Keruing Plywood

[SNagy]

I have been told that a good plywood to use for my deck is Keruing. It is supposed to be quite a bit more resistant to rot than okoume, and less expensive to boot. Does anyone have an experience with this stuff? How about a source?

TIA.

-Steve

[Arko]

Here you are.
http://www.resourcesintl-wa.com/keruing.html

[generic]

Virtually anything on the planet is more rot resistant than Occume.
Keruing is very heavy so if weight is an issue go with some thing else.
The advertisers in WB will send you a sample if you call them.I did, and when it arrived it was covered in a v. nasty white waxy deposit I don't know if this is how standard sheets come, but it put me off.

[Venchka]

I wish somebody would use this stuff in a boat and report back to us. So far, whenever keruing plywood comes up, nobody has any first hand knowledge. Has anyone on the forum used keruing plywood in a boat yet?

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[paladin]

does burning it to make steam fer bending something else count????

[RonW]

I think from what I have read that this is another over hiped product being sold to us, just like okoume, or occume.
Keruing or apitong- is made up of over 70 species from -indo malayan region. It is about the same weight as white oak, 1/3 heavier then douglas fir marine plywood. Keruing is only considered moderately durable.It also has a waxy resin that can be troublesome to your tools as well as creating a glueing problem. It also has a high silica content that dulls tools quickly.

In my opinion some of these import high advertised B.S. plywoods are simply people going to thailand, india and so forth where wood is very cheap and labor is peanuts, and with a lot of hype they have exclusive new marine ply for all of us back yard builders...ha.ha.ha..all the way to the bank............

With one exception you can not beat douglas fir marine plywood, for rot resistance, strength, durability, flexibility.
Yes it wants to show checking and grain, and some of it being sold has more football patches on the b side then the flag has stars.
So maybe we should concentrate on better suppliers of douglas fir and work out better paint methods.

[Venchka]

Thanks, Ron. Keruing link deleted from Favorites.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[John Meachen]

A wood machinist once told me that he had seen sparks from a piece of keruing as he passed it by his spindle moulder.It is certainly heavy and frequently resinous.I have seen a good number of comercial flatbed trailers that were decked with it as a result of its hard wearing properties.Is it a good choice for a deck?I wouldn't use it,partly because of its weight and partly because of the challenge of getting a good finish.If you could find makore ply it would be as heavy,at least as rot resistant and better to look at if finished bright.A long time ago Thames ply used it extensively and listed its advantages in several publications.They made a special "anti-fracture" board with more than the usual number of plies running along the grain for rudders and centreboards.Having some experience of standing on said centreboards and leaping around after capsizing,I would have to say that they knew what they were doing.

[L.W. Baxter]

With one exception you can not beat douglas fir marine plywood, for rot resistance, strength, durability, flexibility.
You lost me at "flexibility". You also don't mention weight, which is why many people choose okoume.

[paladin]

When ordering from Thailand...you get what you order....Philippines..whatever they can substitute and get awayy with.....Vietnam is pretty honest but the knowledge of all the individual species may be a problem

[wscherf]

About two years ago, when I built my daysailor, a stitch-and-tape model from Fisher-Selway, I used keruing plywood for the frames, CB case sides, decks, and other small pieces.

Being a mechanical engineer and a bit of a geek, I couldn't resist testing the stuff against some sapele and okoume ply that I had laying around. I cut strips of each, clamped them to the bench edge so that they projected about a foot, and loaded them to failure.

I did not keep any written records, but from my memory the results were about as follows:

Let okoume failure load = 1.00
sapele = 1.3
keruing = 1.5

The stuff is strong. The downside is that it seemed quite abrasive on my tools, and the surface finish was not as nice as the other two varieties. Somewhat splintery. I used S-3 epoxy and paint, and had no bonding problems whatsoever.