supplier of high quality plywood

[Piero]

Do you have any recommendations for a reliable supplier of high quality hardwood hardcore plywood in the UK (preferably)?

Thanks

Edited July 29, 2020 by Piero

[johninderby]

What do you want the plywood for? 

I recently bought some marine ply from Jewsons and it was very high quality and while  nor cheap it was still cheaper than online suppliers.

Edited July 29, 2020 by johninderby

[Piero]

making a telescope, of course  

[johninderby]

If you just need thin ply then the thin birch ply sold by model shops is ideal and comes in up to 1200mm x 1200mm sheets and 1/64” , 1/32”, 1/8” and 1/4 thickness.

Marine ply is ideal for dob bases though where you need something more robust.

Edited July 29, 2020 by johninderby

[Piero]

I will need thicknesses of 1/2" and 1". 

So far, I found this source: https://www.slhardwoods.co.uk/

[johninderby]

Check out Jewsons. They have a branch in Cambridge and will cut to size.

https://www.jewson.co.uk/timber/sheet-materials/plywood

Their marine ply takes stain well but only comes in up to 18mm.

Edited July 29, 2020 by johninderby

[CraigT82]

Robbins timber in Bristol are a quality supplier, founded in 1881 incredibly. I'm not sure if they deliver nationwide though.

[Piero]

I'll check. Thanks for the info. 

[Starflyer]

I built a dob base, a good few years back but the thread should still be in the DIY section.  I was told at the time to go for shopfitting ply as it's superior to marine ply, glued  under higher pressure and it'd last forever.

Edit; and here's the thread

Edited August 6, 2020 by Starflyer

[johninderby]

A top quality marine ply will outlast you. Marine ply is used as it doesn’t have voids in between the layers and is very strong. I have seen cheap marine ply that has poor quality outer layers which is important if you want a nice finish. 

Remember it’s the grade of ply that is important not just the type.

Edited August 6, 2020 by johninderby

[saac]

Piero, Travis Perkins can supply Birch Plywood BB grade ply at 18 and 22 mm  thick, 2.4 x  1.22m m boards from what I recall. I used them to supply the wood for the Dob we built about 3 years ago and can highly recommend them as a supplier. BB has very few voids (practically none) and an excellent face finish , it is often used for furniture making. The best thing to do is to go to a TP depot and speak directly with the staff. Don't be put off they may not have it in their stock holding but they do have in their  inventory line although the may need to order it in . It is not sold often so they may identify say B/C grade first .  Be cautious the sheet material sold by the likes of the high street chains (B and Q etc ) is not the same it is a lower constructional grade. 

 

Jim

 

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by saac

[saac]

Piero , the attached pdf explains the grading nomenclature, thought it may be of use to you. 

Jim 

https://www.trada.co.uk/media/3819/birch_plywood_2013_lr.pdf

[johninderby]

TheJewsons marine ply I used had no voids at all and very nice face finish. But as I previously mentioned there are different grades of marine ply so you have make sure you are getting the top grade. 

Jewson Marine ply  BS1088 (EN 314-2 Class 3 E1)

https://www.jewson.co.uk/p/essgee-sg-marine-plywood-fsc-2440-x-1220-18mm-PLYMBF18

Edited August 9, 2020 by johninderby

[Steve Clay]

I used jewson marine ply for various jobs on the boat and dinghy. 11 years on looks good as new. Only ever treated with teak oil.

[Mick H]

On 29/07/2020 at 17:12, Piero said:

Do you have any recommendations for a reliable supplier of high quality hardwood hardcore plywood in the UK (preferably)?

Thanks

Marine ply make sure it is BS1088 standard.

https://www.huntingdontimber.co.uk/plywood-sheets-cambridgeshire

[Piero]

Thank you all guys, really helpful feedback. 

I will check out Jewsons and Travis Perkins as you suggested, now that the mirror cell for this 16" dob is completed.

My plan is to have a wall thickness of 12mm or 15mm for both the UTA rings and mirror box.

For an f4, I could probably go for 18mm and make it hyper sturdy! Kriege advises 5/8”, which is almost 16mm anyway.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Piero

[Piero]

How many plies does your Marine and Birch plywood have?

[johninderby]

Depends on the thickness but this is the 18mm.

[Piero]

In the end I decided to get plywood panels from https://www.slhardwoods.co.uk/ . Great customer service and very good sample.

For the time being, one B/BB board (12mm thickness, 9 plies) and one BB/BB board (15mm thickness, 11 plies). I will glue boards to get more thickness for the rocker box.

My order from Randy (Astrosystems) should arrive soon and truss attachments are already ready. So, it should not take me much time to make the UTA.

Thank you, everyone, for your advice