STREtek poplar faced ply

[robgul]

Just been watching Robin Clevett with a project using this alternative to Birch ply - has anyone used it for furniture ? - I want to make a another dining table - simple construction with 18mm ply top and 100mm strips all round underneath to give a 36mm edge effect, on hairpin legs.

Really wondering about the surface - will be finished with an OSMO oil - and durability. Exisiting table is the same concept in Birch ply, about 3 years old (two adult users!) - it's fine, just slightly too small, hence a new one (and recycling the old table into another piece of furniture.

I think @petermillard has mentioned poplar ply . . . but not sure if it's the Stretek stuff?

 

[Sachakins]

Can you not put an edge on the existing table, using a contrasting timber and dominoes/biscuts/dowels to reinforce the edge, and make the under piece wider to give the 36 mm look and support the new edge banded piece?

 

[Jameshow]

Can you not put an edge on the existing table, using a contrasting timber and dominoes/biscuts/dowels to reinforce the edge, and make the under piece wider to give the 36 mm look and support the new edge banded piece?

63mm cls with 4" nails is how Barry Bucknell would have done it!

 

[johnnyb]

poplar ply unfortuneatly isn't birch ply. it's really soft and a bit weak/ light. it's a bit better with a maple face but still the same really.

 

[johnnyb]

guys like skillbuilder Robin clevett etc are paid to promote products and show them in there best light. I've found they do have some integrity but by doing the film they are "bought in " remember these guys are paid to promote this stuff. poplar ply can do some jobs that birch ply does but it's sadly very inferior in many( rather important ) ways. I would suggest its value should be about 40 or 50% of birch maybe 60% with the maple faced board as its got a really nice face veneer.( only for interior show of course) unfortuneatly they are pricing it the same as birch......maybe more.0

 

[robgul]

Can you not put an edge on the existing table, using a contrasting timber and dominoes/biscuts/dowels to reinforce the edge, and make the under piece wider to give the 36 mm look and support the new edge banded piece?

No - that would look awful - the whole concept is for bare plywood - which matches a couple of other pieces of furniture in the room.

This is the table detail:

 

[robgul]

63mm cls with 4" nails is how Barry Bucknell would have done it!

. . . with the holes for the nails pre-drilled - obvioulsy!

 

[robgul]

guys like skillbuilder Robin clevett etc are paid to promote products and show them in there best light. I've found they do have some integrity but by doing the film they are "bought in " remember these guys are paid to promote this stuff. poplar ply can do some jobs that birch ply does but it's sadly very inferior in many( rather important ) ways. I would suggest its value should be about 40 or 50% of birch maybe 60% with the maple faced board as its got a really nice face veneer.( only for interior show of course) unfortuneatly they are pricing it the same as birch......maybe more.0

Absolutely understand in terms of the promo payments etc (it's very cheap promotion for suppliers - viz the EcoFlow power units that every YouTuber and his brother seem to have and rave about!) - BUT Robin Clevett does seem pretty genuine in what he does.

I have yet to enquire about cost for the Stretek (or get a sample) . . . although a quick look the other day from the Birch supplier I have used before does seem to show some minor cost reductions (still a lot more than I paid for the table timber)

The question is really about durability.

 

[johnnyb]

surely the key to his success is exactly his (seeming) sincerety along with a choice of the products that suit his approach. ie poplar ply looks a bit like birch. my approach is just to say what I think having used it extensively for kitchens/ carcase etc.
the wisa ply b and q sell is probably better stronger and cheaper. Its glued using the same glue as birch. the softwood used is much sturdier. in fact I can't think of one reason I'd use poplar over this only the maple faced poplar board is better for finish( but very weak)

 

[petermillard]

Just been watching Robin Clevett with a project using this alternative to Birch ply - has anyone used it for furniture ? - I want to make a another dining table - simple construction with 18mm ply top and 100mm strips all round underneath to give a 36mm edge effect, on hairpin legs.

Really wondering about the surface - will be finished with an OSMO oil - and durability. Exisiting table is the same concept in Birch ply, about 3 years old (two adult users!) - it's fine, just slightly too small, hence a new one (and recycling the old table into another piece of furniture.

I think @petermillard has mentioned poplar ply . . . but not sure if it's the Stretek stuff?

I’ve only watched Robin’s video quickly and I don’t think he mentioned what the core plys are, but it’s a poplar faced board i.e. a poplar veneer. The boards I looked at were the other way round - birch faced, but poplar ply. Haven’t had hands on with the Stretek board yet, but my understanding is the face veneers are very thin, much like the other ‘alternatives’ to Birch ply.

 

[johnnyb]

the Spanish boards I was using were maple faced but it's hard to tell the difference unless told! poplar veneer can also pick up veneer checks as it's peeled. manufacturers seem to able to make a perfect board they just don't seem to want to. the wise or Metsa spruce is just not made quite carefully enough. but put a decent thick veneer on it bish. also parana pine faced blackboard was a wonderful board. blackboard seems to have disappeared but had many many benefits.

 

[petermillard]

guys like skillbuilder Robin clevett etc are paid to promote products and show them in there best light. I've found they do have some integrity but by doing the film they are "bought in " remember these guys are paid to promote this stuff.

The law is very clear on this and any paid promotion has to be tagged as such:-

This project was made with tools that Robin had had provided for him; there’s a whole other debate about wether that constitutes ‘payment’ but legally at least, it has to be declared. There’s no such declaration on the plywood video.

poplar ply can do some jobs that birch ply does but it's sadly very inferior in many( rather important ) ways. I would suggest its value should be about 40 or 50% of birch maybe 60% with the maple faced board as its got a really nice face veneer.( only for interior show of course) unfortuneatly they are pricing it the same as birch......maybe more.0

I don’t disagree, but it’s not Poplar ply, it’s poplar faced plywood.

 

[Hornbeam]

Blockboard. They also used to make a very high end product called Laminboard which was basically blockboard but with narrower cor laminations which was extremely good and stable

 

[Jameshow]

No - that would look awful - the whole concept is for bare plywood - which matches a couple of other pieces of furniture in the room.

This is the table detail:
View attachment 161114

Love it!

 

[petermillard]

the Spanish boards I was using were maple faced but it's hard to tell the difference unless told! poplar veneer can also pick up veneer checks as it's peeled. manufacturers seem to able to make a perfect board they just don't seem to want to. the wise or Metsa spruce is just not made quite carefully enough. but put a decent thick veneer on it bish. also parana pine faced blackboard was a wonderful board. blackboard seems to have disappeared but had many many benefits.

Was that the Garnica board? Lovely veneer, but paper thin! I agree, there just doesn’t seem to be the will to make a decent alternative with thin core plys and face veneers of a similar thickness. Haven’t seen blockboard since the 80s - that was a great board!

 

[johnnyb]

yes Peter it was garnica. not a bad product really just it only had select aspects of what we love about birch. wisa or Metsa spruce has some other(arguably more valuable) aspects. a bit like red deal there's a huge amount of energy expended just to end up at the same place we were 100 years ago. (ie accoya et al is just a replacement for properly grown and harvested red deal) but the alternative is stupid expensive a patent process uses much worse quality pine is brittle and rots steel.

 

[robgul]

Love it!

The current table may be for sale when I get around to making a the new, larger one . . . you know where I live

 

[johnnyb]

I can't think of any alternative to make that type of table tbh. it's birch or nothing...sorry

 

[robgul]

I can't think of any alternative to make that type of table tbh. it's birch or nothing...sorry

It does seem that way from the comments here this morning and the searching I've been doing . . . . looking back the 18mm B/BB board I bought for the table (including cutting, I collected it) in July 2020 was £101 + VAT - today's price, with cutting and collection, is £211 + VAT.

There is a semi-local timber merchant that is listing 18mm BB/BB Birch ply at £119 + VAT + cutting . . . I'll probably go and have a look at that, as I can look through the stock to find a sheet that will be OK for the table?

 

[duncan1642]

I’ve only watched Robin’s video quickly and I don’t think he mentioned what the core plys are, but it’s a poplar faced board i.e. a poplar veneer. The boards I looked at were the other way round - birch faced, but poplar ply. Haven’t had hands on with the Stretek board yet, but my understanding is the face veneers are very thin, much like the other ‘alternatives’ to Birch ply.

O