of any type. I do glue join lengths to get wide boards

John

Just a bit more on my red oak from Bunnings. Today I have been doing a pattern of the tree of life using red oak. I am doing a reduced size and the work is quite detailed. I am very pleased with how it is cutting. It seems to be a very strong ply and as a result it is not breaking away and leaving very few fuzzes. One of my concerns was that the top and bottom veneers might be very thin but this is not the case. They are a nice thickness and will take sanding. At this stage there are no voids showing up and I would think by now they would have serficed. I will be doing more with this ply and hope that Bunnings will continue to stock it.

John

Sounds interesting, just had a look at it on their website. How does it look once you apply a finish to it?

Good morning Oges. I have only cut a small project at this time. It is the tree of life. I was very pleased with the outcome and finished it with el cheapo baby oil. It lifted the grain well and looks terrific. Far better than the plain old ply with little or no grain. It also has grain on both sides.

John