Official Luthiers Forum!

A number of years ago I followed a thread on another guitar forum that discussed how one could tell whether or not a guitar back and sides were made from solid wood or from plywood. There were the usual suggestions of comparing to see if the wood grain matched on the inside and outside (however apparently now you can get plywood with matching grain) etc. In the end, the conclusion was that nowadays the plywood available is so good that the only way to really tell is to start sanding at an inconspicuous location, such as under the label, to see if you could sand through a first layer of the plywood, if that's what it was.

Since then I've been curious about this high grade plywood that is used for instruments. How much it costs, where to get it or even what it's called. I've tried hunting it down on the internet but have never found it. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I doubt I'll start making plywood guitars but I am curious about the wood.

Thanks,
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

It may not be all wood. I installed a preamp in a lower end Ibanez acoustic several years ago, and had to cut a hole in the side for the installation. The inside was wood, the outside was wood, but the center was some kind of styrofoam material.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

You could try Marion plywood corporation or Musicmakers kits.

I laminate my own, using matched veneers glued back together in their original orientation. Accidental sand throughs are hard to see under a clear finish. Not truly "plywood" in the original sense.

Thanks for the replies.

The Marion plywood corporation says that they do plywood for musical instruments but their web site doesn't have much information. I didn't see anything on the Musicmakers kits site that suggested they might have that kind of plywood. I don't really want to start asking the folks at Marion because this is just idle curiosity.

Cheers,
Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

In my previous lifetime as a cabinetmaker buying plywood in bulk for all manner of high end projects never heard or saw any specification listed anywhere as "instrument grade" So I ask, what makes a plywood instrument grade? sounds like an oxymoron to me. Most of the plywood guitars I see are made from a VC type plywood, usually subtropical core (luan) 5MM, 5 ply with A-1 veneers respectively. You don't get much choice on glues these days.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

"Instrument Grade" plywood is something I made up because I don't know enough about plywood to specify the kind that would be good enough in a guitar that would be difficult to distinguish from solid wood. I'm assuming there must be some kind of name given to the wood when care is taken to match the grain front and back etc. But I really have no clue.

Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

The flat top guitars I see are much thinner....3-ply about 2 1/2 to 3mm thick, usually.

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John

It took me some time to recall where I had seen it before... exoticwoods.com has some back and side sets.

Old Harmony guitars and the like look like they use thin birch aircraft plywood.

Thanks Greg. That's interesting. $43.00 for EIR laminate back/side set, $25.00 for sapele. Now I know!

Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

bezdez on ebay out of the toronto area was selling ply backs...

The strongest plywood I have every used or cut was aviation plywood. 10 plys in 1/4 inch. You could mount a small engine on it in a homebuilt aircraft.
Check out http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/menus/wp/plywood.html

Marine Plywood is another high end alternative and uses waterproof glue.

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Rick Hubka
Chemainus BC Canada