pine 3/4" plywood

[jacques scheppler]

Hi

I want to get started on some basic furniture projects but before I start with oak veneered plywood that is a little $$ I would like to start with some pine plywood but cannot find a nicely finished product other then maybe the "select" quality which seems to be nice on one side only. Has anyone worked with pine and should there be something available that is finished both sides.

Thanks 

[Dave Bristol]

  Plywood is graded on the quality of the two faces. This is not specific to any species, only to the quality of the face.  Just google  plywood grades and you will get several  charts for the system. Wood magazine had a good article not to long ago about this as well.    My " big box" stores typically have very inconsistent selection and quality, so I avoid that if I need really good stuff. These stores  may not grade like I have suggested, but will call stuff " furniture grade" , "Select", or something else, so be aware of that.   The pine that you are looking for may not always be pine either.   If you are looking for a good grade to practice on, I might use some "B" grade face on one side and a 3 on the back. You can used C or D if you paint it and I have a bunch of that in my shop cabinets ect. My practice stuff seems to end up in the shop.  Anything higher gets pricey unless you are lloking to build a nice peice.  I will sort thru a stack of sheet goods to find good flat stock.  Drives some folks goofy, but for the price, I don't feel bad at all. For practice, I think a flat piece is more critical than a super face grade.   For really good stock, find a good supplier of quality lumber, in the long run they are well worth the extra $, and sometimes  my local supplier is actually at or below the other sources on some stuff. 

[jacques scheppler]

Thank you for the input, I will look around more and see what I can find.

Dave Bristol said:

  Plywood is graded on the quality of the two faces. This is not specific to any species, only to the quality of the face.  Just google  plywood grades and you will get several  charts for the system. Wood magazine had a good article not to long ago about this as well.    My " big box" stores typically have very inconsistent selection and quality, so I avoid that if I need really good stuff. These stores  may not grade like I have suggested, but will call stuff " furniture grade" , "Select", or something else, so be aware of that.   The pine that you are looking for may not always be pine either.   If you are looking for a good grade to practice on, I might use some "B" grade face on one side and a 3 on the back. You can used C or D if you paint it and I have a bunch of that in my shop cabinets ect. My practice stuff seems to end up in the shop.  Anything higher gets pricey unless you are lloking to build a nice peice.  I will sort thru a stack of sheet goods to find good flat stock.  Drives some folks goofy, but for the price, I don't feel bad at all. For practice, I think a flat piece is more critical than a super face grade.   For really good stock, find a good supplier of quality lumber, in the long run they are well worth the extra $, and sometimes  my local supplier is actually at or below the other sources on some stuff.