Does this look like 1088 Meranti to you?

[LP]

I just bought 20 sheets of meranti plywood. 12 sheets of 12mm 6566 spec meranti, 6 sheets 18mm 6566 spec meranti and 2 sheets of 18mm 1088 meranti ply. Most of this is interior bulkheads and furniture. I spent the extra on the 1088 for the cabin sides thinking that the clear and thicker veneer would be beneficial due to the exposure and bright finish aspects. I can't say that I am overly impressed with the 1088.

The stamp and the two blemishes that are on one side of a sheet. The second sheet also has the filled blemish.



Edge shots of the 1088. I can't say the surface veneer at the top edge of the photo looks any thicker than the 6566 surface veneers.



6566 edge shots.

 

[Petros]

mostly look like it, but the face veneer defects do not appear to be correct. the chip looks like damage after it was made, from handling perhaps.

here is the vernier specification for BS1088 :

Face Veneers -- These must present a solid surface that is free from open defects. Face veneers must be free of knots other than "sound pin" knots, of which there shall be no more than six(6) in any area of one(1) square foot, and there can be no more than an average of two(2) such knots per square foot area over the entire surface of the plywood sheet. The veneers must be reasonably free from irregular grain. The use of edge joints is limited, and end joints are not allowed.

Core Veneers -- Core veneers have the same basic requirements as face veneers, except that small splits are allowed, and there is no limit on the number of pin knots or edge joints. However, end joints are not permitted.

Limits of Manufacturing Defects -- Defective bonds, pleats and overlaps, and gaps in faces are not permitted. Occasional gaps may be repaired using veneer inserts bonded with the proper adhesive.

Thickness Tolerances -- Tolerances vary as follows.

4 mm +.02/-0.6 ; 6 mm +.04/-0.65 ; 9 mm +.06/-0.75 ; 12 mm +.09/-0.82
15 mm +.1/-0.9 ; 18 mm +.12/-0.98 ; 22 mm +.16/-1.08 ; 25 mm +1.8/-1.16

From the above we can assume that 6 mm material will arrive at thickness' between 6.04 mm and 5.35 mm.

Face Veneer thickness -- For any three-ply construction, which applies to 3 and 4 mm material, each face veneer shall be not thinner than 1/8 of the total thickness of veneers assembled dry. Since the dry thicknesses of the boards are 3.6 and 4.6 respectively, we can assume that for these thicknesses only the face veneers will be as follows:

3.6 mm dry x 12.5% (1/8) = 0.45 mm 4.6 mm dry x 12.5% (1/8) = 0.575 mm

Multi-Ply Construction-- This applies to boards thicker than 4.8 mm (3/16")

Each face veneer shall be a minimum of 1.3 mm and not thicker than 3.8 mm.
Each core veneer shall be no thicker than 4.8 mm

 

[Landlubber]

Yeah, that repair is certainly not factory done, that is crap.
Also there should be no voids in the veneers, I can see a hole in one sheet at least.

 

[LP]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I just sent a set of images to the supplier to see what their thoughts are. Hopefully, they are interested in maintaining their fine upstanding name in the community.

 

[PAR]

Who did you get this stuff from? That's not 1088 by what I've seen. It could pass 6566 though, it appears.

 

[LP]

I PM'd you the name. They are based in Toronto and utilize a warehouse here in Buffalo for US shipments. The shipping was very reasonable and no sales tax.

What do you see that knock's it out of the 1088 spec? Anything besides what I've already listed and shown?

They've worked me a deal with these pieces and are shipping a couple more. They are going to hand pick the replacements, but that shouldn't have to happen in my opinion if it is really 1088. Right?

 

[PAR]

Those defects wouldn't be on a 1088 sheet and I've never seen that stamp before. The company you've gotten it from has a good rep, so maybe it's just a fluke.

 

[Petros]

it is not necessarily the retailer fault, it was stamped and sold as 1088 to the retailer, so it should meet that standard. If it does not, it is who ever graded it as 1088 (likely at the mill) that is committing fraud. It is also possible a reseller put the grade stamp on it.

I recently bought some "water resistant" 5.0 mm plywood, sold for underlayment. It is unrated and only costs about $14. a 4x8 sheet at Home Depot. I am planning on doing some experiments with it, looks pretty decent for only $14, but marine plywood it is not. looks a lot like the picture in the first post.