When scratch-building bulkheads, better to use plywood or regular wood?

[altalena18]

I'm about to start a scratch-building plank on bulkhead project, and I was wondering if it would be better to use milled wood or plywood. I'm concerned both about warping, and about exactness of the thickness of the wood I end up using. Also, what about outgassing or warping of plywood? 

[dgbot]

5 ply Model plywood will work great for bulkheads. It is stable and you can cut it any shape you want.

David B

[altalena18]

Thanks! Do you know any good sources online to buy some?

[druxey]

No matter whether you use ply or solid wood, the panels have to be balanced; that is to say, an odd number of layers, preferably with grain in each layer at right angles to the adjacent one.

[altalena18]

How does this apply to solid wood? And isn't all plywood laid with alternating directions of grain? That's what gives plywood its strength, no? In any case I was just thinking of getting 3mm Micro Lite plywood, I've bought some of their thinner plywood and it looks like high quality stuff...

[druxey]

Well, if you want to use solid wood, you would use a thin sheet to begin with, then lay the styles and rails on both sides, to balance the 'sandwich'. Three layers, just like ply.

[altalena18]

Excuse my ignorance, but what do styles and rails mean in this context? 

[druxey]

They are the framing vertical and horizontal pieces around the panels, Altalena.