I respect that but I’ve never found anything that compares at reasonable prices. Well okay, some would not consider Baltic birch reasonable but it is all relative.
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MDF is isotropic, so adding two veneers with the same grain direction will make a sheet that will bend along one axis a lot more easily than the other. The whole point of plywood is to alternate them to get strength in both axes. So GF “plywood” isn’t plywood in any sense.
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There are a couple of NW companies now making Baltic Birch Plywood in North America - the last I looked was a couple in the US and at least one in Canada. You’ll need to have your local wood supplier track it down and get it.
The usual source is Finland or Russia.
Also if you’re willing to pay, Aircraft Spruce can get really really good consistent birch or spruce plywood - but it’s substantially more expensive because it’s manufactured for use in airplane construction and repair. One of our EAAers would be good for intel.
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If I can recall, the initial beta materials I got had an inner core of wood. I did have one labeled MDF plywood. The one MDF was warped when I got it. The plywood worked pretty well. I can’t pinpoint when they switched to the MDF core. The 1/8"/medium Proofgrade plywood now is really nice in terms of finish and reliability. It lasers well. As to strength, that’s another issue that I haven’t needed to investigae. The little stamp boxes I made are holding up well though.
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Yes, nothing wrong with it being veneered MDF. I would find that a useful material, but calling it plywood is wrong. I would use real plywood if I needed maximum strength from a wood. It would be nice to have PG plywood that is real plywood made with suitable glues and knot free, etc.
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Do they at least explain what it is made of in the store? I suppose they can call it what ever they like if they’e up front with its composition. After all, look what they call a 3D printer…
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ah i’m glad someone else brought this up; i noticed it in pictures but didn’t want to comment before trying it out for myself. i think this is one reason why people are so pleased with the pg ply vs locally available stuff in terms of ease of cut.
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I think we need to start a GF dictionary as they have their own meaning for some words (e.g. shipping) and alternative words for some meanings (e.g. score for vector engrave).
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FWIW…I get a similar “Shipped” when using Ebay. Though within Ebay, it generally means that the seller has created a shipping label. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been picked up and actually en route. Amazon, on the other hand appears to only put “shipped” when the item has actually en route.
So, the GF “shipped” notice/email may not be unique to GF. I guess “shipped” isn’t an industry standard.
We just need GF’s official definition of “shipped”,.
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Yes it is common to get shipped status when it has been booked with the courier but it usually gets picked up the next day. I.e. it has been packed and is ready to go.
GF also send another email when the shipping is booked, sometimes. I don’t think anybody would have an issue it being the day before it gets picked up. Six weeks before is unique to GF I think. Presumably the GF isn’t even built at that point unless they soak test them for weeks. In which case they would be significantly worn.
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