# Turning plywood



## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

I'm thinking of attempting a type of segmented turn.

I have a bunch of 3/4" Bamboo plywood scraps that I'm considering gluing up to make 2" - 4" deep bowls.

I'm sure one of you turning masters have spun plywood before. No?
What should I be aware of with all the changes in grain direction?

Bad idea?


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## hughie (Mar 22, 2008)

I have turned up a plywood cookie jar. It turns ok tends to be dusty and it comes out in small bits not really chips.
With bamboo ply wood it will be hard and play havoc on your cutting edges, as most bamboo has silica in it. I would rough out with some sort of tungsten tipped tool and finish with your regular gouge.


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## Glidden (Dec 2, 2010)

As long as all the laminates in the plywood are glued together tightly, which on bamboo I would think they should be, then you should be fine. I've done a few small things with BC plywood for jam chucks and such and find that since it's not glued together quite as tight that you get some chips and tearout pretty easily.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Plywood is not a problem although it tends to dull your tools quickly. bamboo plywood or at least Bamboo flooring is a problem. It has some sort of coating on it that doesn't bond well to glue. Sand both side thoroughly before you glue it or it won't hold. You have to sand or plane off this finish to get the glue to hold. after that it turns nicely. I used epoxy to glue mine up. I don't know how well yellow glue will work with it.


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

Any pics of a plywood turning???? I've never tried one of those.


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## hughie (Mar 22, 2008)

*Cookie Jar*

Here go, construction plywood beam 2" thick glued up with PVA glues, with laminated Pine lid. 9"dia and 7" high finish with a friction polish.


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

This site has one that was up for auction . 


http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5739979


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Thanks for the responses, folks.
It's good to see that someone else has tried this with success before I waste my time experimenting.

I will heed the advice of Mr Lucas by sanding the pieces before glue up.

I've used bamboo ply for standard applications like table tops and trim and the glued up pieces milled beautifully, but I understand that it all changes when you start spinning stuff.

I posted a few pics of my standard applications using bamboo plywood

A round, segmented table with a planter in the middle of it.










A fish tank/ coffee center cabinet with plywood doors










Tables and trim










Any piece of wood you see is Bamboo plywood


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Regular Bamboo plywood may not have the glue up problems. I was gluing together layers of bamboo flooring. It has a coating on the top surface that has to be removed. The bottom surface is not flat so it has to be flattened. I've never actually seen Bamboo plywood. Might be fun to play with.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

john lucas said:


> Regular Bamboo plywood may not have the glue up problems. I was gluing together layers of bamboo flooring. It has a coating on the top surface that has to be removed. The bottom surface is not flat so it has to be flattened. I've never actually seen Bamboo plywood. Might be fun to play with.


Any of the prefinished flooring with the heavy duty finishes, don't run them through your planer until you sand the top side till the finish is gone. Belt sander works fine. I ran some pieces through my planer without doing the sanding and it ruined a set of blades pretty quick.
Mike Hawkins


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

The 3/4" bamboo plywood costs $325 / 4 x 8 sheet.

It doesn't have a finish on it, but it's pretty smooth so I will hit it with some 100 grit with the palm sander just to make sure my Titebond II adheres okay.

I usually use Titebond III, but it dries brown so I think the yellow TB II will look better on the pale plywood.

Wish me luck.......


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