5 Mistakes Buying Plywood - Don't Waste Your Money! 

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As a beginning woodworker, this was so darn helpful! I really didn't know the difference between the plywood...just kinda picked something. This was nicely laid ot, very clear! Thanks!

The "Sanded Ply" at Home depot isn't actually sanded ply.... well, it is S2S so technically it is sanded, but it's "Sande" ply (no d at the end). Sande is a species of wood used predominantly to make plywood. It looks like a typo on the tag at Home Depot... but it's not a typo :)

If you are going to paint it, you can mix the sawdust from your cutting with wood glue and press the mixture into any cracks and depressions to fill them in. Then when the glue cures you can sand it down like normal and have a smooth even surface to paint.

If it’s working lol…. Those Home Depot saws are like McDonalds ice cream machines!

I've been using leftover scrap plywood, but starting to run out, and just as I'm about to do a complete garage reorganization. This came at a perfect time for me, and very helpful advice.

Mech Eng here. What is interesting is that the flexural stiffness of a sheet is proportional to the cube of its thickness (neglecting the fact that the orientation of the wood grain can vary from ply to ply). The 3/4" material is thus (0.75/0.5)^3 = 3.4x stiffer than 1/2".

I'm the guys with a circular saw in the back of the parking lot. Lady paid me to cut her lumber. Whole trip to lowes was basically free to me

Can we all just cry together at how much things have gone up but also really thankful to get my shop back in a few weeks, we’ve been building and my tools have been in storage for a year and a half! This was a helpful refresher, we used to have a great place in Knoxville that had maple prefinished plywood and it was the most amazing thing to work with!

Thank you for encouraging others to put back the culled plywood for the rest of us - thoughtful!

Melamine is perfect for people who enjoy the feeling of gravel getting shot at their face. That’s what it feels like ripping it on a table saw.

I have been that person out in the parking lot cutting wood. I was making a book shelf and the boards were too long to fit in my jeep. I knew how tall I needed to I cut them in the parking lot. Got a couple funny looks but more smiles and waves 🤣

I've been woodworking for a little while now, but this was SO incredibly helpful! Navigating plywood in a home center can be head spinning. Thanks for breaking it down for us!

Parking lot carpentry is the way to go. I’m that girl with my DIY track saw guide. To often the saw at HD is terrible when it actually works and now they want to charge for two or more cuts. Heck the saw at the woodworking store was not in the best shape either but they did have awesome inventory.

Good video. Thank you for posting. 1) I loved your dusty demolition of the dust text. That was awesome. 2) I appreciate you putting prices. Even though they will vary with time and location, it is still helpful to see the comparison.

Such great info for beginner DIYer. I feel so much better informed and hopefully my projects will now be so much nicer. Really appreciate your videos! Thanks so much!

Great overview video! Love working with baltic birch! Another tip when at the big retailers - if you know you don't need a full sheet, have a look at the damaged options. You might be cutting off the corner or edge anyway for your project and if you ask for a discount at the checkout, you might save an extra 10-20%! *This may require manager approval, but usually the cashiers in the garden center or lumber center have that authority, at least up to a certain amount.

Another option is to find a decent marine lumber supplier. I build wooden boats and some of the most incredible plywood you'll find is BS1088 rated Meranti or Okoume, especially the ones certified by Llyods of London. You'll pay almost $300 for a sheet of 18mm Okoume (almost 3/4"), but this is the stuff that they use in high end yachts so it's basically void-less and has about the same color as a good mahogany. The Okoume is very light and flexible while the Meranti is heavier and stiffer. Another plus is that you can get it in a large variety of thicknesses.

I have seen a thin slice of metal epoxied to the edge of a 1/2" thick plywood for a 6-foot shelf span. It was quite strong and stable, and the use of 1/2" plywood made it look very elegant. It is astonishing how cool it looks when creating things with undersized material, as long as they are appropriately strengthened with unseen bracers.

This was really helpful. I have some cabinet drawers to fix and need some plywood for some reinforcement. I was so overwhelmed yesterday looking at the plywood options. Now I feel better what to pick out. Thanks!

Very informative. Thank you for reminding about restacking the playwood that you move. It is a pain to move plywood back when you need the plywood under all the wrong plywood. Mom always said "Leave things better than how you found them"

Thanks! Started woodworking two months ago and have been wondering this exact thing. Appreciate all the knowledge you give out. :)

I really loved your suggestion about putting back the sheets that you moved. So many people just mess up the stacks and leave it in a mess. Loved your video also.

This was super helpful! Fills in a lot of gaps in my wood search journey. Thank you!

Excellent video! It definitely can be overwhelming walking down that isle. Thank you for demystifying the grades and pointing us to the correct sheets for our projects. I knew about the ABCD grades but the others I didn't. Thank you

Fantastic advice all around! I wondered what type of wood my bookcase was made of that melted in the flood. That's what convinced me to buy only hardwood furniture from then on. Also appreciated the tip on how to rifle through wood stacks to find the one you like, much like a shirt on display.

Haha! I’m that girl outside with my circular saw cutting away!! 😅 Thanks for this info, I always get mixed up and sometimes I can’t find the nice stuff that I’ve used before, now I can ask for it by name 👍🏼

I went to a hardwood dealer, the plywood was awesome, the guy brought it right to my truck and helped me slide in every sheet, thanked me for coming.

Thank you, I always pick through the stack and then put em back. I always seem to find the better pieces down in the stack as I'm sure I'm not the only one that goes through them. It's worth it, especially with today's prices.

Thank you Brad for this very informative video, I have been buying plywood for years for various projects and have never heard this before about the numbers and letters to determine quality. Keep up the good work!

Very timely post! Be careful ordering from a plywood supplier when you can't see the material before delivery. Selection and quality has been beyond terrible lately (think wavy potato chips) and the 3/4 Indonesian birch ply they sent was actually 11/16. I have 3 different sizes of "1/4 mdf" in the shop (1/4, 15/64, 7/32) which causes problems when making doors and drawers with 1/4 and 7/32 router bits. Hopefully the supply chain gets fixed soon. Can't find baltic birch or blum runners anywhere in stock.

Saving this for later! This is the level of detail I crave in videos - thank you for taking the time to go through everything.

Watching this in late 2022 and the prices your throwing out makes me smile with good memories.

As a 23 year retail employee at HD I want to say THANK YOU for the tip about returning the sheets back to the stack "The way you found them"! Nothing irritates us more tham shoppers sliding off to the next bay and LEAVING them there! Again , THANK YOU!

YES MAKE MORE OF THIS CONTENT! very knowledgeable, thank you!

Very impressive your knowledge of plywood, you have helped me a great deal in choosing the right materials for my diy project! Thank you! Keep it up!

This video was freaking amazing!!!! I feel so much better and well equipped chosing the right ply wood for my first major wood working plywood job! Thank you so much!!!

Just to add a point about veneer if you are worried about sanding too much - Use a card scraper or stanley 12 to get a high quality sanded finish without removing too much waste. Test on a scrap piece to get the angle and desired depth.

RU-vid should only allow informative and professional videos like this one. Fantastic video.

Awesome video explaining the different types of plywood for us beginners! I was overwhelmed the last time I went to buy lumber for my garage workbench!

This video was absolutely spot on for someone who are getting into woodworking and love plywood. Have been so confused!

That string in your plywood comes from the manufacturing process. When the veneer strips are put together for the cross grain layers (the cores), they are held together by that glued string so they can be easily layered in the boards. A typical 5 layer sheet is constructed by stacking a back, a core, a center, another core, and a face. Backs, centers and faces are three different grades of veneers. Holes in the veneers from the curvature of the logs are called "wanes". I've actually seen boards in the stores with huge wanes in the backs.

Terrific video Brad! I knew about some of the info that you discussed but also learned a lot from this video. Thanks & Happy Building! 👍👍😉😉

Fantastic video, for a newbie to woodworking and the US grading system this context is gold. I actually had luck finding pre-covid stock leftovers at local lumber yards, i.e. 1in oak plywood at $40

Great video glad to see someone mention how much more expensive pre cut plywood is

If you see dye marks that are parallel to the grain, pass that sheet up. It means the glue didn't set where the marks are drawn. (Don't worry about dye marks across the grain. They mean it took two passes for that veneer to dry)

I just did a bookcase with some 3/4" Red Oak (C3) plywood, and one of the sheets had a separated core layer. It popped apart as I was cutting it with my circular saw. So I definitely feel this lower quality product. Unfortunately, since I needed to rent a truck to get the lumber home, I had to make due, as a return was not really feasible.

Thanks Brad, you clearly explain 😊

Excellent video! I also used Birch ply in a recent painted project because it was the same price as the sanded ply and much better quality.

Great information on plywood. Thanks. I have found unfortunately at my local big box stores that you are pretty much on your own when it comes to getting the plywood off the rack and onto a cart and it is a bit of a beast for an old guy like me. It is a quite an adventure to purchase :). The commercial lumber yards in my area seem to be a bit irritated at selling to hobbyists as you are only buying one or two sheets. Aw shucks.

Great video. You fit a whole lot of good info in it. Most of this I have learned by trial and error/mistake. I totally agree on the project panels. They are a waste for most of us but if you only need a 2'x2' or so piece then go for it. Like you I did a ton of research in my area and called every building supplier around. Some of those places are specifically geared toward cabinet grade plywood and have things like walnut veneer plywood but it is in the $100 range. I was lucky enough to find a hardwood supplier and they carry Baltic birch. The 5x5 panels can be a pain to deal with but it's definitely affordable and a better quality than what they have at Lowes and Home Depot.

Thanks so much for this video! As a beginer woodworker i get so confuse trying to by the plywood. Thank you, thank you.

Another great video. Brad, you don't ever disappoint! Every time I'm looking to take on a project I search your RU-vid channel first!

Tip #6: wear gloves when handling plywood at the store. Some of those sheets on top can be very splintery.

You didn’t mention MDO ply. I use it when coating out the face with paint. It’s very smooth and it’s reasonable in cost.

You have no idea how happy I was to find this video! I'm a complete beginner and when I find plans for things they don't indicate specifics like what type of plywood to purchase and it's overwhelming.

This is great content! Keep it coming. I’m a newbie so this is something that I struggle with when I buy lumber. Having all of the info in one video is helpful. Thanks!

The C-rated surface plywood from the local lumber yard has a cleaner and smoother surface than the A-rated from the big-box stores.

Tip : NEVER let the big box store or even the lumber yard cut the exact dimensions you need. There is never a guarantee of squareness of their machines. Get it close and make the final cuts yourself.

You earned my subscription with the tip about bringing the circular saw to the store for a 4x8 sheet!!! Genius! My vehicle has a 110v outlet built-in so this is perfect!

This was so so helpful and is going in my saved folder cuz it will always be needed! Thanks for taking the time to explain and differentiate the differentiate types of plywood!

Great topic, Brad! Only have a Lowe's and a building supply store in my area unless I want to drive 65 miles away. The building supply store carries Baltic birch but only in 1/2 in thickness but they also have a small selection of domestic solid hardwoods. All the plywood at Lowe's is junk except for the hardwood variety so that's usually what I get - even if painting. (I dream of a Home Depot coming to my small town.) One thing I do like about Lowes though is they will discount plywood with damaged corners or edges (half price or more). That's what I usually look for - it will be cut off anyway and saves a ton of money! I have a love-hate relationship with MDF. The powdery dust is awful but it's fine for many things and is actually really durable as a flat work surface. For instance, I have it as the top for my table saw offcut table and it works great. It looks pretty decent when stained and a few coats of poly on top. It's also fairly cheap which is always a good thing.

What did you make your workshop cabinets out of? They look amazing!!! Loved the info thanks and keep ‘em coming.

Thanks wood bro. Retired cop here trying to do something good with my little wood shop….

Thank You!! I am remodeling my home for sale and wanted to save my old cabinets but the doors were badly damaged (renters) This video has helped alot as I will be building new doors. I have a HD and a Lowes in close range and I will use your tips for my project.. I sure like working with wood!!

Great video. I don’t have a truck so I used to buy project panels primarily because that’s all that fits in the car. I felt embarrassed when you explained how project panels are so overpriced. I needed one 2x4 1/2 and one 2x4 1/4 ply. After going to HD and doing the math, I realized it was “cheaper” to buy full sheets instead of the project panels even after including the price of renting their truck.

Where i worked (in eu) we had commercial and professional prices, just sign the sign-in sheet and you could get up to 60% off compared to regular prices. Well worth checking out if your local wood supplier has something similar. P.s If youre a beginner woodworker i highly recommend going metric from the start, can save you alot of math related headaches.

Thank you for this video. Your knowledge has helped me better understand what I need and what I don't. Very best...

I am a total beginner about to do up a house in Tennessee, too, so this was super helpful, thanks so much!

Been building subwoofer enclosures for 20 years, MDF all day every day...maybe some glass mixed in as well. People will use ply as well but usually larger builds. I've also used MDF in some smaller projects just with how easy and stable it is to work with.

Thanks for sharing this info. You mentioned sanded plywood, but you didn't mention Sande plywood, which is a marine grade plywood which i have used successfully for some furniture projects. The finish on them is usually pretty good and the price is reasonable

Thank you so much that aisle is so intimidating with no explanations x.x

Never really thought about the lettering of plywood, so this helped a lot. Thanks for sharing.

Tip: If you get it cut at the store, pay attention the facing of the plywood to avoid tear out on the good side.

I find the plywood nomenclature has changed quite a bit since I first started buying it in 1970 - 71. Yesterday, I needed a couple of sheets of plywood. I wanted 3/4" but didn't really care much about quality. My local store had 3/4" from $37 to well over $100. The nomenclature for the 3/4" $37 plywood was "3/4" sanded Shop". I asked the salespeople in lumber what that meant. The first 2 said something to the effect that it was plywood that you can use in your shop that's been sanded. The next person seemed a bit more aware saying the same thing but mentioning that there might be some minor defects in it. So I thought it sounded reasonable and ordered 2 sheets. I needed it for my shop and it would be nice if it were sanded and I think $37 was the price last I paid for some 3/4" birch plywood. I was even okay with some minor defects. I went to the racks and picked out the best two sheets I could find. Both sheets had 1 side sanded, the other side I would say is grade C. I'm not sure if the sanded side was supposed to be the good side but both sheets (as were all the other sheets in the rack) had large strips of missing ply on the face. But they'd used some kind of filler to (sort of) keep the rest of the face from peeling away. I was able to cut away some of the defects and install them into my new backyard shop for loft flooring. I already had 2 sheets of 3/4: MDO (another more recent nomenclature but much higher in quality with waterproofing and paper facing on both sides). It does make my shop lopsided with the different sheet qualities but no one will ever know;-). I'd like to also point out that, as a teenager working in my grandfather's shop, we made high quality speaker cabinets. I'm not sure if hardwood plywood existed but we made it, gluing Walnut veneers to high quality 3/4" plywood. It showed me that making plywood is a very difficult thing to do. We had to remake many cabinets due to some that were sold to different parts of the country having the walnut veneer split. Your videos are very informative. Thanks.

Excellent information. Great delivery!

Thank you! Finally found someone who can explain it and make sense to me. I learned a lot watching your video today. Thank you.

You forgot to mention that MDF is also heavy so structures built exclusively of mdf are more likely to collapse under their own weight (without any load) AND they are heavier so relocating these structures after construction is a PAIN.

Thank you for suggesting that one should replace the plywood that’s been placed on the adjacent stack. As a Home Depot lumber person, this is among the most irritating things that a customer does.

Thanks for this video. I'm looking at making a book case and this was very helpful.

This was awesome. Thanks again brad! Would you be able to make a video about your painting process for plywood builds? I.e. your sanding process: grits, and passes; your painting processes: primers and finished coats.

Last time I went shopping for plywood there wasn’t one flat one to be seen. Everyone of them was warped, holes all the way along the edges and prices where higher than the International Space Station. 2x4x8’s SPF2 retail now at $9:49 Canadian and only good for hockey sticks. Seems most woods available today is floor sweepings glued together made to resemble their description. Finger jointed pine is also profiteering on offcuts, MDF is a cancer guarantee from the dust, the smooth surface once damaged is almost impossible to fix and try painting a cut edge 🤦‍♂️ You mention not to buy the first one on the top, makes sense unless the whole stack has no centre support so all boards are bent.

I did the parking lot circular saw thing with my father-in-law and he got such a kick out of it. The store's saw was working, but I needed some really odd cuts that didn't go straight to the other side. It turned out great. The second time, my saw ran out of battery 3/4 of the way through, and I had to use a hand saw. :(

Great video. Thank you. This answered a lot of questions I needed answers to

Never heard of the letter/number system before today. Granted I was not building cabinets before this year either. So thank you for all of this!!

There is a difference between the imports from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and USA domestic plywood. Domestic plywood normally does not have voids in the core and they come in pro-core/classic core. The pro-core has a layer of MDF next to the veneer and helps with chipping when you cross cut the grain on a panel and minimizes telegraphing. I suggest painters tape to assure a fine edge when cutting across the grain. The domestic panel is very flat so when sprayed with high gloss lacquer, you do not see the telegraphing or rise and fall of the veneer face. The domestic plywood we sell is normally A-1 or B-1/B-2 grades for making cabinets or furniture. We also purchase Baltic birch from Russia and it is cheaper than the domestic and better than the other imports. The imports can have core voids and telegraphing in the birch veneer face. Telegraphing is the up and down waves on the panel face. If you see millimeters on a piece of plywood; you know it is an import.

"You can have that cut down with the panel saw at the store, if it's working." 🤣 If I had a dime for every time that saw wasn't working, or there there was no employee qualified to use the saw with dull blades no less. I'll just take the 4x8 sheets home and rip them myself, lol.

Extremely helpful and informative. Thank you very much!

Thank you!!! I never knew that there were so many kinds of plywood. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

I agree, those small project boards are a waste of money, but I have found that the big box stores will give quite a discount on damaged 4x8 sheets. So next time you don't need a whole sheet, consider a sheet with some damage and save some money. p.s. you can always use that damaged part for jigs or spacers. 💖🌞🌵😷

good warning on the project panels! the prices on those things are borderline criminal!

Thank you for explaining the ratings. I never knew that! Appreciate your content.

Really enjoyed learning about the plywood grading system. Good video.

Good video...if you want to build quality projects, stay away from the big box stores. I have a wood supplier here in Calif. that cares A1 plywood in Walnut, Mahogany, White Oak and Pecan/Hickory...but it is expensive. Well over $100 per 4x8 sheet. Their Baltic Birch is $196 for a 3/4x4x8, and $176 for a 4x8x1/2" sheet. Keep in mind that not all Baltic Birch is the same quality.

*If* it's true that there is fiberglass within plywood, that can be extremely dangerous to cut, not to mention they will have to label safety warnings when cutting plywood.

Great information! I am just now getting into woodworking and this is excellent info for me to know! Thank you very much for the sage advice!!

Hola 🖐 This is awesome! Info we all know or have heard before but just having this information in a different presentation is GREAT! Looking forward to more 👍

Another thing about MDF to really hate, is what goes into making it. It's not just sawdust and glue, often times harmful toxic ingredients go into the manufacturing of MDF, such as formaldehyde for example. If you ever have to cut MDF, make sure you do it outdoors if at all possible, AND ALWAYS wear an appropriate respirator, along with eye protection.

Great job putting out some really good info on plywood. Very helpful to me and I’m sure many others. Thanks 👍🏼

Thank you so, so much for this information. I knew nothing about wood til now. I wish I knew back when I wanted to build shelves, but I intend to keep on building and need to know this things. Thanks a bunch.