Radiata pine plywood

[Endgrain.]

My local panel supplier Timbmet dont stock this.
It is very hard to get hold of.
I want to build another Paulk workbench, the first one went moldy (Birch ply) lesson learnt.
Any ideas?
panel supplies will deliver but £100 charge.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Any ideas? Don't let your work bench get damp.

 

[Endgrain.]

Any ideas? Don't let your work bench get damp.

Good ideas smart ass.

 

[beech1948]

Endgrain,

Not a smart alex reply at all.

Radiata Pine ply is soft, not flat and will not hold screws well. Most screws just pull through it.

Birch ply is much better material.

The question you need to answer is why did your birch ply workbench go mouldy......damp, dripping water, came like that from the supplier, ????

Al

 

[RobinBHM]

A decent far eastern plywood might be a good option. Ive had some sheets of malaysian ply that has thin plys, no voids and heavy.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

A decent quality spruce ply would be fine too (and a lot cheaper than birch) e.g. WISA. Cheers, W2S

http://www.wisaplywood.com/Products/pro ... fault.aspx

PS painted with floor varnish will keep it from going mouldy!

 

[ED65]

the first one went moldy (Birch ply) lesson learnt.

Do you know if this was just mildew or a wood fungus? If it's just mildew then it should be salvageable. Sourcing secondhand wood from damp garages etc. I've had to clean mould from pieces numerous times and so far I've never had a reappearance.

 

[Endgrain.]

Endgrain,

Not a smart alex reply at all.

Radiata Pine ply is soft, not flat and will not hold screws well. Most screws just pull through it.

Birch ply is much better material.

The question you need to answer is why did your birch ply workbench go mouldy......damp, dripping water, came like that from the supplier, ????

Al

Apologies for not following up on this guys, did not notice replies.

Silver Birch is a fast growing short lived hardwood which rots very quickly.
The bench was in a garage my workshop, which is unheated and although it is dry, it can get very damp.
All other woods in there are ok. birch ply is not an outdoor wood in my experience.

So the question I do need to answer, is where to find an alternative, hence my initial post.
Two of the best carpenters on youtube, John, at I build it and Ron Paulk, as well as many others use a material which looks to be softwood faced ply. This is used for a multitude of purposes and withstands damp well. I am not sure what this product is but assumed it was a softwood faced ply.

 

[Endgrain.]

A decent quality spruce ply would be fine too (and a lot cheaper than birch) e.g. WISA. Cheers, W2S

http://www.wisaplywood.com/Products/pro ... fault.aspx

PS painted with floor varnish will keep it from going mouldy!

I will check that out, Thanks Woody.

 

[Endgrain.]

the first one went moldy (Birch ply) lesson learnt.

Do you know if this was just mildew or a wood fungus? If it's just mildew then it should be salvageable. Sourcing secondhand wood from damp garages etc. I've had to clean mould from pieces numerous times and so far I've never had a reappearance.

Here is the bench which has the mildew. I cleaned it off and it is ok to use but not quite the looker it usd to be.

Initially there were 3 coats of Danish on it but that did not help.
I plan to make a bigger one as I find it useful for domestic carpentry when there is the room for it. It needs to be weather proof as It is often outside in a shower.

 

[Endgrain.]

A decent quality spruce ply would be fine too (and a lot cheaper than birch) e.g. WISA. Cheers, W2S

http://www.wisaplywood.com/Products/pro ... fault.aspx

PS painted with floor varnish will keep it from going mouldy!

That looks like what I am looking for but who stocks it?

 

[Woody2Shoes]

A decent quality spruce ply would be fine too (and a lot cheaper than birch) e.g. WISA. Cheers, W2S

http://www.wisaplywood.com/Products/pro ... fault.aspx

PS painted with floor varnish will keep it from going mouldy!

That looks like what I am looking for but who stocks it?

Not sure whereabouts you are but Wickes/Travis Perkins do it. I get mine from Covers in Chichester. Cheers, W2S

PS There's a "where to buy" thing on the WISA website too

 

[ED65]

Here is the bench which has the mildew. I cleaned it off and it is ok to use but not quite the looker it usd to be.

Still looks good but I know what you mean. Unless you can skim with a plane or sand off the equivalent amount the wood often won't look its best any more after it has had mould on it.

Initially there were 3 coats of Danish on it but that did not help.

The Danish oil might have been part of the cause actually, many are made with linseed oil and this is known to encourage fungal growth which is why old woodies kept in the dark can often go mouldy.

It needs to be weather proof as It is often outside in a shower.

Varnish is your best bet then if you want to maximise water resistance, at least in terms of a finish you can wipe on. Danish oil is an oil+varnish mix, heavily diluted, but straight varnish will deposit much more resin and build a solid film.

Some would go with a spar varnish for this but nearly any varnish should do the job quite well, even cheaper varnishes which don't identify their ingredient (probably straight alkyd varnish) are quite waterproof once you've built a proper coat. I finished a utility knife handle with that kind of generic varnish last year and even with exposed end grain at both ends it is holding up fine to washing in hot soapy water, so the occasional rain shower shouldn't phase it

 

[Endgrain.]

A decent quality spruce ply would be fine too (and a lot cheaper than birch) e.g. WISA. Cheers, W2S

http://www.wisaplywood.com/Products/pro ... fault.aspx

PS painted with floor varnish will keep it from going mouldy!

That looks like what I am looking for but who stocks it?

Not sure whereabouts you are but Wickes/Travis Perkins do it. I get mine from Covers in Chichester. Cheers, W2S

PS There's a "where to buy" thing on the WISA website too

I spoke to Timbmet who stock the wisa product.
They said that thi sproduct was a step up from shuttering ply (a very small step)and nowhere near Birch ply quality.
So still looking for softood faced quality ply.

Here is Ron using the product to build his bench.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt77_jugVZs

 

[Endgrain.]

Here is the bench which has the mildew. I cleaned it off and it is ok to use but not quite the looker it usd to be.

Still looks good but I know what you mean. Unless you can skim with a plane or sand off the equivalent amount the wood often won't look its best any more after it has had mould on it.

Initially there were 3 coats of Danish on it but that did not help.

The Danish oil might have been part of the cause actually, many are made with linseed oil and this is known to encourage fungal growth which is why old woodies kept in the dark can often go mouldy.

It needs to be weather proof as It is often outside in a shower.

Varnish is your best bet then if you want to maximise water resistance, at least in terms of a finish you can wipe on. Danish oil is an oil+varnish mix, heavily diluted, but straight varnish will deposit much more resin and build a solid film.

Some would go with a spar varnish for this but nearly any varnish should do the job quite well, even cheaper varnishes which don't identify their ingredient (probably straight alkyd varnish) are quite waterproof once you've built a proper coat. I finished a utility knife handle with that kind of generic varnish last year and even with exposed end grain at both ends it is holding up fine to washing in hot soapy water, so the occasional rain shower shouldn't phase it

Well that is interesting to know Ed. there were also some sheets of Birch ply in the garage of various thickness, which also went mildew and had to be thrown out, these were obviously untreated.
I will get hold of some more ply and try a varnish as you suggest and see how it goes with that.

I could use a marine ply but it looks a bit gloomy compared to the lighter woods.

 

[Endgrain.]

Ron calls this an AC ply. It can be seen that one face is knotty and shuttering ply quality whilst the A face is very good.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

That looks like what I am looking for but who stocks it?

Not sure whereabouts you are but Wickes/Travis Perkins do it. I get mine from Covers in Chichester. Cheers, W2S

PS There's a "where to buy" thing on the WISA website too

I spoke to Timbmet who stock the wisa product.
They said that thi sproduct was a step up from shuttering ply (a very small step)and nowhere near Birch ply quality.
So still looking for softood faced quality ply.

Here is Ron using the product to build his bench.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt77_jugVZs

I think that Timbmet are only sort of right - the stuff I'm talking about is way better than shuttering ply, but doesn't look quite as "nice" as birch ply (it costs a lot less too!). I think you really need to actually see the stuff to decide for yourself - I've found it a good compromise between cost and quality (stability, consistency, looks). As you can see on the WISA website, they (just like other makers) offer several different grades.

Don't forget that each basic 'type' of plywood consists of many different grades/specs - so it's important to compare apples and apples. The radiata ply that I've used in the past has definitely been less attractive-looking than Ron's (sold as shuttering ply).

Two bits of advice:

1) There's no substitute for seeing stuff before you buy; and/or,
2) You need to be very definitive about the actual grade/spec (in my experience, many sellers of plywood will try and buy the cheapest grade of a particular type - their buyers are trying to maximise profits and attract buyers who often buy on price alone - and the people at the sales desk don't necessarily know the difference between the different grades/specs anyway).

Yer pays your money and yer makes yer choice! Cheers, W2S

 

[Endgrain.]

OK, thanks Woody,
I will contact Wisa and see what they say.
cost is not a primary importance on this project, just need a good product.