Plywood question

[Roy G]

I was wondering about plywood and thought there must be some reason Baltic Birch plywood has 13 plys and the big box plywood has 5. i know there is some economy involved but are they both the same in carrying loads? I used to buy only BB but it's gotten expensive. The big box store plywood often pretty suspect. Anyway, just curious.

Roy G

 

[Skymaster]

BB plys are all knot,defect, free hence more but thinner plys. Boxstore ply is cheapest bidder, inner core are full of defects including large voids.

 

[Oka]

Not sure this will answer but here are some facts

Baltic birch differs from most ply in all plys are the same species. So, it has 13 birch plys. 13 same thickness plys, meaning the top plys are thicker than the usually big box or AC/CD type ply where the called out type of plywood is say Fir- the top outside plys are Fir (pretty thin) the inside is something else. Usually spruce, pine or something else.
So BB is more stable, with less chance to warp or shrink and is stronger.

Out where I Live there are 2 alternates a Mahogany and Eucalyptus offering 9 and 11 ply respectively. But, not white reddish/brown. Cool stuff though.

Avoid if possible the Big box hard wood ply. A lot of it does not have a ply interior but rather junk strips of wood so it will look good but does not hold up long term.

 

[Martin Roper]

I'm making some drawers for shop furniture. I decided to splurge and bought a 5x5 sheet of Baltic Birch. I have to say I was a little disappointed that there were some small voids and some separated plies on one edge, perhaps damaged during shipping.

 

[mdbuntyn]

Somewhere in these (https://www.lumberupdate.com/?s=plywood) podcasts, he talks about the differences between BB and other plywood, but I don't remember how deeply he goes into it.

 

[ScottM]

I'm making some drawers for shop furniture. I decided to splurge and bought a 5x5 sheet of Baltic Birch. I have to say I was a little disappointed that there were some small voids and some separated plies on one edge, perhaps damaged during shipping.

BB comes in different grades. The lower the grade the more defects allowed.

 

[Oka]

The Grades are called out like this :

Best= B-BB: Single piece face and back veneer. Face veneers are considered clear and free of defects with a light-uniform color

Better= BB-BB: Single piece face and back- allows for pin knots and discoloration

Good= BB-CP: Single piece face and back -with patches or repairs that have no voids

CP-CP= Single piece face and back with patches or repairs that have no voids but does allow for splits repaired

C-C= Patches, open knots, and small veneer splits allowed

Almost all I ever see is BB-BB

 

[Rwe2156]

Oka has got it. Talk to your supplier, with in those grades, I’ve found they will call them “good/good” “good/fair” etc.

The 2 suppliers I deal with, the plywood situation is pathetic. The last I bought was made in India, $90 a sheet, the salesman told me it was “nice and flat”.

Well, it was far from “nice and flat”. I should have returned it. The Sandeply I got from HD was flatter.

 

[bob vaughan]

i know there is some economy involved but are they both the same in carrying loads?

Roy G

As a rule of thumb, Baltic birch will always be superior in carrying loads when comparing thickness to thickness. How much more is up to interpretation and the conditions of stress. For instance, a 36"x 10" book case shelf of today's birch plywood may sag a bit more than Baltic birch but when it comes to failure under extreme load, Baltic birch will be the winner even though it may deflect about the same.

As to suitability in brutal conditions, Baltic birch is about the only choice. Take a look at child day care furniture. The plywood used will always be Baltic birch.

A lot will depend on the intended application.

 

[Roy G]

Are there any domestic producers who make plywood similar to BB with the thin numerous plys? On all the NYW programs I watched, Norm would use plywood that looked like what you get at the big boxes. All the European woodworking sites i see, the woodworkers always seem to use BB. Do Europeans have other plywoods available to them?

Roy G

 

[mdbuntyn]

@Roy G listen to the first podcast at the link I posted above

 

[Roy G]

Matt, I heard part of Shannon's podcast. He said Russia supplies 10% of the world's plywood and the Russian birch plywood is used in a lot of products that are experiencing shortages now. Apparently the boreal forests of Russia grow very good trees for plywood veneer. With all the trees and low labor costs, the birch plywood is economically feasible. Probably why we don't have any domestic equivalent. Thanks for the referral to his podcast.

Roy G

 

[bob vaughan]

I've got some "Made in Russia" birch plywood. Awesome stuff compared to other BB I've used in the past.

 

[bob vaughan]

Do Europeans have other plywoods available to them?

Roy G

Probably not. They don't have the massive natural resources of wood we have. We can get birch, maple, walnut, cherry, and a multitude of other veneers on our plywood. Third world countries have natural resources and some manufacturing facilities. I'm guessing our plywood is cheap compared to what Europeans have to pay for recreational woodworking purposes.

 

[zdorsch]

Are there any domestic producers who make plywood similar to BB with the thin numerous plys?

Roy G

From the little I’ve looked, and despite the style of BB ply being invented in the US (really thin layers of wood = high ply count), there is not a manufacturer of BB plywood in the US.

 

[mpeele]

There is or was a US made product Appleply that was made of 1/16” birch plys and superior to BB I used to have a source local source for. Void free, no surface splits and the flattest stuff I have ever used. Priced accordingly.

 

[Rob01]

Are there any domestic producers who make plywood similar to BB with the thin numerous plys? On all the NYW programs I watched, Norm would use plywood that looked like what you get at the big boxes. All the European woodworking sites i see, the woodworkersT

Try Darlington Veneer. I've never bought from them but it seems I called them one time and they have a show room open on certain days of the week. They claim to have one of the world's largest inventories and they manufacture a wide range of plys.
Darlington Veneer