Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

luan plywood
By:Tim James
Date: 1/6/2001, 1:58 am

I need some advice, or clarification, on the suitibility of luan plywood for stitch and glue building. All that is available to me and my limited budget is luan ply. It's not specified as exterior, but other people have told me that most ply uses exterior glue. So, my question is this: if it's sheathed in glass and epoxy, does it matter if the ply is glued exterior or interior? I've seen conflicting information on whether or not epoxy saturation of wood keeps water out; and also whether or not glass and epoxy sheathing keeps moisture out. It seems to me that if people strip build with elmers glue, then epoxy and glass must keep out the moisture. I just don't know what to think. At $10 per sheet, I'd like to just use the luan. Also, I built a double paddle with interior birch ply, then encapsulated it in epoxy and varnish, and have had no problems yet. However, my boiling test on a sample of this birch ply revealed rapid glue failure--as compared to my sample boil of AC exterior, which did not fail. Any information clearing this up for me would be greatly appreciated, as I'm itching to bust out a few canoes and kayaks.

Messages In This Thread

luan plywood
Tim James -- 1/6/2001, 1:58 am
Re: You say luan , I say lauan
George Cushing -- 1/8/2001, 2:23 pm
Re: luan plywood
Tom Jablonski -- 1/8/2001, 2:14 pm
Re: luan plywood *Pic*
Ross Leidy -- 1/6/2001, 5:33 pm
Re: luan plywood
daniel -- 1/9/2001, 4:44 pm
Re: luan plywood
Ross Leidy -- 1/10/2001, 12:00 am
Re: Sea Kayaker's Greenland S&G
daniel -- 1/10/2001, 1:33 pm
Re: Sea Kayaker's Greenland S&G
Ross Leidy -- 1/10/2001, 2:09 pm
Re: Another Luan Project *Pic*
Mike Hanks -- 1/6/2001, 11:09 am
Re: Another Luan Project
Jerry Hayes -- 1/6/2001, 3:18 pm
Re: luan plywood
Ken Finger -- 1/6/2001, 10:08 am
Re: luan plywood - Ugly?!?? *Pic*
Grant Goltz -- 1/7/2001, 1:00 am
Matching grain Patterns
mike allen -- 1/8/2001, 2:04 pm
Re: Matching grain Patterns *Pic*
Mike Hanks -- 1/8/2001, 10:08 pm
Re: Matching grain Patterns
Grant Goltz -- 1/8/2001, 8:09 pm
Continuous Matching Grain Stitchers
mike allen -- 1/9/2001, 2:25 pm
Re: How we match our decks
Grant Goltz -- 1/9/2001, 7:33 pm
Another possibility for one-offs?
Brian Nystrom -- 1/10/2001, 11:04 am
Re: Another possibility for one-offs?
Grant Goltz -- 1/10/2001, 5:03 pm
Re: example *Pic*
Grant Goltz -- 1/9/2001, 11:30 pm
matching patter
mike allen -- 1/10/2001, 9:27 pm
Re: matching patterns, etc - I ramble on
Grant Goltz -- 1/10/2001, 10:52 pm
Re: matching patterns
mike allen -- 1/11/2001, 10:07 pm
Re: Hey Mick, lets cook on these ideas a bit
Grant Goltz -- 1/11/2001, 11:21 pm
Re: Hey Mick, lets cook on these ideas a bit
mike allen -- 1/12/2001, 12:10 pm
Pattern Games
mike allen -- 1/9/2001, 4:54 pm
Re: Matching grain Patterns
mike allen -- 1/8/2001, 2:38 pm
Re: Matching grain Patterns *NM*
mike allen -- 1/8/2001, 2:27 pm
Re: luan plywood - Ugly?!??
Ken Finger -- 1/7/2001, 8:57 am
Re: Meranti price, etc.
Grant Goltz -- 1/7/2001, 3:33 pm
Re: luan plywood
Erez -- 1/6/2001, 9:29 am
Re: luan plywood *Pic*
Don B. -- 1/6/2001, 8:57 am
Re: Look at that Bumper!
George Cushing -- 1/8/2001, 1:20 pm
Re: Look at that Bumper!
Don B. -- 1/8/2001, 1:47 pm
Re: luan plywood
Paul Lund -- 1/6/2001, 6:48 am
Re: luan plywood *Pic*
Mike Hanks -- 1/6/2001, 2:46 am