This Was Nice To See. ;)

Today I stopped at Home Depot to pick up some lumber for the house. Well, I might as well grab a sheet of birch plywood for the boat too.


I started looking at what they had in stock and all of the stamps read "Made in Ecuador." :headscratch:

All except the last sheet on the bottom of the stack.

I immediately thought of my Grandfather who said "If you buy something made elsewhere, you're taking a job away from an American." Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But he ALWAYS looked at where products were manufactured before he pulled the trigger.

I moved 17 sheets of 3/4" plywood aside just to grab the bottom one. And after I loaded this special sheet onto my orange cart, I put the 17 sheets I had just moved right back where they came from...nice and neat. I smiled the whole time thinking of my Grandfather.





Maybe it's better than the product from Ecuador, maybe it's not. But I feel better about the purchase. And being friendly with the cashier saved me 10% too.

It was a good day!

Next time you need to buy shoes, New Balance is the only one I know that still makes shoes in the USA.


Good job going through the extra work to support our country:thumbup:

The job you save, may one day be your own.

Good on you[emoji106] [emoji106]
.
Sooner or later someone would have bought the same sheet and helped out too, you just took cuts is all...lol[emoji1] [emoji41]

Does it say what mill it came from?

Hats off to you! :thumbsup

I'm not sure Sir but I will double check in the morning.

Merica'!! glad to see this, and as far as New Balance shoes go, I used to buy them all the time because they were made in the USA, but the last pair I picked up said made in Indonesia? I was like to heck with that...

New Balance at least makes some of their shoes in the USA, better than any other brand.

"We?re proud to be the only major company to make or assemble more than 4 million pairs of athletic footwear per year in the USA, which represents a limited portion of our US sales. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we label our shoes Made in the USA."

I also look at it as someone keeping there job when I throw all of the hockey stick lumber to the floor in search of 20-30 good studs

MADE IN USA always!!!

I have found that companies are allowed to put a China made part in a box made in here. Until you pull the part out and verify you think it is made here.

Hockey stick lumber.

Noted.

Runs2rch said:

I also look at it as someone keeping there job when I throw all of the hockey stick lumber to the floor in search of 20-30 good studs

MADE IN USA always!!!

I have found that companies are allowed to put a China made part in a box made in here. Until you pull the part out and verify you think it is made here.

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So this particular sheet simply says:

"COLUMBIA PUREBOND CARB P2 FSC-RA-COC-000065 23/32 C3 BIRCH FSC 07/21/2016 608133-002 332-941 MADE IN USA KF."

Im not too sure how to read which mill it came from.

Plywood made in USA.

Stamp made in China...

Backlash said:

So this particular sheet simply says:

"COLUMBIA PUREBOND CARB P2 FSC-RA-COC-000065 23/32 C3 BIRCH FSC 07/21/2016 608133-002 332-941 MADE IN USA KF."

Im not too sure how to read which mill it came from.

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My best guess is it's one of two mills. Unfortunately one of them closed this summer.....

Edit: Klamath Falls is still running.

dread Pirate said:

My best guess is it's one of two mills. Unfortunately both of them closed this summer.....

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Fuckers.....:grumble:

Boise-Cascade?

wsuwrhr said:

Fuckers.....:grumble:

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Boardman Oregon closed, but Klamath Falls is still running.

On a high note, this stuff is made without formaldehyde. :thumbsup

Backlash said:

So this particular sheet simply says:

"COLUMBIA PUREBOND CARB P2 FSC-RA-COC-000065 23/32 C3 BIRCH FSC 07/21/2016 608133-002 332-941 MADE IN USA KF."

Im not too sure how to read which mill it came from.

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"FSC" is a big reason it is USA made. all the chain or command crap and the Forest Stewardship Council keeps it localized as well at tracked for planting, milling and transportation. Usually its a lot more money for FSC..didnt know home depot would have that stuff stocked.

So you're saying it's junk.

It will make a beautiful toeboard and forward bulkhead!

Runs2rch said:

I have found that companies are allowed to put a China made part in a box made in here. Until you pull the part out and verify you think it is made here.

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"Allowed" by who?

If you're implying that this Chinese part, put into an american-made box, can state "made in USA" on it, you're mistaken.
This is absolutely not legal, not "allowed" by the government.

The FTC rigorously enforces "Made in USA" statements, but of course there are operations out there that do shady/illegal shit.
Companies that actually do make their products in the USA are adamant whistleblowers when this shady shit is uncovered.

Lots of details here:
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/advertising-and-marketing/made-in-usa

Backlash said:

So you're saying it's junk.

It will make a beautiful toeboard and forward bulkhead!

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Not at all. Wish more mills were still open. Most of the plywood available up here comes from Canada. Go figure..... I think it's great that Home Depot is stocking U.S made wood. :thumbsup

Proud to say that with the exception of a few small components that we cant source (seal and orings), The parts we manufacture @ JBP are made in the USA by Us

I was being funny with the "Junk" comment.

I'm sure there isn't a ton of difference between the two but I feel like I chose wisely. Out of everything I looked at (Plywood, not lumber), most of it appeared as though it was imported. That's why I was a little surprised to see the good ol' USA stamp at the bottom of the stack.

How do you read the stamp to determine where it comes from? Is it the "KF" at the end?? Or is there a code number that dictates where it was produced?? Just more curious than anything.

Backlash said:

I was being funny with the "Junk" comment.

I'm sure there isn't a ton of difference between the two but I feel like I chose wisely. Out of everything I looked at (Plywood, not lumber), most of it appeared as though it was imported. That's why I was a little surprised to see the good ol' USA stamp at the bottom of the stack.

How do you read the stamp to determine where it comes from? Is it the "KF" at the end?? Or is there a code number that dictates where it was produced?? Just more curious than anything.

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I would have done the same thing. I'm one of those guys that inspects every 2x4 before I load them in my truck.

Columbia has/had 2 plywood mills that make the durabond, so that was easy. The numbers stand for various things, from run, shift, date, etc. You are absolutely correct the KF is for Klamath falls. :thumbsup

Sad to learn the other mill had closed recently though.

Very cool. My great rand parents lived in Klamath Falls, OR.

The US still produces most plywood products in use for construction. Used to be located in the PNW and the NE corner of the US. They may be changing names and consolidating, but US plywood and lumber manufacturing is still strong. It makes zero sense to send trees from the PNW and western Canada to China for milling then send back to the US for building materials. The cost savings just isn't there. Chinese plywood products have a well deserved reputation as inferior, even for the price point. I'm not talking about building a step stool for your kid, I'm talking about plywood that is a part of a structural portion of a building or used in concrete forming. The cheapest 3/4" MDO paper faced 7 ply plywood will outlast the best Chinese Birch faced or phenolic faced 3/4 7 - 12 ply plywood for concrete forms. Been down that road several times and that's a fact. Most importers quit bringing that shit in back in 2010.

A lot of the material I saw was stamped with "Made in Ecuador." Everything from the thin sheets up to the 3/4". I didn't look at the MDF because I have no need for any of that. This one sheet of birch ply that I found was the only one stamped "Made in USA."

That sucks. Here in the PNW there is no question the lumber or plywood came from. Even the kiln dried L shaped 2x4's.

I'm sure HD and other companies are more interested in the profit margin than they are about supporting the American economy. Most of the products they sell are imported. So if they pay $20 a sheet for US milled ply and sell it for $48 a sheet, that's a decent return on their investment. Now if they can purchase a similar sheet elsewhere for $10-15 a sheet and still sell it for $48, they are pocketing even more money. It sux for sure but you know that's how that type of business is run. The primary goal is to increase profits....not necessarily support hardworking Americans by "Buying American."

OutboardBahner said:

Next time you need to buy shoes, New Balance is the only one I know that still makes shoes in the USA. View attachment 513402


Good job going through the extra work to support our country[emoji106]

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I just checked my new Balance and they said made in Vietnam. Might depend on the model right?

One of my favorite "Made in USA" items

Builder online printed this a few years ago:


Maybe they should just make it a law....

http://www.builderonline.com/building/building-a-100-made-in-america-house_o

..... if every U.S. builder spent 5% of their construction spending on American-made rather than foreign parts. The verdict: in one year that would create 220,000 American jobs, the study showed.

crzy2bealive said:

I just checked my new Balance and they said made in Vietnam. Might depend on the model right?

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Not all are made in the US. Only the higher 900+ series. I had to pay $145 for mine. At the outlet in Rancho. Military buys New Balance for boot camp recruits. That may be the only reason they still make a product line here?

Unless you lived it, it's hard to tell you what it was like when all the saw mills where running in Oregon. Good union jobs and people had respect for one another. We have to go back to manufacturing products in the USA and put people back to work were they have some pride in what they do. People think making a living means going to meetings and answering e-mails all day.:grumble:

Does anybody know where all the lumber that is being loaded out of Longview on all the ships is going? Is it being milled on the ships at sea and brought back, sent to China???

DRYHEAT said:

Does anybody know where all the lumber that is being loaded out of Longview on all the ships is going? Is it being milled on the ships at sea and brought back, sent to China???

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The big ships being loaded out of Coos Bay are going to China. They say we can't mill it right and only buy whole logs. Billions of dollars we need here in Oregon float out to sea 24/7. We replaced hundreds of thousands of family wage jobs with a few long shoreman jobs at the docks and people think that was a win for the state of Oregon. I'm just not sure how that pays for schools around here.

Go-Fly said:

The big ships being loaded out of Coos Bay are going to China. They say we can't mill it right and only buy whole logs. Billions of dollars we need here in Oregon float out to sea 24/7. We replaced hundreds of thousands of family wage jobs with a few long shoreman jobs at the docks and people think that was a win for the state of Oregon. I'm just not sure how that pays for schools around here.

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I didn't know it was that way in Coosbay also, I don't get down there very often.
I'm usually up in the Longview Washington/ Rainier Oregon area every week and it boggles my mind the amount of raw logs that are being loaded on ships anchored in the Columbia River every week.

Go-Fly said:

Unless you lived it, it's hard to tell you what it was like when all the saw mills where running in Oregon. Good union jobs and people had respect for one another. We have to go back to manufacturing products in the USA and put people back to work were they have some pride in what they do. People think making a living means going to meetings and answering e-mails all day.:grumble:

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You're so right in every way....but I see the young people of today that simply don't have the hard working man built into them like the men of 20 to 1 million years ago. So many believe they deserve to get equal pay as the 20 year tenured employee and do a shit ton less. Unless they have been well taught by the parents the value of hard work many simply feel entitled.
The Chinese have a very willing work force that appreciate the little they do get and have.
So sick of "leave poor little Johnny alone, he's sensitive".....I say fuck that, slap him up side the head and tell him to get his fat little ass off the internet porn sites and get his shit in gear.

Ziggy said:

You're so right in every way....but I see the young people of today that simply don't have the hard working man built into them like the men of 20 to 1 million years ago. So many believe they deserve to get equal pay as the 20 year tenured employee and do a shit ton less. Unless they have been well taught by the parents the value of hard work many simply feel entitled.
The Chinese have a very willing work force that appreciate the little they do get and have.
So sick of "leave poor little Johnny alone, he's sensitive".....I say fuck that, slap him up side the head and tell him to get his fat little ass off the internet porn sites and get his shit in gear.

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X2...

I'm saddled with a couple of guys like that right now. I'm not conforming, just calling them out with a bit of humor / sarcasm. When they say there wife was sick and they had to stay home with her, I ask if his mom stayed home with him when he's sick. Then mention how many years I went without taking a sick, let alone s day off for anyone else sick in the family. I don't pay them for the time off either. That's the biggest motivator. Don't pay them. My current GF told me he didn't have time during the week to fill out his required self appraisal. He asked if he could do it at home and get paid OT. I told him sure, just mention in the appraisal you couldn't find time during your 40 hour work week and needed to work a weekend to complete it. He suddenly found the time to do it.

Some of todays workers are so fucking spoiled, others totally get it just like previous generations. Younger workers shouldn't be coddled, just need to lay out what is expected up front as they haven't had Chrystal clear direct direction presented to them before. Some are offended by that, most aren't they are just are not used to it.

What our future is looking like......