Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. I got it home and was
setting up to cut some rabbets for the plywood as a backer on a cabinet. I
eyeballed the plywood and thought "that looks mighty thin to be 1/4". Now,
I know they've shaved 1/32" off all the plywood we buy these days at the
borg - a 1/4" really comes out as 7/32". This one measured 3/16" and no
more. I used an Incra ruler on it - 3/16". It wasn't even a "strong" 3/16"
as Norm would say. It was advertised as "1/4" oak plywood" on the sign at
HD.
Bob
> Once again, the word is "nominal." This means 1/4 in name, not
necessarily
> in dimension. Might not be the same dimension from supplier to
supplier, so
> if you're mixing - be careful.
>
> Without hoping to provoke the calculus boys again, you have only to
look at
> the cereal boxes to see that we see broadly, not in depth. At the
coffee
> can to know that it's diameter is still what a three-pound can used
to be,
> but the height is less. Let's not get into Hershey bars....
But the amount of coffee or amount of chocoate on those products are
accurately measured, whereas wood is as big of a misrepresentation as
there is in retail products.
Could you imagine buying a pound of coffee, and getting 12 ounces?? Or
buying a gallon of milk and getting 3 quarters?
> So why do people keep supporting these places? The borgs DO NOT care
> about the wood they sell. Your local hardwood dealers do- and
they're
> probably woodworkers just like you. Ah well, may as well try and
stop
> the relentless pursuit of WalMart. (Incidentally, I do not and will
> not shop at WalMart for any reason either.)
The borgs don't carry the volume that a lumberyard carries, that's one
reason the price is high. They carry it more as a conveniences to the
occasional customer who needs something in a pinch.
On the rare occasion I buy plywood, I go to HD because they already
have 2x4 sheets, which fit into my Saturn.
George wrote:
> Well, I guess my comment on how poorly people focus on actual content
would
> have to apply to reading Usenet, too.
>
> Nominal - in name only. OK?
>
> CAUTION - plywood from different sources may not be the same
thickness
> though nominally the same. Can ruin your whole day if you dadoed for
one
> and fit the other.
>
> As to the rest, ask how many people realize that the former 16 oz can
is now
> 15 1/2, the Juicy Juice is four fluid ounces less than the Welch's
next to
> it, or the pound of coffee actually 12 oz. It'll teach you the value
of
> packaging.
I read your message, but you're equating two different things, and
you're doing it again with your coffee example.
The coffee can does NOT say "a pound of coffee", yet the contents only
contain 12 oz. However, when a board says it's 1/4", it is a blatant
mispresentation of the size.
> > But that formerly 16 oz can had better say that it's really 15
1/2 oz or
> > the can of coffee containing 12 oz better say that and not 16 ---
the
> > various federal trade overseers get pretty bent out of shape if
this is
> not
> > the case. To label something as 15/32 and then really provide it
as 7/16
> > instead should result in similar issues.
> >
>
> It does, but only if you read it.
Well, obviously. You can't force people to become informed, but with
wood, it's MISinformation.
> As does the nominally-sized plywood - if you read it.
> Hint - it's the small print.
Doesn't say any such thing. The ply at HD says 3/4", but it's really
.70" or less.
> For the obtuse Larry - people don't study such things.
You do, as I would surmise most people on this board.
> That's why you can
> shorten the can in increments and folks think they're getting a good
price.
They can think what they want, but it's not misleading at all since the
actual contents are listed on the package.
>Shoot, there's no where even half the size of town within 60 miles of
>me, and none of them have a single hardwood dealer. Closest I can get
>to is roughly 200 miles and they have to order in most anything the
>least bit out of the ordinary...
Whew... wait a minute- you live that far out of the way, and there
isn't a sawmill around somewhere? Where do ya live, a desert?
Anyhow, that sucks- but it could be an opportunity for you, if you've
got enough money to buy large amounts and resell it to other local
woodworkers.
>I did order some clear pine through the local lumber yard and it cost
>more in shipping than the material... :( (They forgot to mention they
>don't order from that mill routinely so it came all by itself...)
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
Sun, Jan 2, 2005, 8:07pm (EST-1) [email protected] (bob)
says:
Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD <snip>
You're not dealing with rocket scientists there, you know. I've
frequently found wood/plywood listed wrong, or stacked in the wrong
stack. Pays to doublecheck.
JOAT
People without "things" are just intelligent animals.
Keith wrote:
>
> Find yourself a real lumber yard and refuse to give any more money to
> HD, Lowes or thier ilk... that's what I did.
Admirable in some regards as I also dislike what the box stores have
done to availability of better materials, but for ply materials in
general it was instigated by the manufacturers, not the retailers...
U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles wrote:
>
> On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 13:02:17 -0600, Duane Bozarth
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Keith wrote:
> >>
> >> Find yourself a real lumber yard and refuse to give any more money to
> >> HD, Lowes or thier ilk... that's what I did.
> >
> > Admirable in some regards as I also dislike what the box stores have
> > done to availability of better materials, but for ply materials in
> > general it was instigated by the manufacturers, not the retailers...
>
> I thought ply and other sheet goods were rated for strength, not for
> thickness, so '3/4" CDX' specified in order, a strength, a finish grade,
> and a glue type.
I'm not sure about actual standards and a quick search didn't find a
freely acessible vendor site, but it's clear that some (relatively few)
years ago the nominal thicknesses of US manufacturers' plywoods went to
a -64th or -32nd from nominal. Whether that was specifically to meet
common metric dimensions for export or simply from a material savings
standpoint I'm not aware, but I'm sure it was done by (and for) the
manufacturers, <not> the (US) consumers. It was much less a pita about
joining or matching thicknesses prior.
Mike Marlow wrote:
>
> "bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I have an awesome hardwood dealer in the area. Unfortunately, he is 30
> > miles away from home and 45 from the office, and only open during the week
> > from 8 to 4. He is open on Saturdays 8 -12, but I piss away the entire
> > morning driving down there. I really, really, should plan ahead, piss the
> > half day away, and stock up when I go down there.....
> >
>
> 30 miles, Bob? Hell, where I live, everything is only 30 miles away.
> That's just a commute.
> --
Shoot, there's no where even half the size of town within 60 miles of
me, and none of them have a single hardwood dealer. Closest I can get
to is roughly 200 miles and they have to order in most anything the
least bit out of the ordinary...
I did order some clear pine through the local lumber yard and it cost
more in shipping than the material... :( (They forgot to mention they
don't order from that mill routinely so it came all by itself...)
Prometheus wrote:
>
> >Shoot, there's no where even half the size of town within 60 miles of
> >me, and none of them have a single hardwood dealer. Closest I can get
> >to is roughly 200 miles and they have to order in most anything the
> >least bit out of the ordinary...
>
> Whew... wait a minute- you live that far out of the way, and there
> isn't a sawmill around somewhere? Where do ya live, a desert?
:) Not quite...it's arid, but not desert. Actually, it's part of the
wheat belt and known for <not> having (or ever having) trees...short
grass prairie, originally.
> Anyhow, that sucks- but it could be an opportunity for you, if you've
> got enough money to buy large amounts and resell it to other local
> woodworkers.
If there <were> any other woodworkers in sufficient numbers... :)
There's a reason there aren't suppliers--there aren't sufficient
consumers to make it pay.
Upscale wrote:
>
> "Duane Bozarth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > :) Not quite...it's arid, but not desert. Actually, it's part of the
> > wheat belt and known for <not> having (or ever having) trees...short
> > grass prairie, originally.
>
> Sounds like you should plant a few trees and cash in a few years down the
> road. Or, is there some reason why trees don't grow well out there? I know
> about pollination and stuff, but that can be handled I believe.
Well, my grandkids would be the ones doing the cashing in, if there were
to be any, not me... :)
It's simply the geography and weather of the High Plains...
It's semi-arid, windy and the soil is suited to the native grasses, not
trees (very sandy).
A primary reason there were essentially no trees natively was that the
prairies burned, on the average, at roughly 5-10 year intervals. When
it's dry, open, the wind is blowing a dry thunderstorm can burn a whole
lot of country in a hurry. The grass regenerates quickly, but woody
plants don't.
There are now far more trees than ever from plantings and even the
occasional "wild" sprouting since the grasslands are now protected from
fire (and what ones that do get started are normally put out) even
though there was one east of us earlier this winter that burned about
8000 acres because it was in areas not easily accessible.
For commercial hardwood production it would simply not be practical--the
amount of irrigation and fertilization required to get a reasonable
growth rate would be excessively expensive and the wind would be nearly
impossible to prevent from making poor quality lumber for woodworking
purposes. All trees lean to the north from the prevalent south wind and
we think if it's under 20 mph it's "calm"--anything up to about 30-35
mph or so is just "breezy", and at 40+ mph we'll allow its a "tad" windy
today... :) 50-60 mph is not that uncommon ahead of fronts w/ as the
low approaches. This can easily last for a couple of days before the
shift behind the front and the subsequent high pressure builds in.
I will note, however, that <eastern> KS, particularly the SE corner, is
fairly heavily wooded and is still a major producer of walnut although
nothing to the scale of the top two or three states for the simple
reason it's a fairly small area in KS...
"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. I got it home and was
> setting up to cut some rabbets for the plywood as a backer on a cabinet.
I
> eyeballed the plywood and thought "that looks mighty thin to be 1/4".
Now,
> I know they've shaved 1/32" off all the plywood we buy these days at the
> borg - a 1/4" really comes out as 7/32". This one measured 3/16" and no
> more. I used an Incra ruler on it - 3/16". It wasn't even a "strong"
3/16"
> as Norm would say. It was advertised as "1/4" oak plywood" on the sign at
> HD.
Once again, the word is "nominal." This means 1/4 in name, not necessarily
in dimension. Might not be the same dimension from supplier to supplier, so
if you're mixing - be careful.
Without hoping to provoke the calculus boys again, you have only to look at
the cereal boxes to see that we see broadly, not in depth. At the coffee
can to know that it's diameter is still what a three-pound can used to be,
but the height is less. Let's not get into Hershey bars....
Caveat Emptor
Well, I guess my comment on how poorly people focus on actual content would
have to apply to reading Usenet, too.
Nominal - in name only. OK?
CAUTION - plywood from different sources may not be the same thickness
though nominally the same. Can ruin your whole day if you dadoed for one
and fit the other.
As to the rest, ask how many people realize that the former 16 oz can is now
15 1/2, the Juicy Juice is four fluid ounces less than the Welch's next to
it, or the pound of coffee actually 12 oz. It'll teach you the value of
packaging.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Once again, the word is "nominal." This means 1/4 in name, not
> necessarily
> > in dimension. Might not be the same dimension from supplier to
> supplier, so
> > if you're mixing - be careful.
> >
> > Without hoping to provoke the calculus boys again, you have only to
> look at
> > the cereal boxes to see that we see broadly, not in depth. At the
> coffee
> > can to know that it's diameter is still what a three-pound can used
> to be,
> > but the height is less. Let's not get into Hershey bars....
>
> But the amount of coffee or amount of chocoate on those products are
> accurately measured, whereas wood is as big of a misrepresentation as
> there is in retail products.
>
> Could you imagine buying a pound of coffee, and getting 12 ounces?? Or
> buying a gallon of milk and getting 3 quarters?
>
"Mark & Juanita" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 11:12:27 -0500, "George" <george@least> wrote:
>
> >
> >Nominal - in name only. OK?
> >
> >CAUTION - plywood from different sources may not be the same thickness
> >though nominally the same. Can ruin your whole day if you dadoed for one
> >and fit the other.
> >
> >As to the rest, ask how many people realize that the former 16 oz can is
now
> >15 1/2, the Juicy Juice is four fluid ounces less than the Welch's next
to
> >it, or the pound of coffee actually 12 oz. It'll teach you the value of
> >packaging.
>
> But that formerly 16 oz can had better say that it's really 15 1/2 oz or
> the can of coffee containing 12 oz better say that and not 16 --- the
> various federal trade overseers get pretty bent out of shape if this is
not
> the case. To label something as 15/32 and then really provide it as 7/16
> instead should result in similar issues.
>
It does, but only if you read it.
As does the nominally-sized plywood - if you read it.
Hint - it's the small print.
For the obtuse Larry - people don't study such things. That's why you can
shorten the can in increments and folks think they're getting a good price.
Look at the annual number of threads complaining about 4/4 wood being 3/4"
or a 2x6 being 1 1/2 by 5 1/2 if you doubt this. And those are the things
every woodworker could and should find out about in the first book they
read.
I don't think they can get the cereal box faces any larger without getting
so thin a flake would get stuck crosswise....
And this is all HD's fault, right?
Nigel Burnett wrote:
> On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:07:23 -0600, "bob" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. ... This one measured 3/16" an
>
>
> *rant mode on*
>
> It gets worse. I bought a sheet of 1/2" a few weeks ago - claerly stamped as12.5 mm on the side
> byt the manufacturer. When I measured it, it was only 12 mm. Phoning and complaining was a
> complete waste of time. (this was to HD Curity store in Toronto). And how do they get away with
> making it out of 4 layers?! Even their 3/4" stuff is only 5-layer - bendable as 'real' 1/2". I'd rather
> pay more for quality so I don't buy ply there anymore :-(. Wish they weren't so dishonest about
> their specs. Bet they wouldn't apprecaite me paying only $120 for a $125.40 bill and saying it's
> close enough.
>
> Does anyone at HD read this group?
>
> Nigel
Receipt says....... " 1/4 oak".
"Dale Benjamin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Maybe it was a 5.2mm thickness, that's closer to 3/16" than 1/4". What
> does your receipt indicate?
>
> "bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. I got it home and was
>> setting up to cut some rabbets for the plywood as a backer on a
> cabinet. I
>> eyeballed the plywood and thought "that looks mighty thin to be 1/4".
> Now,
>> I know they've shaved 1/32" off all the plywood we buy these days at
> the
>> borg - a 1/4" really comes out as 7/32". This one measured 3/16" and
> no
>> more. I used an Incra ruler on it - 3/16". It wasn't even a "strong"
> 3/16"
>> as Norm would say. It was advertised as "1/4" oak plywood" on the
> sign at
>> HD.
>>
>> Bob
>>
>>
>
>
Find yourself a real lumber yard and refuse to give any more money to
HD, Lowes or thier ilk... that's what I did.
-Keith
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 10:26:47 -0500, Nigel Burnett
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:07:23 -0600, "bob" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. ... This one measured 3/16" an
>
>*rant mode on*
>
>It gets worse. I bought a sheet of 1/2" a few weeks ago - claerly stamped as12.5 mm on the side
>byt the manufacturer. When I measured it, it was only 12 mm. Phoning and complaining was a
>complete waste of time. (this was to HD Curity store in Toronto). And how do they get away with
>making it out of 4 layers?! Even their 3/4" stuff is only 5-layer - bendable as 'real' 1/2". I'd rather
>pay more for quality so I don't buy ply there anymore :-(. Wish they weren't so dishonest about
>their specs. Bet they wouldn't apprecaite me paying only $120 for a $125.40 bill and saying it's
>close enough.
>
>Does anyone at HD read this group?
>
>Nigel
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] wrote:
>Pretty soon we'll be buying thin air, but by gosh, it will NOT go up in
>price! This is spreading to most consumer products, selling less
>product at the same price (or more) to "compete" with other companies.
You think so? My impression is that, for the most part, retailers are lowering
prices, and then finding ways to hide that they are really selling less
product. If you go into Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Wal Mart, etc, you'll see
price drop stickers all over the place, more so than in the past it seems. A
few years ago, I remember seeing a lot more stickers advertising new,
improved models, etc. I think the extended slow economy has made the retailers
re-evaluate their strategy. That's all just my non-scientific impression,
though.
Jon
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 13:02:17 -0600, Duane Bozarth
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Keith wrote:
>>
>> Find yourself a real lumber yard and refuse to give any more money to
>> HD, Lowes or thier ilk... that's what I did.
>
> Admirable in some regards as I also dislike what the box stores have
> done to availability of better materials, but for ply materials in
> general it was instigated by the manufacturers, not the retailers...
I thought ply and other sheet goods were rated for strength, not for
thickness, so '3/4" CDX' specified in order, a strength, a finish grade,
and a glue type.
On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:07:23 -0600, "bob" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. ... This one measured 3/16" an
*rant mode on*
It gets worse. I bought a sheet of 1/2" a few weeks ago - claerly stamped as12.5 mm on the side
byt the manufacturer. When I measured it, it was only 12 mm. Phoning and complaining was a
complete waste of time. (this was to HD Curity store in Toronto). And how do they get away with
making it out of 4 layers?! Even their 3/4" stuff is only 5-layer - bendable as 'real' 1/2". I'd rather
pay more for quality so I don't buy ply there anymore :-(. Wish they weren't so dishonest about
their specs. Bet they wouldn't apprecaite me paying only $120 for a $125.40 bill and saying it's
close enough.
Does anyone at HD read this group?
Nigel
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 10:26:47 -0500, Nigel Burnett
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:07:23 -0600, "bob" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. ... This one measured 3/16" an
>
>*rant mode on*
>
>It gets worse. I bought a sheet of 1/2" a few weeks ago - claerly stamped as12.5 mm on the side
>byt the manufacturer. When I measured it, it was only 12 mm. Phoning and complaining was a
>complete waste of time. (this was to HD Curity store in Toronto). And how do they get away with
>making it out of 4 layers?! Even their 3/4" stuff is only 5-layer - bendable as 'real' 1/2". I'd rather
>pay more for quality so I don't buy ply there anymore :-(. Wish they weren't so dishonest about
>their specs. Bet they wouldn't apprecaite me paying only $120 for a $125.40 bill and saying it's
>close enough.
>
>Does anyone at HD read this group?
Very unlikely. You know, you can usually get higher quality *and*
lower priced wood by going to an actual lumberyard. I don't know
about plywood specifically, but I do know that hardwoods are
dramatically overpriced where I'm at. For example, Red oak sells for
$2.35 a bf at my local hardwood dealer. All their wood is kiln-dried,
and most of it is figured at least slightly- they carry about 20
different species of timber, plywood and mdf.
The other local lumberyard sells red oak (all of it is highly figured
and very nice, from what I've seen of it) for $3.25 a bf. That yard
will get your lumber to finished dimentions, S4S in their shop for $7
an hour- and they can get a lot of lumber through in an hour. It's
all straight, and it's all pretty, but they only supply spruce, oak,
and on a good day, beech.
Menard's, OTOH, sells a lower-quality oak for $8-12 a bf- It is
dimentional, sure, but it is also warped and the "surfacing" they do
is with sanders, and not with planers. They offer a pathetic
selection of 4-5 different hardwoods, all with similar prices- I've
seen cherry marked at over $25 a bf, compared to the dealer I use, who
charges $5.50 for extremely curly cherry. (Lackluster cherry is $4.25
a bf) They call Luoun "mahogany" and almost every peice of lumber and
plywood in the rack is twisted.
So why do people keep supporting these places? The borgs DO NOT care
about the wood they sell. Your local hardwood dealers do- and they're
probably woodworkers just like you. Ah well, may as well try and stop
the relentless pursuit of WalMart. (Incidentally, I do not and will
not shop at WalMart for any reason either.)
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 11:12:27 -0500, "George" <george@least> wrote:
>Well, I guess my comment on how poorly people focus on actual content would
>have to apply to reading Usenet, too.
>
>Nominal - in name only. OK?
>
>CAUTION - plywood from different sources may not be the same thickness
>though nominally the same. Can ruin your whole day if you dadoed for one
>and fit the other.
>
>As to the rest, ask how many people realize that the former 16 oz can is now
>15 1/2, the Juicy Juice is four fluid ounces less than the Welch's next to
>it, or the pound of coffee actually 12 oz. It'll teach you the value of
>packaging.
But that formerly 16 oz can had better say that it's really 15 1/2 oz or
the can of coffee containing 12 oz better say that and not 16 --- the
various federal trade overseers get pretty bent out of shape if this is not
the case. To label something as 15/32 and then really provide it as 7/16
instead should result in similar issues.
>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> > Once again, the word is "nominal." This means 1/4 in name, not
>> necessarily
>> > in dimension. Might not be the same dimension from supplier to
>> supplier, so
>> > if you're mixing - be careful.
>> >
>> > Without hoping to provoke the calculus boys again, you have only to
>> look at
>> > the cereal boxes to see that we see broadly, not in depth. At the
>> coffee
>> > can to know that it's diameter is still what a three-pound can used
>> to be,
>> > but the height is less. Let's not get into Hershey bars....
>>
>> But the amount of coffee or amount of chocoate on those products are
>> accurately measured, whereas wood is as big of a misrepresentation as
>> there is in retail products.
>>
>> Could you imagine buying a pound of coffee, and getting 12 ounces?? Or
>> buying a gallon of milk and getting 3 quarters?
>>
>
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
I should, but the lumber yard isn't open at 8:30pm or on Sundays, or in the
case of my posting, on New Years Day.
Bob
"Keith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Find yourself a real lumber yard and refuse to give any more money to
> HD, Lowes or thier ilk... that's what I did.
>
> -Keith
>
> On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 10:26:47 -0500, Nigel Burnett
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:07:23 -0600, "bob"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. ... This one measured
>>>3/16" an
>>
>>*rant mode on*
>>
>>It gets worse. I bought a sheet of 1/2" a few weeks ago - claerly stamped
>>as12.5 mm on the side
>>byt the manufacturer. When I measured it, it was only 12 mm. Phoning and
>>complaining was a
>>complete waste of time. (this was to HD Curity store in Toronto). And how
>>do they get away with
>>making it out of 4 layers?! Even their 3/4" stuff is only 5-layer -
>>bendable as 'real' 1/2". I'd rather
>>pay more for quality so I don't buy ply there anymore :-(. Wish they
>>weren't so dishonest about
>>their specs. Bet they wouldn't apprecaite me paying only $120 for a
>>$125.40 bill and saying it's
>>close enough.
>>
>>Does anyone at HD read this group?
>>
>>Nigel
>
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 22:15:37 -0600, "bob"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I have an awesome hardwood dealer in the area. Unfortunately, he is 30
>miles away from home and 45 from the office, and only open during the week
>from 8 to 4. He is open on Saturdays 8 -12, but I piss away the entire
>morning driving down there. I really, really, should plan ahead, piss the
>half day away, and stock up when I go down there.....
Same here, but I work 4 ten-hour shifts, so Friday is my wood buying
day! Usually does take half the day, after picking through the wood
and shooting the shit for a while.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
On 4 Jan 2005 06:02:10 -0800, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>> So why do people keep supporting these places? The borgs DO NOT care
>> about the wood they sell. Your local hardwood dealers do- and
>they're
>> probably woodworkers just like you. Ah well, may as well try and
>stop
>> the relentless pursuit of WalMart. (Incidentally, I do not and will
>> not shop at WalMart for any reason either.)
>
>The borgs don't carry the volume that a lumberyard carries, that's one
>reason the price is high. They carry it more as a conveniences to the
>occasional customer who needs something in a pinch.
>
>On the rare occasion I buy plywood, I go to HD because they already
>have 2x4 sheets, which fit into my Saturn.
Aha- I can sympathize with that one! We had a two-door something or
other before I got my van, and it was a real chore to get anything
moved around. I guess as far as volume is concerned, it's been my
experience that the two within driving distance (Menard's and Home
Depot- HD is a loooong haul, though) consider themselves one-stop
shops for any amount of lumber. I think they're just overcharging for
crappy wood, but that's their perrogative.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
I have an awesome hardwood dealer in the area. Unfortunately, he is 30
miles away from home and 45 from the office, and only open during the week
from 8 to 4. He is open on Saturdays 8 -12, but I piss away the entire
morning driving down there. I really, really, should plan ahead, piss the
half day away, and stock up when I go down there.....
"Prometheus" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 10:26:47 -0500, Nigel Burnett
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 20:07:23 -0600, "bob"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. ... This one measured
>>>3/16" an
>>
>>*rant mode on*
>>
>>It gets worse. I bought a sheet of 1/2" a few weeks ago - claerly stamped
>>as12.5 mm on the side
>>byt the manufacturer. When I measured it, it was only 12 mm. Phoning and
>>complaining was a
>>complete waste of time. (this was to HD Curity store in Toronto). And how
>>do they get away with
>>making it out of 4 layers?! Even their 3/4" stuff is only 5-layer -
>>bendable as 'real' 1/2". I'd rather
>>pay more for quality so I don't buy ply there anymore :-(. Wish they
>>weren't so dishonest about
>>their specs. Bet they wouldn't apprecaite me paying only $120 for a
>>$125.40 bill and saying it's
>>close enough.
>>
>>Does anyone at HD read this group?
>
> Very unlikely. You know, you can usually get higher quality *and*
> lower priced wood by going to an actual lumberyard. I don't know
> about plywood specifically, but I do know that hardwoods are
> dramatically overpriced where I'm at. For example, Red oak sells for
> $2.35 a bf at my local hardwood dealer. All their wood is kiln-dried,
> and most of it is figured at least slightly- they carry about 20
> different species of timber, plywood and mdf.
>
> The other local lumberyard sells red oak (all of it is highly figured
> and very nice, from what I've seen of it) for $3.25 a bf. That yard
> will get your lumber to finished dimentions, S4S in their shop for $7
> an hour- and they can get a lot of lumber through in an hour. It's
> all straight, and it's all pretty, but they only supply spruce, oak,
> and on a good day, beech.
>
> Menard's, OTOH, sells a lower-quality oak for $8-12 a bf- It is
> dimentional, sure, but it is also warped and the "surfacing" they do
> is with sanders, and not with planers. They offer a pathetic
> selection of 4-5 different hardwoods, all with similar prices- I've
> seen cherry marked at over $25 a bf, compared to the dealer I use, who
> charges $5.50 for extremely curly cherry. (Lackluster cherry is $4.25
> a bf) They call Luoun "mahogany" and almost every peice of lumber and
> plywood in the rack is twisted.
>
> So why do people keep supporting these places? The borgs DO NOT care
> about the wood they sell. Your local hardwood dealers do- and they're
> probably woodworkers just like you. Ah well, may as well try and stop
> the relentless pursuit of WalMart. (Incidentally, I do not and will
> not shop at WalMart for any reason either.)
>
>
> Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have an awesome hardwood dealer in the area. Unfortunately, he is 30
> miles away from home and 45 from the office, and only open during the week
> from 8 to 4. He is open on Saturdays 8 -12, but I piss away the entire
> morning driving down there. I really, really, should plan ahead, piss the
> half day away, and stock up when I go down there.....
>
30 miles, Bob? Hell, where I live, everything is only 30 miles away.
That's just a commute.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
"Duane Bozarth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> :) Not quite...it's arid, but not desert. Actually, it's part of the
> wheat belt and known for <not> having (or ever having) trees...short
> grass prairie, originally.
Sounds like you should plant a few trees and cash in a few years down the
road. Or, is there some reason why trees don't grow well out there? I know
about pollination and stuff, but that can be handled I believe.
Maybe it was a 5.2mm thickness, that's closer to 3/16" than 1/4". What
does your receipt indicate?
"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. I got it home and was
> setting up to cut some rabbets for the plywood as a backer on a
cabinet. I
> eyeballed the plywood and thought "that looks mighty thin to be 1/4".
Now,
> I know they've shaved 1/32" off all the plywood we buy these days at
the
> borg - a 1/4" really comes out as 7/32". This one measured 3/16" and
no
> more. I used an Incra ruler on it - 3/16". It wasn't even a "strong"
3/16"
> as Norm would say. It was advertised as "1/4" oak plywood" on the
sign at
> HD.
>
> Bob
>
>
Funny, I noticed the same thing on a 1/4" board I bought last week at HD. I
thought they were trying to hold prices, but that couldn't be because their
prices were up and their plywood was under thick.
Dan
"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. I got it home and was
> setting up to cut some rabbets for the plywood as a backer on a cabinet.
> I eyeballed the plywood and thought "that looks mighty thin to be 1/4".
> Now, I know they've shaved 1/32" off all the plywood we buy these days at
> the borg - a 1/4" really comes out as 7/32". This one measured 3/16" and
> no more. I used an Incra ruler on it - 3/16". It wasn't even a "strong"
> 3/16" as Norm would say. It was advertised as "1/4" oak plywood" on the
> sign at HD.
>
> Bob
>
bob wrote:
> Bought a sheet of 1/4" oak plywood at HD today. I got it home and was
> setting up to cut some rabbets for the plywood as a backer on a cabinet. I
> eyeballed the plywood and thought "that looks mighty thin to be 1/4". Now,
> I know they've shaved 1/32" off all the plywood we buy these days at the
> borg - a 1/4" really comes out as 7/32". This one measured 3/16" and no
> more. I used an Incra ruler on it - 3/16". It wasn't even a "strong" 3/16"
> as Norm would say. It was advertised as "1/4" oak plywood" on the sign at
> HD.
>
> Bob
>
>
It was 3/16 because it was paneling, no matter what it was
listed as.