Proofgrade Frustration: Thick Walnut Plywood

I just finished a long double-sided print job and although my cuts, scores, and engraves all seemed to process properly, after taking off the masking I am super disappointed to find flaking finish and barely visible HD Graphic engraves.

I’m making the Genaille-Lucas rulers and after successfully cutting a set out of PG Medium Walnut Ply (seen on left), I decided that I wanted the rulers to be sturdier and decided to try PG Thick Walnut Ply (on right). The Proofgrade settings were exactly the same for both jobs. The numbers along the L column are HD Graphic engraves, and the lines are HQ scores.

Along with the barely visible HD Graphic numbers and the flaking finish, the Thick Ply has a very obviously different finish than the Medium Ply – where the Medium Ply has a matte finish, the Thick Ply is very shiny and feels like plastic. I do not have any other sheets of Thick Ply to compare, but the two other sheets of Medium Walnut Ply I have both appear to have the matte finish (as far as I can tell from lifting one corner of masking).

I haven’t used Thick Ply before this project, but now I have tried two varieties (support already knows about my Thick Cherry Ply disaster on Monday) and both have failed due to PG quality issues. I’m also concerned about the significant finish difference between two thicknesses of the same material – is that something to be expected or am I just having extremely bad luck?

As with any material, defects occur, even with Proofgrade. I received a bad batch of walnut ply late last year. Documented the problem and emailed support. They promptly replaced it, no worries.

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Yeah, they’ve already credited me for Monday’s problem, so I assume I’ll get a credit for this too. I’m not worried they won’t make it right and I know these things happen, but it’s fair to be frustrated that I am now 0 for 2 in my PG Thick Ply experience (for a time-sensitive gift, which is not anyone’s fault but doesn’t help my mood).

But aside from venting a bit and requesting a refund, I do have a legit concern about the significant difference in finish for the different weights. I had assumed that there was finish consistency across a given material so that we could combine different weights as needed — if that’s not the case (vs my Thick Walnut just being straight up defective), it would be good to know.

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I haven’t used different weights together, so can’t comment there. I have seen significant color variation between batches, but I fully expect that in any natural material. The walnut adventure last year was a case where I didn’t have enough stock on hand for a project, so I ordered more. Had to fiddle with my design to keep the outward-facing parts consistent. Same idea as “boxing” paint…

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Interesting, I wouldn’t even have expected color consistency across the same order. Good to know. I’m hoping that the finish on my thick ply is just all-around defective because the med ply is gorgeous.

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Bumping this up at the 5 day mark. I understand if support doesn’t have a clear answer to my question about finish consistency, but I would like a refund for the defective piece of Proofgrade.

Thanks so much for letting us know about this. I’ve passed this information along, including your photos.

I’ve followed up via email regarding replacing this material. I’m going to close this ticket. If you notice anything else with Proofgrade, please start a new topic or reach out to support@glowforge.com.