5 replies to this topic

[non-lost Wanderer]

I found an interesting plywood sold at a local (to me) big box mart. It is a 5 ply type using two spices in one panel. The species are hard maple and poplar. It looks to be Maple -poplar -maple -poplar -maple. It uses a unique adhesive, derived somehow from soy proteins. The adhesive was apparently the result of a bio-mimetic experiment looking to immitate the byssus fibers used by mussels to cling to rocks. I have heard talk on forum.woodenboat.com of a torture test where a piece of OSB panel using this type of glue was boiled for an estimated two DAYS and remained intact. The stuff is made by Columbia forest products in North Carolina. According to their website they borrow the grading names from ANSI but have higher standards for each individual grade. Of note is a restriction on repaired knots to three 1/2 inch per 4x8 panel on grade 2 for the back veneer. strength of bond is claimed to be better than urea formaldehyde, even when wet but no numbers are provided to support that. a single 3/4 inch 4x8 inch panel weighs 75 pounds.

A nearby home despot sells the 3/4 inch 4x8 panels in question priced little higher than 3/8 inch okoume ply in the same region.

my questions:

Is anyone familiar with this or similar plywood
with differing species will it warp excessively when wet.

I fully expect it to be a royal B.(censored)h to bend; will it be possible to bend it enough (with a spanish windlass) for use in a large flatiron skiff or similar boat?

Is something like this worth the money?

Will it take fasteners adequately? I'm not looking for great performance, have a lot of time on my hands, and would not be put off by having to drill a starter hole for every screw or large nail.

Is this any better or worse for boatbuilding than ab pine or douglas fir with a formaldehyde based adhesive.

I know very little about plywood and am worried about having left a poor first impression by suggesting putting over 5 hp on a skin on frame boat with large flat areas and later sounding too harsh when defending my desire for an older box keel design so please be both gentle and honest.

I am worried about this sounding spam like and am sorry if it comes off as such. if it is too spamlike where do I post about commercial products (I am not in any way related to the company and am not an advertiser) I am posting for purposes of discussion and am unsure if this is fit for marine use.

[ChrisObee]

I am worried about this sounding spam like and am sorry if it comes off as such. if it is too spamlike where do I post about commercial products (I am not in any way related to the company and am not an advertiser) I am posting for purposes of discussion and am unsure if this is fit for marine use.

I think the problem is that there are a whole list of products that are suitable for marine use that are proven and easily available. What's the point?

[hokeyhydro]

my questions:


I am worried about this sounding spam like and am sorry if it comes off as such. if it is too spamlike where do I post about commercial products (I am not in any way related to the company and am not an advertiser) I am posting for purposes of discussion and am unsure if this is fit for marine use.

Spam is unfit for marine use and even unfit for eating. As for the plywood, get a chunk and boil it. Or do the ol' square foot in the dishwasher for a few cycles, drying in between. If it lives without delam it should be okay for marine use, but ... I'm betting Okume is a lot lighter and easier to work with.

[PAR]

I'm sorry for your inabilities with spam, but it's pretty good if you haven't eaten in a while, stores well and can work as bait in a pinch too.

If this new plywood product costs a little more then okoume and has a hardwood/softwood sandwich construction, I wouldn't want it in a dynamic loading situation (like boat planking), though it may work well for static loads, such as house sheathing or furniture. It sounds heavy, expensive and not well suited to me.

[Frank Hagan]

Not spammy at all, so don't worry about that.

McDonald's serves Spam in Hawai'i. Very popular there.

The question I would have on the ply is about the maple. Poplar is ok as far as rot goes, if I recall correctly, but I've heard maple is a poor wood for outdoor exposures. But then, I'm the guy who built a boat with ACX fir plywood.

Its been a while since I read the wood handbook, so maybe I'm not remembering maple's characteristics correctly.

[PAR]

Popular used to be a good wood, but since all the yellow popular has been cut down and used as barn siding in the Midwest, the only thing left is the white variety which isn't nearly as good.

Maple is a very diverse species and depending on the type (there's about 140 different varieties) it can be brittle, crazy grained and very pretty. Couple this with a considerably less dense material like popular and you have a wood sandwich with crispy layers separated by soft ones, which will just promote inner panel veneer breakage.