Desk unit plywood?

[azk404]

Hello,

Looking for some plywood to start building a desk unit for a home office in my new place and not 100% which would be best.

Calculated how much I will need with 1x piece being over the standard 2440m length which is for the table top.

The 24, 25 or 30mm will be for the table top so I would like that to be durable and best looking.

The 18mm will be for supports, panels, rails etc as well as some drawers false fronts and shelves which will be visible also.

The 12mm and 6mm will be for the drawers.

Preferred choice in colour would be ply thats not to red or yellow, also I won’t be banding as I like the plywood edge look similar to the photo below. I will also be staining/dying it slightly as well.

25mm Chinese Hardwood Face Poplar Core External Grade Plywood B/BB CE2+ 3050mm x 1220mm (10' x 4') - Sheet Materials Wholesale - Would this be ok to use or is it better to go with something like baltic birch?

 

[Droogs]

As you are looking for a nice edge, you want to ask for baltic birch 18mm with 13 plys or furniture grade ply depending on what your supplier calls its. anything else will have voids within the internal structure which as Sods law dictates will be exactly where your edge need to be and be visible once cut. 13 ply Baltic is usually guaranteed to have no internal voids.

 

[flying haggis]

I used kitchen worktop for my desk or more correctly breakfast bar as its wider ie 900mm

 

[Doug71]

Birch ply every time if it's a piece of furniture.

 

[robgul]

I've yet to find any Chinese Poplar ply that I would want to use for furniture . . .

 

[Ollie78]

Birch is the only good option here.

 

[azk404]

Will furniture baltic ply be the same baltic with B/BB grade? Thanks, Ive emailed a couple supplies to see what they have, although, does anyone recommend any good timber suppliers in, around or near the London area?

Sods law dictates will be exactly where your edge need to be and be visible once cut.

Yep I can imagine this happening to me perfectly.

I did also look at some kitchen tops as I could get the whole length but I felt sticking with ply for the entire job might work better for this, lets see though.

Cheers everyone

 

[Wayno]

I highly recommend SL hardwoods based in Croydon, also Champion Timber had provided me with some lovely Baltic birch in the past, they have depots all over and I think they offer free delivery. The B/BB denotes the grade of the face veneer on the ply, if you can I would go for a S/BB - which is a slightly better face veneer. Cheers

 

[Wayno]

Here's summary of what the grades mean
Cheers

 

[Jameshow]

I've yet to find any Chinese Poplar ply that I would want to use for furniture . . .

I have yet to find poplar ply suitable for anything!

Nor do I like the way they spray the edges darker to make it look like hardwood throughout!

Cheers James

 

[Ollie78]

Wayno your list contradicts your assertion that s/ bb is better than b/bb.

B/bb is what I use, one side is perfect with no patches etc the other may have small patches, the patches are very well done and neat.

Ollie

 

[robgul]

If you Google Specialised Panel Products they have a useful technical sheet that explains all the plywood grades . . . and the supplier that I've used for absolute top quality Birch ply is Cutlist, near High Wycombe (they have a useful price list with grades/sizes etc .... including bigger than 8 x 4. IIRC Latham Timber also has useful tech stuff as well.

 

[Droogs]

Guys, i may have not explained well earlier, polar is mentioned as a solid material for framing cabinetry such as dressers etc internally not as a type of ply. oh god no never.

 

[Wayno]

Wayno your list contradicts your assertion that s/ bb is better than b/bb.

B/bb is what I use, one side is perfect with no patches etc the other may have small patches, the patches are very well done and neat.

Ollie

Yes, you're right, sorry multitasking ( multifailing ! ) - I read the original post as wanting to use BB/BB........doh !

 

[pe2dave]

I used 18mm for the office desk I'm now using. Since 'feet' space separated from drawers, I've verticals
in place to support the top. No bowing over 15 years. Think how little weight on it?
Re grade - go as posh as you like. Lots of sanding and edge banding solved that.

 

[ClarkeHome]

Try Cutwrights

https://www.cutwrights.com/new/ItemDetail/BoardType/Plywood-board

 

[azk404]

Thanks for the suggestions