Thread: Karri panels at Bunnings - great for some things

Dear all,

I just thought I'd share something because I'm so pleased with it. Whether it's new or I've just noticed, Bunnings are doing Merbau and Karri laminated panels, 1200x300mmx18mm, for $29 and $34 respectively. In Brisbane, at Cannon Hill they have a big range of panels they seem to market for making shelves and countertops.

They come oiled, but the oil is very unobjectionable. I assume they are so cheap as it is a way of using up the off-cuts from bulk flooring use.

I grabbed some as I was getting sick of the hideous sight of plywood for little shop jigs and the like. See attached the results of a quick thrown-together bench hook / mitre box combo.

On the left on the photo is one I planed back (to smooth out the level with the hook) and waxed with furniture wax. On the right, how they come. The hooks/mitre saw fence just some MGP10 pine rebated with a Stanley 78 and glued on. That's it.

IMG_20200516_130355.jpg

So much nicer than plywood or MDF! And the 300mm width is actually ready to go as-is for projects like that. I found they were bang-on square, if you need precision.

Yes, it works out more expensive than MDF or plywood, but at that price the total amounts aren't a big deal and comparable to marine-grade plywood. They sell some even cheaper Hevea and Acacia panels that I might experiment with.