High-grade plywood suppliers

[Charles McKinley]

Hi All,

Where do you buy high-grade plywood like Baltic Birch or ApplePly and MDO?

I'm in Western Pennsylvania if you have a retailer there or in East Ohio.

There is a wholesale distributor near me but is business sales only. Woodcraft has smaller piece with the corresponding higher prices and restrictions on what you can do. Is there anywhere online or mail order suppliers that sells high-grade plywood? Do you think there would be enough demand to run such a business?

One of the big drawbacks I see with this would be shipping cost.

Thoughts and input greatly appreciated.

[Gail O'Rourke]

Chuck, do you have Atlantic Plywood near you? They are in Northeast, they are a wholesaler, you could call and see who some of their suppliers are..

Gail

[Sam Blasco]

You could also make friends with a local cabinet shop, and have them order it for you through their account with a wholesaler. I use to do it all the time for friends in Miami and they just paid me whatever the cost was. I was also looking into starting a coop of sorts, where a bunch of smaller cabinet shops could join up and get the kind of volume discounts the bigger shops got, but the shop was always just too busy. I also saved all my scraps, and a few guys would come in and take what they wanted or thought they could use (just something else to think about if you do befriend a shop).

[Dave Tinley]

Sam-
Not wanting to hijack this thread but I noticed you were in Austin, Texas. Do you have a cabinet shop now? I am in Waco and would be interested in contributing to an order of plywood. Best I have found in our area is Fine Lumber on the north side of Austin.
Thanks
Dave

[Jim Becker]

The suggestion to piggie back on a local cabinetmaker is a good one...many will help you out this way as it helps keep their volume up, resulting in better pricing for them over time. I have two fellows I can do that with and did so recently for my mantle project. (I rarely use plywood, but when I need it, I know I can get it)