Baltic Birtch

[Peter Odell]

Just a question What price do you pay for your 1/8" Baltic Birch

[Josh Richard]

I found a local plywood supplyer that sells a 5' X 5' sheet for just under $10.00. Pennsylvania Plywood and Lumber Company. I highly recomend them for folks in the region.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

To all,
When asking questions about 3mm(1/8") Baltic Birch you should always specify the grade. The one we use is 3B. 4B and BB/CP are lower grades and will have footballs on both sides and the CP side may have putty in stead of footballs. So when comparing prices you must also make sure it is apples to apples.

Baltic Birch is about to skyrocket in price because the Gulf of Finland has supposedly been frozen and shipping is over a month behind. Most of my suppliers are on allocation and are not sure when their stock will be replenished. Last week 12mm BB/BB went up almost 4.00 a sheet. I have also been told that once Japan starts to rebuild it will also become scarce and the price will rise because China birch does not meet Japan's building standards. So that's another excuse for the Russians to raise the price.

Josh- Just spoke to Pennsylvania Plywood and Lumber Company and they said that the 3mm (1/8") is BB/CP or BB/CC.

Hope this helps,

[shawn zumbrum]

Peter
I am paying .43 cents per squ. foot but I am buying 50 to 100 sheets at a time. that is foor 3b that is top of the line footballs on one side only you can get the 4b for less but the footballs are on both sides. they seem to run into your work alot that way that is why I spend a littel more. I shop a round alot I use 100 to 200 sheet in about 1 to 2 months most places that i find are 50 to 75 cents a square foot.

[Larry Robinson]

$12.78 for B/BB in Buffalo.

[Josh Richard]

Josh- Just spoke to Pennsylvania Plywood and Lumber Company and they said that the 3mm (1/8") is BB/CP or BB/CC.

Mike, thanks for checking that out. I am surprised the rating is so low. I have used about 5 sheets and have never seen a flaw or football.

I use 100 to 200 sheet in about 1 to 2 months

Shawn, I just need to know, what are you doing with that volume?

[Peter Odell]

I was just seeing what other people was paying for it I just got 10 sheets 1/8"x5'x5' bb for 8.15 a sheet

[Ron Chapellaz]

Not sure what grade my baltic birch is. The stamp on mine has an O with a vertical roman numeral 1 through it, the letter K, roman numeral II and III, and below that the number 719. Maybe Michael knows what type this is??

OK II III
719

I pay just over $20.00 here in Canada for a 5' X 5' sheet. I have footballs on both sides but it lasers very well at 100 speed, 100 power on my 35 watt.

[shawn zumbrum]

Mike, thanks for checking that out. I am surprised the rating is so low. I have used about 5 sheets and have never seen a flaw or football.


Shawn, I just need to know, what are you doing with that volume?

Josh I have a customer that I am doing custom laser buzz for that is selling the 3ds and frames.

[Neil Pabia]

I'm paying $10.50 a sheet for KB/BB 5x5 sheets.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Not sure what grade my baltic birch is. The stamp on mine has an O with a vertical roman numeral 1 through it, the letter K, roman numeral II and III, and below that the number 719. Maybe Michael knows what type this is??

OK II III

Hey Ron,
Typically the II means BB and the III will mean CP. I posted a chart some time ago showing the grading system. The other #'s and letters may be the Mill #.

Everybody- Now please remember that even though you might be paying XX.XX per sheet, that is the cost per sheet at the supplier. Now if you have one that will deliver to you at no additional cost, that's a bonus. Even if you have a pickup truck, 5x5 material does not fit in the bed (unless you have a flat bed or a trailer) so unless they cut it down to your size, your up the creek.

Please remember ALL the costs involved--- Phone call to locate in stock material, Driving to the location, waiting in line to pay, waiting in line to get loaded, securing the material so it does not turn into a ninja star as it flys off of your vehicle towards someone else's, unload material at your place, count sheets to make sure you have the same amount that you left with, set up your table saw or jig for a circular saw (not the optimum way), make cut list to get best yield for your product, cut material, sort (quality control), wrap pcs that are not being cut immediately to store, clean your self off and remove splinters, turn on laser, put material in laser, scream *&^%$# because you thought it was measure once cut twice and it is still 1 inch too short.

Most of the time this will also require a second person, to assist you, other than the phone calls and the loading it into your laser. I illustrate this just so you will know all (there may be more depending on your location) the other costs that come along with that XX.XX price tag per sheet. So even if you get a sheet for 10.75 or .43 a sq ft, think about all the other steps it takes to get that material on to your laser.

If they do deliver, you may be required to have or have access to a forklift. If not you might be charged a handling fee to hand unload it.

So if any ones has figured out the additional time involved to get your material to your laser, please adjust your cost per sheet accordingly. So what ever you charge to laser that should also be the amount you use to calculate the additional charges because if you are doing everything necessary to get the material ready to put on your laser , it is taking time away from lasering and that is what it truly costs.

PS- feel free to add any other steps involved that I may have missed- you know like the one where you have to paddle your raft to the mainland to get to your truck.

[Ron Chapellaz]

Thanks Michael for the insight on the stamping of my wood. I'll do a search for the grading system you posted. It's all good info you provided!

[Bill Cunningham]

Thanks Michael for the insight on the stamping of my wood. I'll do a search for the grading system you posted. It's all good info you provided!

Try these guys Ron.. I don't know how much they charge to ship from ON to MB but 20 bucks a 5x5 sheet with footballs on both sides is kinda steep..
http://www.exotic-woods.com/product....ic-birch-3-ply

I haven't tried these guys myself, but they came highly recommended by a customer of mine that makes custom presentation grade hand planes..

[Ron Chapellaz]

Hey Bill, I checked out that website and the cost for a 5 x 5 sheet is $23.00 each which is fairly expensive, and I'm not sure what the freight would be yet. Where do you get your own wood from?? I'm happy with the wood I get, but yes I wish it didn't have footballs on both sides. I also would like to find a supplier for wood strips. Lee Valley Tools has 3" x 24" at $8.50 each, but I'd like something a little wider than that.

[Tony Lenkic]

Ron, check out Aircraft Spruce web site out of Brantford On.