Anyone know if GF will make proofgrade Baltic Birch or any plywood?
Draftboard looks like a MDF type product, maybe ultralite and the proof grade “plywood” is the same product with veneer applied to both sides.
Just wondering if there will be proof grade plywood at some point?
Would be nice, but I can guess there is enough difficulty with consistency regarding knots and stuff for it to be ‘First time Every time’ needed for the proofgrade brand.
That MDF core is pretty strong stuff, and it’s not lightweight - it is however very consistent.
The first Proofgrade beta plywood I got earlier this year had a core of wood. It was good as far as I could tell. But the MDF core stuff is great for engraving and inlays.
That’s a good question, especially if you are looking for some strength.
I hope they do at some point. The current stuff has zero structural integrity perpendicular to the grain.
The engrave behavior also changes as you get through the top layer.
I have a small stash of that stuff left from beta that I am hoarding for boxes that will hold HeavyThings™
Thanks for the request! We’ll put it in the feature hopper. If you’ve used our existing plywood and found it lacking in some way, we’d love to hear about it.
I have used the existing proofgrade plywood and I like it a lot. It cuts really well and the pre finish is lovely and its all taped ready to go, but I would not want to use it for every project especially one that needs a little extra strength.
For example the Throwwa desktop trebuchet posted by @cbarker, which I have not cut yet, I want to make in something like baltic birch or a similar plywood that is not fiberboard.
One step further, because its fun, if I want to scale up Throwwa to be built with parts made of 2 layers of Baltic birch laminated together (some re enginering and redrawing would be required) to make a nice small patio model to chuck things into my backyard, I would want the strength of plywood, not fiberboard.
Another small disadvantage to mdf, like a gremlin, don’t get it wet.
While ideas are being thrown into the hopper, what about MDO?
You get the nice strong wood laminate layers of plywood with a MDF like papery top and bottom surface which paints really well like MDF. Great substrate material and its water resistant.
Will also need some tweaks to be “operational”- no pin for a sling yet. Should be easy to add though.
Same applies to plywood unless it is the marine version. My wife bought a garden feature with three plywood boxes to hold plants. They didn’t look well painted so I added three coats of garden paint myself. In the rain the plywood totally de-laminated and the layers rolled up into cylinders! When they dried in the sun they unrolled again.
Unfortunately I don’t think you can cut marine ply with a laser.
Perhaps it depends on the glue as with plywood. Here is piece of MDF that I just held under a running tap for about 30 seconds and dried with a paper towel. No visible damage and certainly not like a gremlin. But this isn’t laser grade so probably uses proper evil glue.
!In my expiernce all wood products will suck up water eventually especially
on the end grain edges and mdf does it the fastest. It prptbably won’t
matter for most of the projects we make, but I just wanted to point on the
differences between the materials. In fact I put a small cutoff of the
prograde “ply” in bowl of water last night while writing my post and it
held up well and this morning it looks pretty good. The veneer sucked up
some water on the edges, but it held up much better then a raw chunck would
have. I think the laser sort of cauterizes the edge grain which is cool.
I like the proofgrade, I’m a buyer because Its a nice product and I don’t
want to risk burning mdf with formaldehyde in it and I assume this stuff
doesn’t use the formaldehyde glue.
True. Didn’t meant to sound like a salesman. I should mention that I’ve
been eating PG ply for breakfast. Cut it up nice and small, sauté and
serve with a fried egg on top. Tasty and lots of fiber.
Give it a try!
Got it!
We actually analyze all of our materials extensively to understand their safety profile - we’re working on a Friendly Neighborhood Lawyer-approved way to share that information.
Keep this up and we’ll have to move the thread to beyond the manual.
