Baltic Birch--what thickness should I use?

[Dan Case LR]

I've not worked much with Baltic Birch plywood, but I recently found a local source for it and I'm about to make some Baltic Sawdust. It's my understanding that Baltic Birch is stronger than a comparable thickness of "regular" plywood, but I don't have enough experience with it (yet) to quantify the difference. I need some input on the most appropriate sizes for this project.

I'm building a dust catcher that will attach to my Rousseau 2875XL Miter Saw Stand. In case you're not familiar with this stand, the saw platform is 36" wide and 19.25" deep. The dust box will be the full 36" wide and cantilever off the back of the stand by approximately 12". The base supporting this will extend to the front of the shelf and be sandwiched between the saw and the metal shelf. The "box" portion it supports will be 27" high and 18" deep (full width) and the first 6 or so inches will be on top of the steel shelf. The box will have a 6" PVC port on top (centered L-R and as far back as possible) with a trapezoidal adapter to a 35 x 7/8" duct to a 7/8" slot at the bottom rear of the box (similar to several we've seen around).

Because of the cantilever design, I want to keep the weight to a minimum (although it would take a lot of plywood to make the stand unstable when occupied by a 65 pound saw). It's on wheels, and although I won't be moving it a lot I still need the capability to do so.

My gut-level reaction is to use 3/4" for the base and either 3/8" or 1/2" for the box. Something deep inside me would build the box out of 3/4 as well. My inner engineer tends to overbuild sometimes.

Considering that I'm building this from Baltic Birch:



1) Is 3/4" for the bottom plate overkill? Would 1/2" be adequate?

2) What size would you use for the other 4 sides of the box?



Thanks!

D.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Dan, as it's a simple box that will only direct dust to a collection hose, I would make it as thin as possible to cut the weight down..........Regards, Rod.

[Sam Murdoch]

The baltic birch is a good stable material and as Ron suggests the 12mm stock would be fine for the entire box. It's just easier though to do joinery (biscuits or dominos) or drive screws with thicker ply without the need for cleats or dados.

[Howard Acheson]

Couple of things about baltic birch.

It comes in metric dimensions for length, width and thicknesses.

Sheet sizes are approximately 60" x 60"

It's not any stronger than other US or Canada birch plywood.

If it's made in Finland, it will have waterproof glue. Russian made is mostly interior adhesive.

[john bateman]

I think I would be worrying about the cost.
Last 3/4" BB I bought was $82 for a sheet.
1/2" I haven't bought recently but I'd guess around $50 to $60.

Do you really want to by one of each to make a dust box?

Oh, and the 3/4" was closer to 5/8" than to 3/4"...17mm I think.

[glenn bradley]

There are many grades of BB ply. Costs are face quality specific as with other sheet goods. Many of us have come to speak of BB ply as a single entity varying only in thickness. Retailers prey on our ignorance and offer "specials" that are not necessarily special at all. My yard stocks B/BB and BB/BB. The difference is noticeable visually and at he cash register. For shop cabinets and fixtures BB/BB is fine for me. For drawer bottoms I use B/BB to get a clean interior look when required.

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 ¼”. Shop grades offered at a substantial discount to the “on grade” prices.

[ian maybury]

Must say i'm a bit of a birch ply addict too.

Whatever about the strength its clean machining makes it worthwhile for me to use it in many places where it's maybe not strictly necessary. I get B/BB most of the time. I've had BB and was disappointed with it - poorly finished slightly 'hairy' and mushy top veneer, defect repairs, colour variations and much less well bonded laminations. It came from a different supplier and that might have been the issue though.

ian

[Chad Bender]

I think I would be worrying about the cost.
Last 3/4" BB I bought was $82 for a sheet.
1/2" I haven't bought recently but I'd guess around $50 to $60.

Yikes! Time to find a different supplier. The last order I placed from my local guys was ~$100 total for 1 3/4" and 2 1/2" 5x5s, all B/BB, delivered. I think the 3/4" was ~$30, and the 1/2" ~$25 each. FYI, I use "Industrial Plywood" in Lewistown PA.

[John Coloccia]

Good golly, that thing will weigh a ton if you make it out of 3/4". My initial gut reaction is to go to a sheet metal guy and see how much it would be to make a simple hood. It will weigh very little, probably not be too expensive and will save you a bunch of work.

[Dan Case LR]

I think I would be worrying about the cost.
Last 3/4" BB I bought was $82 for a sheet.
1/2" I haven't bought recently but I'd guess around $50 to $60.

Just as a point of interest, I just checked the price on 1/2" (5x5) Baltic Birch from my supplier. $29/sheet for grade BB/BB. Nit bad, IMHO.

D.

[john bateman]

Just as a point of interest, I just checked the price on 1/2" (5x5) Baltic Birch from my supplier. $29/sheet for grade BB/BB. Nit bad, IMHO.

D.

I wish I could get it that cheap. The last time I bought 1/2" was 4 years ago and it was $37 back then.
The only place near me with it is Wurth Wood Group and I recently bought one sheet 3/4" (more like 5/8) B/BB for $77 plus 6% sales tax.

[Dan Case LR]

I wish I could get it that cheap. The last time I bought 1/2" was 4 years ago and it was $37 back then.
The only place near me with it is Wurth Wood Group and I recently bought one sheet 3/4" (more like 5/8) B/BB for $77 plus 6% sales tax.

Well, if they had B/BB at my supplier, it would definitely cost more than I paid. BB/BB is perfect for my current project. I think the #1 use for Baltic Birch (the supplier calls it ""Russian Birch") in this neck 'o the woods is for things like drawers where B/BB would be overkill.

My supplier has fair pricing across the board, from what I can tell. I recently bought a couple of soft maple boards (really nice stuff) for $3.70/BF. I was frankly surprised. I expected to pay more. They have what looks like nice cabinet-grade hardwood plywood for around $45-$50/sheet (4x8) depending on species, MUCH nicer than what HD stores have in the same price bracket. When I commented on that, the guy said, "Oh, I have the same Chinese [expletive] they have if you want it, but here it's only $29 a sheet."

I consider this supplier to be a great blessing.

D.