Plywood PITA

[twodko]

What is the deal nowadays? 
I'm building a roll around miter saw/onboard vac cart and I chose to use 3/4" birch plywood. There is no such freakin' animal! ACX or veneered it's all frustratingly undersized. You are damned if you buy sheets from 2 different sources............you'll be tweaking dados to fit each joint. There are work arounds but, come on, they let loose the bozo who fixed a 2x4 and made it a 1 3/4 x 3 1/2? And veneer? Used to be a fat 16th of material to work with, now sanding the current stuff has to be surgical or you cut right through it. Crap.

I feel better now. 

[stripedelete]

I have a wood boat.  I know your pain.

[Charger RT]

I have an old wood house made of real 2x4s with 5 inch thick walls in a state where every house will get termites at one time or another. I have to get extra 2x4 to rip off strips to make a 2x4 1.5x4 inches and no pre-hung door is made for a 5 inch thick wall. Plus I suck at home repair

I feel your pain.
Tim

[Old Moparz]

Ever try to match up old mouldings?   

[kab69440]

2x4 is a rough cut dimension. In order to get the smooth surface desired for the finishing work, it must be sanded on all four sides (S4S, in lumber milling terminology) leaving you with a reduced actual measurement. I can offer no reasonable explanation why plywood has become the utter clusterxxx that it has.

[Patronus]

I thought a 2x4 was only 1 1/2" 

[RallyeMike]

There are work around but, come on, they let loose the bozo who fixed a 2x4 and made it a 1 3/4 x 3 1/2?Huh

Speaking of bozos, the actual dimension of a 2x4 these days is WHAT size?  

[twodko]

Well..........yeah.   

[bakerhillpins]

HA.. Building a library for the wife now, nothing special but yea the plywood these days is questionable.  I just buy shop grade birch these days as I have found the quality to be on par with the stuff I pay close to 50% more for.

Actually, anyone who has worked on an old home feels your pain.   

[PocketThunder]

Remember the good old days when you were just happy to find the cheapest place you could so you could save more money for having fun?...  Home ownership is for the birds..   

Oh and i just got done staining 4 cabinet doors that i built for the second time since the first ones didnt look "just right"...   

[LaOtto70Charger]

We've been doing the stain just doesn't like right thing also.  Bought some poplar 1X6 and 1X4 pieces to add some trim in the bathroom.  First the 1X6 and 1X4 pieces took the stain differently and than the color doesn't quite match the other original trim in the room.

[Magnumcharger]

I'm lucky I guess. I've got a friend with a mill and he makes me dimensional lumber (rough cut) for half the price of kiln dried junk at the local lumberyard.

[twodko]

Any soft woods...poplar birch fur pine etc need a coat of sanding sealer or shellac before any stain/finish. Then the stain will be far more uniform and the finish coats will really look great. 
We have a huge hard wood company here that mills and sells rough. When I need some primo wood....red birch, claro walnut, ebony etc, that's where I buy rough and mill it myself. Only affordable way for me. They have top drawer sheet goods as well, apple core, prefinished cherry walnut oak etc plywoods......it's a candy store.