homemade plywood

I just recently scored a bunch of clear & cvg fir, hondurus mahogany & some clear cedar.My son in law is a carpenter & seems to run into a lot of old fir stock which is probably mostly old growth.  I also finaly got around to figuring out what size blades I need for my 50's era 18" bandsaw. So the thought occured I could get decent at resawing thin,3/32  vineers & try to make my own top quality plywood. perhaps vacum bag it? Maybe you could even set it up to laminate full size, 60"wide/18'long. Has anyone tried this? A lot of work but perhaps you could come out with a better product for not much cost. 3/32nd would give you 5 layers for 1/2 inch more or less 

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on February 11, 2015 at 7:28pm

Bob,

My son made and sold wakeboards for several years and used several 1/32" veneers to make his boards. This was done in mechanical presses (24" x 48"  bed) he manufactured and it required a lot of tonnage to hold everything together. The glues were an issue too.  

Finding glues that works and is available in large quantities at cost is an issue too.  Try applying uniform thickness of a glue over 90 Sq Ft. (60" x 18') with multiple layers per glue up.  Your words "A lot of work" is an understatement.  

This is assuming you can make up sheets of that size of the quality you describe.  Let us know if and how it works out, interesting......

G'Luck!

Dorf

Permalink Reply by Bob bryan on February 12, 2015 at 6:18am

Phillip, so in my "research" searching around on the net it looks possible. At the moment it looks like vacum bagging might be the best way to go if nothing else because of the size of the panels. I like what I read about resin research flexible epoxy for a glue. This past week I have bumped into that good deal on my wood, 45bf of hondurus mahogany, 88 of fir + some cedar for an ave price of 2.40 a bf. Got a look at all the old fir my son in law has stacked up and also I have a friend who has/is collecting up a dozen or more koa logs so I have wood on the brain. My largest piece of mahogany is 2x12x 7 so I am going to have to learn to resaw anyway.

Permalink Reply by Bob bryan on February 12, 2015 at 6:53am

here is a basic vid on bag making  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM8cfaosQDs

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on February 12, 2015 at 7:40am

Bob, you might want to take a short drive down the road to Fiberglass Supply in Arlington. They can get you set up on vacuum bagging, etc. You know when your significant other asks you, well how much a pound did that fish really cost you?  Well I think that you will be able to say it wasn't the fish that is the point it's the fishing!

To build my drift boat I first had to clean out a huge collection of tools and stuff from my garage, rebuild the ceiling, insulate, wire, in 12 outlets, sheetrock, mud, tape, sand and paint it. After all the "learning experiences" I had I figure I built my boat about three times. Four years later I was able to finally take it fishing. It was the journey that was important to me. Sure I like my boat but I also liked the process. I think I understand where you are coming from.

Rick N

Permalink Reply by Bob bryan on February 12, 2015 at 9:04am

Thanks Rick I didnt know fiberglass supply was in arlington.  Yes it better be the journey as it makes no sense otherwise. The only caveat to that might be a 10' S&G pram since you can do that quick & pretty cheaply.  My biggest challenge is actually being home to do any of this. I fish for a living , at the moment out of Honolulu, and do not get home much. When I used to just fish hailbut & blackcod  in alaska I would get all winter at home. right now my "boat shed " is a portable garage with a space heater. Living on the flood plain has made it impossible to build a proper shop but I think they might have changed the rules so that I can get a permit now. I have found that I can do some things out at sea and last year I began making flyrods/fishing poles & also tying flies out there but boat building would be tough. The "smart" thing of course is just buy a aluminum boat ...just dont likem.

Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on February 12, 2015 at 10:40am

Hey Bob,

An alternative to making your own plywood would be to do 1/4" thick strips bead and coved together and then covered with 4 oz. glass to create a sheet that you could work like plywood. A builder at the boat show a few years back did this and the results were stunning. Sounds like a lot less work than trying to make your own plywood.

Mike

Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on February 12, 2015 at 4:41pm

Bob,

Mike, I think, might be referring to my build where I used cedar strips to build the two sides of the drift boat.  If you want to take a long journey, it's a trip to remember.  I had other reasons for using this technique.  I'ts another consideration if you have available wood you'd like to use as opposed to purchasing plywood.

You can check out my post in this forum, where you can see how I did it.  It's "Dorf's Wooden Boat".  Got to page No. 7 in the post where the stripping of the sides begins.  Each panel was made using the boat frame as a mold and then removed, glassed both sides and then assembled permanently to the frame.  I might add no screws, nails or metal fasteners were used.  

It might be on par with making your own plywood in terms of effort.  It certainly turned out to my satisfaction.  But I'd use plywood the next time.

Dorf

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on February 12, 2015 at 4:57pm
Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on February 12, 2015 at 6:24pm

Yes Rick I think that is the boat. I talked to the guy at the show. Doing the strips the way he did you can build the boat like a traditional free form framed boat.

Mike

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