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Splitting Plywood - 7/25/2007 5:00:26 AM   
500 lb. koolaid man



Posts: 1053
Joined: 5/22/2006
From: Palm Harbor, FL, USA
Status: offline 		This is a really weird question . Lets say that I find some 3-ply 3/8" plywood in a local dumpster for example. Is it possible to get 3 1/8" pieces of wood? Has anyone ever attempted this before, and if so, how did it go?

Thanks.


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RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/25/2007 6:20:10 AM   
cutaway


 

Posts: 343
Joined: 6/25/2007
From: Lake Worth, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Sounds like a lot of work. I usually grab old pallet boards and scrap lumber and run it through by table saw and planar to clean it up if I'm looking for dimensional pine/spruce.

(in reply to 500 lb. koolaid man)
       Post #: 2

RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/25/2007 1:56:17 PM   
MinnFlyer



Posts: 19989
Joined: 4/22/2002
From: Willmar, MN, USA
Status: offline 		Is it possible? Yes... but it would require a LOT of work.

PLUS... The center piece would be virtually unusable because it is usually really crap wood

Now it would be easier to destroy the middle layer (since it's crap anyway) and keep the two outer layers, but then you'd still have to sand off the inner layer scraps that are still stuck to it.

When you are all done, you'll be left with two pretty mediocre pieces of 1/8" wood which weighs a lot and has no strength (It's the fact that the wood grain is running in different directions in the plys that gives plywood its strength)

So... possible? Yes.

Feasible? No.

It would be sort of like saying, "If I washed a paper plate to get all of the grease out of it and pressed it in a mold to keep its shape while it dried, I can use it again"

It's just not worth the effort

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AMA# 42400 www.gettingairborne.com

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(in reply to cutaway)
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RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/25/2007 4:06:14 PM   
500 lb. koolaid man



Posts: 1053
Joined: 5/22/2006
From: Palm Harbor, FL, USA
Status: offline 		I now agree that trying to split plywood would be a waste of time, but maybe I will try what cutaway said about using saws and cutting "other" wood like pallets or something.

Thanks for all the help.


_____________________________

I have too many projects already... but I always find more.

(in reply to MinnFlyer)
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RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/27/2007 11:42:22 PM   
DaveB


 

Posts: 581
Joined: 7/23/2002
From: Hillsborough, NJ, USA
Status: offline 		If I understand your question correctly, I would say "no". As I see it, 3 ply 3/8" plywood consists of three (3) 1/8" pieces glued together to form the 3/8"ply. If separated into 1/8" pieces, it would not be plywood anymore.

DaveB

(in reply to 500 lb. koolaid man)
       Post #: 5

RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/28/2007 12:03:21 AM   
bbbair


 

Posts: 822
Joined: 1/7/2003
From: Belleville, ON, CANADA
Status: offline 		Everybody is correct here BUT the big answer has still been missed!

The Aircraft / Model grade of plywood that we use is specially made for the modelling industry.

There are NO knots or holes in this wood.

It is made to very exacting stadards from birch under great pressure and special glues are used (hence the expense) .

Regular plywood has knots, holes and gaps, and is made from softwoods - in bulk for the building industry who's standards are totally different from ours.

Trying to save a dollar for a firewall in a $500.00 AC is not cost effective.

Proceed at your oun peril!

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It's Time to Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

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RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/28/2007 1:47:27 AM   
nimitz



Posts: 52
Joined: 4/1/2003
From: Pomeroy, OH, USA
Status: offline 		Hi,All.. If you have access to a cabinet shop,They usually throw away enough scrap birch plywood in 2 ply and 3 ply thicknesses.This is a good grade of baltic birch.Also planed scrap oak,birch,cedar,hickory,pine,and poplar small scrap pieces. Free as they have to pay for getting rid of it. and they have a lot of it..

regards,nimitz

(in reply to bbbair)
       Post #: 7

RE: Splitting Plywood - 7/28/2007 5:14:15 PM   
FLYBOY



Posts: 8692
Joined: 1/7/2002
From: Missoula, MT, USA
Status: offline 		I found some 1/4 inch ply on the bottom of a pallet once or twice. I kept it in the shop for years and used it up over time. It was great wood and never had a problem. I didn't use parts that were bad. I wish I could find some more, but wood on pallets these days is crap.

I wouldn't split it. Use it as is or don't take it. If you can't modify the design for a little thicker firewall or what ever, then use what you need. I have thousands of dollars of wood and ply in my shop, but would add the usable part of that to the collection any time if I felt I could use it at some point.

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Fly it till the wings come off.

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       Post #: 8

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