Vent: Overheard a new guy say "plywood is plywood" in the shop yesterday

This kid came in from a framing crew and said it like it was fact, lol. I wanted to grab him by the shoulder and show him the difference between a sheet of ACX from the big box and a sheet of Baltic birch. He was all set to build a full kitchen with the cheap stuff, said it would save the client money. I pulled him aside and showed him the cupping and voids, now he gets it. Any of you ever had to explain this to a new guy who just won't listen?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade474d agoTop Commenter

Oh yeah, 'plywood is plywood' is right up there with 'any saw blade will do' and 'caulk fixes everything' on the list of things new guys say before they learn the hard way. I love how your buddy Jake found out the cheap stuff is basically glorified cardboard with a pretty face on top. A void the size of a quarter in the middle of a drawer front is a brutal way to learn that lesson, but at least he passed it on to the next guy. Nothing like spending twice the time and money to redo something because you wanted to save ten bucks a sheet. Hopefully that kid you talked to actually listens before he builds a whole kitchen that starts falling apart in six months.

pat3604d ago

My buddy Jake tried to build a set of shop cabinets out of that cheap sandeply from the lumber yard once. He figured it was all the same because it said plywood on the sticker. Two weeks later he had a drawer front with a void the size of a quarter right in the middle of the face. The edge banding kept popping off too because the core layers were just too thin and flimsy. He ended up having to tear the whole thing apart and start over with some decent maple ply. Now he tells every new guy he meets to check the inner plys before they buy anything.