MacGregorSailors.com

These are my choices in plywood at my local Home Depot. My Mac 25' has a little bit of teak I'd like to try my best to stain the plywood to match. I'm replacing the cheezy bulkhead wood and planning some other projects. Which of the three ply's would you choose, and how would you opt to finish it? Oh, and one other thing....how come there's no little icon on the right for the '25? Feelin' left out!

All three woods will take stain differently. Same stain, three different woods, three different results. When you go to look for the stain that best matches what you want, check to see what wood is used to make that example. If it is not one of those three, then ask if there is an example of the stain on each of those woods.

You may also want to look into marine plywood. It is three times more expensive that regular plywood.

Here is a result from a search I did on marine plywood.
http://macgregorsailors.com/forum/viewt ... od#p213443



Ray

My 26M spends most of its life sitting on the hard on a trailer, so marine grade plywood for my sailboat projects seems a little overkill.
I would think red oak to be strongest material of the three choices, so if all else is equal, I would choose red oak.

Phil M

Marine grade is for making hull and deck applications where standing water and rot is expected. For interior bulkheads that stay dry it's overkill presuming that the foot of the panels are not in a bilge.

Genuine teak veneer marine-grade plywood is available from:

http://www.marine-plywood.us/teak.htm

Find a sheet of plywood ( any kind of wood) with the grain pattern you like.. as shown in the link above.. That was a VERY small tree that was used to shave the veneer for that piece.. See how close the patterns repeat? They use a Veneer blade to make veneer.. The ( simplified form) They have a lathe spinning the log..then the veneer blade comes in and shaves a thin slice off the log... The smaller the tree, the quicker the pattern repeats itself..
OK price is no object.. Then its Marine Grade but..if it isnt ? Your Using it down stairs . Relatively dry blablabla. Cut to fit.. stain to desired effect and SEAL / Poly every single edge multiple times ( 2) That's IMHO the secret.. Hummm $130 for a 4x8 sheet of Teak Veneer plywood versus sanded cabinet grade Oak Cherry Birch for $45? Hummm My guess is if your a cabinet builder by trade or hobby ? You wouldnt be asking any questions . You'd only be here suggesting answers and providing instructions. Good Cabinetry requires... Good to Excellent skills.... good to best tools... knowledge .....PATIENCE!
Your going to be needing some tools? Don't buy cheap junk .. you'll more than likely end up with something ,YOU SHOULD be, embarrassed to say you built..
I am decent at this, but others here are far more accomplished at cabinet building than I am.
How I purcahse any material for any project I am going to build..I figure out how much I need and I buy more! Maybe I take some back, maybe I save it for later and maybe THE MORE.. was just enough.. Stopping the momentum and HAVING to go back.....and get more ??? IMHO SUCKS!

was at Lowes the other day and found that they have small 2'x4' panels of various grades and thicknesses of plywood and panelling - different hardwoods, some verneers, etc. You can guy a small piece for $4 - $7 each and try out what you want to do without spending a fortune. I found that for a few small projects like panel covers and such, these little pieces were easy on the wallet, easy to handle (fit in my car), and easy to work with. Just a thought.

Regarding the strength issue.
I'd think it will make no difference as to which veneered plywood you choose.
They are all just thin veneers of the particular species glued to the face of normal pine plys for the most part.
There are exceptions of course, but not in the $45 per sheet Home Despot stuff you are talking about, IMHO.
Don't sand away to much of the surface species veneer, ugly awaits.

Rotary cut veneer is the cheapest and most common (and ugliest,IMHO), and bookmatched is the best, (also IMHO).
Think of a full length cutter up against a log spinning and the results are very much like toilet paper coming off the roll.

Bookmatched is made from thin slices taken from one board but turned front to back like pages in a book.
The grains are obvious mirror images on each two consecutive pieces, then it repeats with two slightly different next pieces. The glue line can be seen if you look.

For better results, one can plan their cuts taking this bookmatched repetiton into consideration to keep the look going rather than just cutting out the pieces.
More waste however.

The example that Dennisneal linked to is bookmatched, not rotary cut from a small tree, IMHO.

Bookmatched will take any finish much, much better, also IMHO.

I'd also mention that the red oak choice will be the less consistent of your choices for uniform coloring with the stain.
Both oaks, red and white, will have very pronounced grain contrast when stained due to the capillaries inherent to the species. Very unlike the results you are after.

Not a professional, just an experienced life long hobby of mine, so YMMV.

Hardcrab: Thanks for the correction.. I had that wrong .. I Told Ya I wasnt... a Cabinet guy Book match is $$$ its beautiful IF you appreciate it.. Not worth the expense if you dont..
So a little more help here..........
Should we look for the least amount of variation in grain pattern to attain the best.. most consistent, result's with staining Bottom End Cabinet Grade Plywood? AKA Big Box Store $45 a sheet..

I have bought 1/4" bookmatched red oak at our local Home Despot in the past.
The stuff was beautiful. The "boards" it was veneered from were around 4" wide, so the 8" effect was very nice.
It wasn't all that pricey, as I recall.
I did go through the stack to find what the project needed for the most pleasing results.
I'd vote for either the birch or maple for the most consistent staining over oak any day.

Or perhaps even better, Home Despot sells Phillipine Mahogny ( really Luan. sp?) as "door skin", 1/8" - 3/16", real cheap.
Somewhat odd sized at 3' x 6' or so, but for panel pieces no big deal.
A very bland grain wood, but it should stain up to an easy match.
It will be consistently ugly.

Since we are talking plywood, one can just glue any thin veneer plywood, 1/4" or less, to some regular pine 1/2" plywood.
One side, if that's all you need, or both sides if required.
It's just an extra step.
So what.
And less money.


Really, not all that hard to do if you have the woodworking tools already.
Clamps or sand bags or such, and yellow glue.
Make the cuts after set up so as to get nice edges.

I've "veneered" pine 2x6's this way before with 1/4" oak ply for a bed frame.
Cheap way to get oak 2x6's.
Hard to tell they were not solid oak with out really looking hard.

All three woods will take stain differently. Same stain, three different woods, three different results. When you go to look for the stain that best matches what you want, check to see what wood is used to make that example. If it is not one of those three, then ask if there is an example of the stain on each of those woods.

YankeeRebel,

All that I said above is factual. All of those plywood's will be equally strong. Before you purchase the goods, be certain what it will look like with the stain.

Hopefully you have a chance to review the thread I posted. Others on this board have traveled this road.

Ray

Also, be aware that, of these three woods, the red oak is an open-grained wood, unlike the other two. Which means that if you want a smooth surface you will want to use a filler or sanding sealer over the surface first. It's an added step over the maple or birch, although, teak can be somewhat open-grained as well.This should be done before staining if you want an accurate preview of how it will appear, because various fillers will absorb stain differently.

could just use "hardwood" flooring...lots of color/grain options out there

Depending on ones personal choice .. that might look pretty cheesy for a bulkhead..You'll never match the grain patterns. If you use one of the New Engineered floorings you'd still need to "glue" it all to a backing board?? I do like the idea of using engineer flooring for the soles and even the idea of running them through a router to get the teak and holly look.. again you'll need to seal all the raw edges and the back REAL GOOD..

vizwhiz wrote:could just use "hardwood" flooring...lots of color/grain options out there

if you want a smooth surface you will want to use a filler or sanding sealer over the surface first.

Not necessarily true. If, after staining, you use a spar varnish for the finish, several coats of it will take care of that challenge.

Ray