Ply over hardwood

[Gal4.7]

I have a project I would like to try that has a lot of scrollwork in it. I have tried to source 1/4" hardwood without success. Would plywood be OK if I stain it dark oak? What would the edges look like? Help please for a newbie!

[julief]

Where are you located?  Lowes and Home Depot has a selection of 1/4" hardwood on the trim isle.  Home Depot only carries poplar and pine but Lowes also has Aspen and Red Oak in the thinner boards.  Otherwise, order your wood from any number of sources listed on Steve's blog page.  I've used several of them with no problem. 

[scrollgirl]

What were your problems that you encountered when attempting the design on hardwood? Maybe we can help you use what you have.

Sheila

[Gal4.7]

I live in UK. I can get hardwood but it is not easy. Most Home stores don't carry hardwood in anything other than strips. I can order through ebay but it is not cheap. As a beginner I am looking to perfect my skill before spending lots of money that my wife doesn't have! lol

[kardar2]

 Yes.... you can use Plywood. Butttt.....you got to make sure it is good plywood. The cheaper plywood will have "voids". Voids is where you look at the edge of a plywood sheet and you see holes and they will be all through your sheet. When looking at plywood look at the layers in each sheet. Naturally the more layers the better quality. If you have access  to a router it will make your edges look nice. I have done a lot of projects with plywood that look nice. If you watch the video with Steve Good titled "talking shop with Russ" he encouraged people to use plywood. Good luck and make sure you post a picture of your project. And before long you will be giving advise. Try every kind of wood you can get a hold of. If you look for a place that makes stuff out of wood like cabinet shop. Or a building being built. You can find some real gems in there. Good luck.

[jerry1939]

I like the looks of 1/4" solid oak, however, it's frustrating.  Lowes store close by.  Theirs isn't worth buying.  Drive further to 1 of 2 Menards.  It's somewhat better.  All of it warps and is stored in our climate controlled home.

Have learned to rip it into about 3/4" widths.  Turn every other one over (MARK THEM AS EACH IS SAWED!) and glue everything back together.

jerry

[cowboysfanatic]

My self I use a lot of Baltic birch I get from work. I also use mahogany underlayment on the bottom of my stack especially if I'm gonna paint one of them. I like to use lemon oil on my birch and paint on my underlayment. Also I use spirals a lot and the the mahogany on the bottom makes it to where there is very little fuzzies on the bottom wooooohoooooo. Lol

[cowboysfanatic]

Oh yeah on the edges when I rip them down to size I like to put maskin tape on the top and bottom then when I saw them they splinter very little to none. If there is any little splintering I either sand or use a picture frame.