Darryl Keil Last Activity 2025-09-09 11:09 AM
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David Perata

Posts: 17

Joined: 2010-01-09
Location: Ruthven, Iowa

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Subject : `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-01-27 1:16 PM
Post #35877
I just wanted to let you folks know that I made my home made plywood and it turned out great! I made a core of 3/32" straight grained pine placed with vertical grain sandwiched between two 1/16" pieces of pine with the grain running horizontally. These were cut from a 3/4" thick piece of pine on the bandsaw and then jointed and planed down to thickness.

I made a bottom caul of 1/8" coated hardboard and a top caul of 3/4" Melamine for weight. I sectioned off the bottom caul in six sections
5 1/2 X 5 1/2 inches square to receice the plywood pieces. These will be cut down to size later.

Used Unibond. In the press for about five hours. It's been two or three days now and they are still straight as an arrow. Very happy!

Next I will veneer each side with bird's eye maple in the press. That's my final thickness of 1/4".

Thanks for your help, Darryl. I also highly recommend that fellow's model aircraft site where he shows how he makes the plywood. He sent me photos of jigs he's made and he sells a magnet system for making holding jigs. A first rate craftsman.


 
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Darryl Keil

Posts: 1455

Joined: 2003-05-22
Location: Maine

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-01-28 7:42 PM
Post #35882 - In reply to #35877
David,

Great to hear that your home made plywood is working out. Once you put down the maple veneer you'll have a five ply which should be real stable.

Darryl Keil


 
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David Perata

Posts: 17

Joined: 2010-01-09
Location: Ruthven, Iowa

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-01-31 12:31 PM
Post #35895 - In reply to #35882
Darryl:

I've glued the maple to eight pieces of the plywood and it's awesome! It's great to solve a persistent problem, isn't it? I've got a number of jigs now for the various operations for the cd drawers. I'm just about to be able to finish them off. I can't tell you the hours and hours I have put into the design and manufacture of these little cd drawers. (I can't because I actually don't know!) But the fun thing is when each step of the process gets dialed in as designed. I don't like proceedures where you can't be sure of the outcome or where one mistake ruins hours of work.

I'm getting a little more comfortable with the glue up process. The thing I hate is when the BEM veneer curls after the glue hits it. And I do put the glued substrate on top of the dry veneer, and then the dry veneer onto the glued substrate for the final press.

But what I have found is that if you've applied enough glue and the parts are registered properly on the cauls, then once the press does its thing, everything else takes care of itself. So I am getting somewhat more comfortable with the nuisance of curling veneer cause I know it will be okay when I take it out of the press.

Really Darryl, your press is the center of my work and without it what I am trying to achieve would not be possible outside of using real BEM hardwood in place of veneer. And you've been such a great and patient help to me over the past couple of years. I thank you for it.


 
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Don Stephan

Posts: 825

Joined: 2003-07-18
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-01 7:06 PM
Post #35901 - In reply to #35895
Now he'll have a swelled noggin and his hats won't fit.


 
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Darryl Keil

Posts: 1455

Joined: 2003-05-22
Location: Maine

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-02 3:42 PM
Post #35904 - In reply to #35895
David,

Its your last sentence that makes me smile, or gives me a "swelled head" as Don says.

Its not the selling of my equipment that gives me satisfaction but hearing that its enabling woodworkers to do thing they couldnt or wouldnt attempt otherwise.

Darryl Keil


 
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Paul Kierstead

Posts: 39

Joined: 2008-01-24
Location: Ottawa, ON

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-02 3:52 PM
Post #35905 - In reply to #35877
I've been needing a couple of lens boards; these are 4"x4" square pieces of wood 1/4" thick that have no support, have a big hole drilled in them, are taken in a very wide variety of climates (outdoors and in) and must remain very flat. Now you've given me the urge to go make some myself, seems easier then buying them.....


 
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David Perata

Posts: 17

Joined: 2010-01-09
Location: Ruthven, Iowa

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-02 7:00 PM
Post #35907 - In reply to #35905
Paul, it's very simple to do. I was kind of intimidated at first cause it seemed like such a long way to go for a straight and flat piece of wood. But if you have a band saw or you could resaw (with some caution. I have done it a lot.) on a table saw, a jointer and planer, it's pretty straightforward. I realy didn't know what to expect but it hit the mark!

That web site that I listed in a previous thread of mine of the fella who makes his own plywood for aircraft models gives photos and a full description of the process.


 
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BigRob777

Posts: 142

Joined: 2008-05-26
Location: Newark, DE

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-13 7:33 AM
Post #35924 - In reply to #35907
Paul,
I know this is a late post, but please, please, please...be careful resawing on a table saw. I lost my finger tip doing that. The wood was cut through on the 2nd pass, though I thought I had a 1/4" web (uncut portion). It sucked my hand right into the blade. That was pre-push stick days too. By all means, always use one of those, when you're anywhere near a blade.
Frodo, of the 9 fingers,
er...Rob


 
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David Perata

Posts: 17

Joined: 2010-01-09
Location: Ruthven, Iowa

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-13 10:02 AM
Post #35925 - In reply to #35924
Rob is right. There are the dangers as he mentioned plus kickback. The blade need only be set for slightly over half the width of the piece being resawn. And at that I don't resaw very wide pieces. Then you flip it over and do the other side. Stand to the side of the piece being cut, i.e., not directly in back of it. No, it really isn't the best way to do it. In fact, I have bought a 1/2" blade for my bandsaw and am using that. I went to resaw a wide piece on my table saw, looked at it very long and hard, and decided it wasn't a good idea.


 
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Paul Kierstead

Posts: 39

Joined: 2008-01-24
Location: Ottawa, ON

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Subject : RE: `Homemade Plywood A Success!!
Posted : 2010-02-13 11:02 AM
Post #35926 - In reply to #35924
Thanks for the tip Rob; I appreciate the thought. I use a bandsaw for all my resawing; I am generally fairly wary of the tablesaw and use the bandsaw whenever it is practical, usually leaving the table saw to repetitive cross cutting or trimming to width.
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