# Chinese plywood



## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi, guys!!!

We have a lot of documents binders lying around. To avoid cluttering in the office I decided to make a bookcase cabinet to put all of them inside. I bought one piece of Chinese plywood with melamine laminate at both sides. At a glance, the all around edges looked nice, the thickness was consistent and the price was incredible low but, after cut the pieces to length, according to the dimensions on my sketches, problems started. The thickness at the middle of the plywood was lower than the edges. A lot of voids were present and the lack of glue did not fix the laminates to the plywood sides properly.

To built the cabinets was too difficult because I needed to match the pieces to joint them with screws avoiding the internal voids. Once they were installed we put the binders inside and the cabinets had some sagging. 

Never again I will use this material.

Here we already are on Chrismast but nobody seems to realize it.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

That doesn't look like any plywood I've ever seen even chinese. It looks like solid planks of wood with a couple of veneers on each side.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Alexis, they may call that plywood but it isn't. What other types of wood do you have available for a reasonable price?


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## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

That is so far from plywood that it is laughable.

Merry Christmas to you, anyway. Lesson learned.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Alexis,

Sometimes, the guys in America do not realize how lucky they are with the choices they have.

Many countries outside the G8 just do not have the options available.

Even our choice here in Australia can be limited without going to a specialist hardwood dealer.

However, I must say that is the worst example of "ply" or "laminated" board I have seen.

If you cannot find suitable material at your hardware stores, check with local or next city cabinet makers to see what they use.


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## Kristin D (Nov 20, 2007)

Wow that stuff makes MDF or OSB look good :lol:


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## TheOakDude (Oct 11, 2011)

very dodgy blockboard, certainly not ply


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Sorry. I did not mention that there are not too many options to choose from in the county we are living now, here in China.

Later I will send another example.


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Please read the thread "Chinese Plywood? by curiosgeorge, posted on march 2008 at Toola and Woodworking Forum.

The problem is worst that I was thinking.


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## lastberserker (Sep 24, 2011)

Must be a translation error, bet it was called "junkwood" in Chinese ;-)


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

papasombre said:


> Sorry. I did not mention that there are not too many options to choose from in the county we are living now, here in China.
> 
> Later I will send another example.



I thought you were in South America ?

I can understand that may be the standard for China, and they export all the "good' stuff. It is another world in so many ways.


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## ethylplant (Feb 19, 2011)

The pics show some seriously flawed material, but it actually is a classification of plywood called "Solid Core Plywood". Back in the day, cabinet makers used this type of plywood for doors and face frames. It was easily routed to give a solid wood look to the door and face frame edges. 

I have been using it for many years, and my kitchen cabinets are made out of this material (Oak with a mahogany core). Routes well, cuts well, sands well, and paints well (the old stuff, anyway)

Very hard to find now, and when you do manage to locate some, it doesn't look much better than the pics in the original post. Also very pricey (about $65 to $75 a sheet around here - custom order only).

Just my humble opinion...


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

papasombre said:


> Hi, guys!!!
> 
> We have a lot of documents binders lying around. To avoid cluttering in the office I decided to make a bookcase cabinet to put all of them inside. I bought one piece of Chinese plywood with melamine laminate at both sides. At a glance, the all around edges looked nice, the thickness was consistent and the price was incredible low but, after cut the pieces to length, according to the dimensions on my sketches, problems started. The thickness at the middle of the plywood was lower than the edges. A lot of voids were present and the lack of glue did not fix the laminates to the plywood sides properly.
> 
> ...


I've never seen anything as bad as what you have shown Alexis but this shot shows what is typically available here. Our only specialist wood supplier for miles has stopped selling plywood because they couldn't compete in price with the imported rubbish.


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## ffjdh (Apr 16, 2010)

That stuff looked like a mess. How do you know when your getting the Chinese stuff? I dont ever want to end up with that mess...


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

guitardemon said:


> That stuff looked like a mess. How do you know when your getting the Chinese stuff? I dont ever want to end up with that mess...


When you have to sort through a stack of sheets in the hope of finding an acceptable one, most sheets are curved in all directions in addition to edges looking like that shown. This is the reason that I use MDF where possible.


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

harrysin said:


> I've never seen anything as bad as what you have shown Alexis but this shot shows what is typically available here. Our only specialist wood supplier for miles has stopped selling plywood because they couldn't compete in price with the imported rubbish.


Hi, Harry.

Is the attached picture a plywood imported from China?

I am so angry with this material. I decided not to banding the cabinets edges just to remember not to use it again. :angry:

Happy new year for all of you, woodworkers!!!


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Hello, James.

I know the kind of material that you are talking about, in fact, I've used it in some of mi cabinets projects but this stuff #@%&*!!!!


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## theexpozay (Oct 4, 2011)

When I was in Persian Gulf I used to see this stuff all the time. We (the Americans) used it to protect the piers in Ash Shuaybah from the ships cargo ramps. Since each sheet usually only got one use it ended up all over the place being used as tables, shelves, dividers and the like. It was garbage, but it worked.


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## TheOakDude (Oct 11, 2011)

From 1 guitar dude to another. Marine grade ply is a different class than these shown, the chinese imports are really bad, but the price seems to reflect this. Marine ply is expensive stuff but very consistent. See pics of edging. Also as is designed for marine environment it is very water/moisture resistant. Worth a look as will last a lot longer than MDF.
thanks


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

ethylplant said:


> The pics show some seriously flawed material, but it actually is a classification of plywood called "Solid Core Plywood". Back in the day, cabinet makers used this type of plywood for doors and face frames. It was easily routed to give a solid wood look to the door and face frame edges.
> 
> 
> Very hard to find now, and when you do manage to locate some, it doesn't look much better than the pics in the original post. Also very pricey (about $65 to $75 a sheet around here - custom order only).


Delta shipped me a replacement motor for my drill press bolted to a piece of lumber-core plywood with visible gaps between the boards inside.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

harrysin said:


> I've never seen anything as bad as what you have shown Alexis but this shot shows what is typically available here. Our only specialist wood supplier for miles has stopped selling plywood because they couldn't compete in price with the imported rubbish.


I used one piece.

1) It's even worse inside. Note the football shaped patch (or cut-out for a patch which was never made - there's a big knot there) in this piece where I had to fill the cut with epoxy to get an air-tight seal.

2) The face plies on that piece measured .010" thick so it couldn't be sanded for a perfect match with adjacent trim


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

TheOakDude said:


> From 1 guitar dude to another. Marine grade ply is a different class than these shown, the chinese imports are really bad, but the price seems to reflect this. Marine ply is expensive stuff but very consistent. See pics of edging. Also as is designed for marine environment it is very water/moisture resistant. Worth a look as will last a lot longer than MDF.
> thanks


Right. The face grain is nice enough for furniture too.

I cut the bottom of this project out of Chinese Home Depot junk (figured it wasn't going to be visible so I could live with it instead of duplicating in better wood), moved on to Woodcraft Baltic birch for the top, and finally caved in and did marine grade on the sides because that wasn't going to be straight enough for the sides the way I was assembling things.

It's not cheap, but doesn't seem so bad when you think in terms of quality hardwood lumber, like $6.25/board foot but with no loss in the form of chunks you work around.


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## TheOakDude (Oct 11, 2011)

Nice job on the woofers...
I am really wanting to make a pair of full range studio type monitors but have been mystified with 2 things. Maybe you can help.
1. Crossovers, seems like voodoo to know what to do as I have no electronics knowledge whatever.
2. How to calculate the best shape/dimensions for the cabinet.

I want to make something like the Event ASP8.

Though I do have some really nice vintage celestions 15 inch and 10 inch and some of the HF supertweeters so maybe use these and do 3 way crossover.
Another question is how to power, seperate amps for each driver or 1 amp for each cabinet.
Any advice would be appreciated.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

I'd agree Paul. Maybe blockboard is not known as such elsewhere?

Cheers

Peter


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