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B/SOURCING MATERIALS
The first step in planning a CNC project is to find the right materials in your
area. Get familiar with local suppliers and make visits to see the range of
materials they carry. You can find sheet materials at big box home
improvement centers, as well as local architectural material suppliers and
lumber yards. Local yards often have a wider selection of sheet materials
and offer expertise from an especially knowledgeable staff. Most will
deliver the goods that you select and pay for in store.
TIPS
Consider green materials
As you source plywoods, consider materials
that are easier on the environment, you, and
your shop. Plywoods and engineered products
that come from sustainably managed forests
and use clean, low VOC adhesives will usually
be labeled accordingly (FSC Certified, for
instance). If you are concerned with the
embedded energy that comes from transport-
ing heavy lumber products over great distan-
ces, look for regionally manufactured products.
If cost is an issue, consider the lifecycle of the
material itself and how your project will per-
form over the long term. Spending a bit more
for a durable, quality sheet product will ulti-
mately yield the most value in a long-lasting
piece of furniture.
Examine multiple sheets
When shopping for plywood, examine multiple
sheets to find a sheet with a nice grain, minimal
camber, and relatively consistent thickness for
your project. If you’re working on a project that
uses multiple sheets, try to find some consis-
tency across all sheets.
Always purchase surplus
Always purchase surplus material for testing
and for recutting parts. For your first project,
it’s sensible to purchase a second sheet of ply-
wood, or cut a small project and reserve the
other half sheet for testing. Surplus material is
also useful for creating partial prototypes or in
the event that a part is damaged during the
cutting, finishing, or assembly process. Having
extra material on hand ensures that you can
easily cut a replacement part for one that was
damaged by human or machine.
MATERIALS WE LIKE
With some research, planning, and practical
design decision making, your CNC furniture
project should be something that will be used
and enjoyed for a very long time. This is a small,
but well-researched list of products that bal-
ance sustainability, machining performance,
and beautiful results:
Plywood and Other Sheet Materials
• Columbia Forest Products PureBond ply-
woods
• Araucoply sanded panels
• Radiata pine plywood
• ApplePly prefinished and unfinished ply-
woods
• Koskisen Baltic birch plywood
B/SOURCING MATERIALS
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