Baltic Birch ply!

[hawkeye10]

For those of you that use BB ply which do you use? There is the BB that Lowes and HD sell and then there is the good stuff that comes in 60" X 60" sheets. I can by the good stuff at a lumber company about 10 miles from me but you have to spend $200 for them to sell to you. Of coarse you can buy $200 worth of lumber and it will not cover the bottom of a pickup.    I do buy just about all my lumber from them.

[CATRK]

Get the good stuff. The wood from Lowes and Home depot tends to "chip out".

[Bill WIlson]

For scrolling, I prefer Baltic Burch ply.  My local Lowes does not carry BB.  They have ply with birch veneer, but it isn't BB.  I think generally speaking, BB ply has more layers, fewer voids and thicker surface veneer.  On the other hand, the grain is pretty bland and sometimes I have to be careful to work around the football patches, but comparing what I can get locally, BB is generally more stable and higher quality.   I have a local source for it and I can spend as little or as much as I want there.

[Scrolling Steve]

I only use Big Box ply for backers....The real BB I buy from Sloans or Woodcraft !

[Kepy]

When I couldn't find a local source for BB, I had the contractor's desk at HD order some BB for me.

[olddust1]

I buy BB on E-bay and have always been satisfied. You can get 8 1/2 X 11 for about $1 each.

Check sellers rating.

 

John

 

Old Dust

[Clayton717]

I only use BB the good stuff 5 x 5 sheet

[DWSUDEKUM]

For those of you that use BB ply which do you use? There is the BB that Lowes and HD sell and then there is the good stuff that comes in 60" X 60" sheets. I can by the good stuff at a lumber company about 10 miles from me but you have to spend $200 for them to sell to you. Of coarse you can buy $200 worth of lumber and it will not cover the bottom of a pickup.    I do buy just about all my lumber from them.

The stuff that Lowes and Home Depot sell is NOT Baltic Birch Plywood.  It is birch plywood but not the same.  There is a brand that Lowe's was carrying, not sure if they are anylonger that is comparable to Baltic Birch Plywood but is made totally here in the US.  This brand is called ApplePly.  Here is a link to their website - http://appleply.com/

 

DW

Edited September 7, 2016 by DWSUDEKUM

[NC Scroller]

I only use Big Box ply for backers....The real BB I buy from Sloans or Woodcraft !

Steve I have found three good sources of 5' x 5' sheets of real BB plywood here is NC. They are:

- The Hardwood Store in Gibsonville, NC

- Capital City Lumber in Raleigh

- The Wurth Wood Group in Raleigh

 

Since they are all 1 1/2hr plus for me I normally get 3 or more sheets at a time.

[dgman]

Like has been said above, what you find at the big box stores is not Baltic birch plywood. Real BB ply comes in 5'x5' sheets. If you find something that is 4'x8', it is not BB plywood.

[don in brooklin on]

The stuff that Michaels carry is not the real BB.

 

I was doing a favour to a club member who had promised a bunch of plaques for his church and then got tennis elbow so bad he could not scroll.  I said no problem.  He gave me the wood with patterns and I did a couple and it chipped real bad.  He said yeah that was a problem as he had only got 2 good ones out of the 4 he did.  Didn't matter how you applied the pattern.  Painters tape pulled off top layer.

 

I put on real BB that comes as 5 x 5 and not one chip out.  Did 8 more.

 

Lesson learned.

[hawkeye10]

The stuff that Michaels carry is not the real BB.

 

I was doing a favour to a club member who had promised a bunch of plaques for his church and then got tennis elbow so bad he could not scroll.  I said no problem.  He gave me the wood with patterns and I did a couple and it chipped real bad.  He said yeah that was a problem as he had only got 2 good ones out of the 4 he did.  Didn't matter how you applied the pattern.  Painters tape pulled off top layer.

 

I put on real BB that comes as 5 x 5 and not one chip out.  Did 8 more.

 

Lesson learned.

Thanks Don. I am going to Sloans Wood Shop and get some. They are about 10 or 15 miles from me. It was good of you to help your friend out.

[Denny Knappen]

Sloans is a good source.  I order mine from Ocooch Hardwoods.

[Debi Shipman]

I was going to order some from Ocooch because it seems to be the cheapest.  Now I'm wondering if it's any good since it IS so much cheaper.

[tonylumps]

I was going to order some from Ocooch because it seems to be the cheapest.  Now I'm wondering if it's any good since it IS so much cheaper.

You can not go wrong with Ocooch .I have had about 12 orders from them.Never had a bad piece of wood Wether it was BB or Hardwood.The shipping seems high.But they are in the ball park with the shipping

[Sparkey]

I buy the 1/4" plywood from lowes. I have used the birch and maple but haven't tried the oak yet. It's $20 for a 4 by 8 sheet. It cuts great and I have never had any problems even on very fine detailed work.

[WayneMahler]

I use the good stuff. The 1/4" is 5 layers and the 1/8" is 3 layers. The stuff I have seen at the big box stores the 1/4" is 3 layers and prone to chip out or have voids in the middle. I do use the stuff from the big box stores for drawer bottoms and the like. But for scrolling I stay with the good BB.

[nrscroller]

I use the good stuff. I have a place in White Bear Lake Minnesota that sells it and I buy a full sheet and they will cut it into small panels to handle it.

I use 1/8 inch mostly.  Rockler Woodworking also has small panels.

Bill 

[hawkeye10]

Sloans is a good source.  I order mine from Ocooch Hardwoods.

Well Denny I ordered from Ocooch Hardwoods for two reasons. One is I ordered some hard wood and the other is I don't have to get up off my fat **** and go get it.        You might say I am lazy.

[MrsN]

I use the good stuff. I have a place in White Bear Lake Minnesota that sells it and I buy a full sheet and they will cut it into small panels to handle it

I use 1/8 inch mostly.  Rockler Woodworking also has small panels.

Bill 

Who in White Bear sells BB? I moved to the other side of the cities, but used to live over there and didn't know there was a place other than rockler.

 

 

 

 

I would buy the good stuff. Maybe you can find someone to split an order and share the $200 minimum.

[crupiea]

I get mine from a place that sells all sorts of specialty types woods for guys who make custom cabinets and the like.

 

60 x 60 sheets. the 1/4" is about $15 or so. just picked one up last month, the 1/8 is a bit less.

 

search your town for this type of place.

[Lucky2]

The last time I bought 1/4" BB plywood, was a few years ago. I bought it at a discount store in Maine. It was at a Marden's store, I paid $4.00 for a 5'x5' sheet. There was a whole bundle of it there, but, part of the bundle had had some sort of oil spilled on it. I picked out 40 sheets that had no oil on it, I couldn't believe the price. I would like to have bought more, but, I didn't have room in the truck box for it. It was the good stuff, 5 ply and no biscuits on one face.

 

Len

[amazingkevin]

For those of you that use BB ply which do you use? There is the BB that Lowes and HD sell and then there is the good stuff that comes in 60" X 60" sheets. I can by the good stuff at a lumber company about 10 miles from me but you have to spend $200 for them to sell to you. Of coarse you can buy $200 worth of lumber and it will not cover the bottom of a pickup.    I do buy just about all my lumber from them.

Even tho i'm poor as a rat i get free wood all the time and have good luck with it.

[Rolf]

I use 1/6 (1.5mm) for all of my ornaments and 1/8 (3 mm) for nativities etc. 1/4 is too clunky for my taste. For stand alone projects I like hardwoods.

I have a local distributor and buy them by the sheet. I think they are 50 x 50 inches.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Rolf

[orangeman]

Buying Baltic Birch Plywood by the sheet (5' x 5') is always cheaper that smaller quantities at Big Box and hobby stores. I use 1/4" and 1/8" but I have to travel 100 miles RT to get the 1/8th. Around $15/sheet for the B/BB grade.

 

Here is a list of the various grades out there:

 

 

GRADING STANDARDS

Baltic Birch Plywood is graded with a face and back grade designation. The following face/back veneer grades are available from our warehouse facilities:

B/BB: Single piece face and back veneer. Face veneers are considered clear and free of defects with a light-uniform color. Back allows 3-6 color matched patches, which are oval in shape and egg sized. Inner cores are solid birch single piece veneers.

BB/BB: Single piece face and back. Both face and back veneers allow 3-6 small color-matched patches on average and some light mineral streaks. Tight pin knots may be present. Inner cores are solid single piece veneers.

BB/CP: Single piece face and back. The “CP†back veneers are downgraded from “BB†grade veneers, which allow for unlimited patches and sound knots, but does not allow for open defects. Inner cores are solid birch single piece veneers.

CP/CP: Single piece face and back. Face and back grade veneers allow unlimited sound knots and repaired splits and unlimited patches. The panel is sound both sides and designed for laminating.

C/C: Patches, open knots, and small veneer splits allowed. Veneer lap and small core voids permitted. This panel is not sanded and would be used for structural purposes.

SHOP GRADES: Shop panels are offered in the full 60†X 60†format in all of the grades listed above. Panels allow for 1-3 splits on the face veneer along one edge of the panel in lengths no longer than 10†and no wider than ¼â€. Shop grades offered at a substantial discount to the “on grade†prices.