Baltic Birch Availability?

[Maurice Mcmurry]

There was plenty at Metro Hardwoods last week. 5x5 and 4x8. I forgot to to check the price or take a picture. I bought 7 BF genuine Mahogany, very near quartered and 1 BF Bocote, select, quartered, G.T.=$145.43, two boards yikes!

Metro Hardwoods, Inc. Home Page.

[Gregg Feldstone]

Why can’t birch plywood be made to the same specifications as Baltic birch wherever birch is grown and milled? you would think the Chinese and other Asian countries would want to start producing a better product and make more money selling it. Also does any birch come from the United States and if so why can’t we make The best quality product?

[Dave Sabo]

Why can’t birch plywood be made to the same specifications as Baltic birch wherever birch is grown and milled? you would think the Chinese and other Asian countries would want to start producing a better product and make more money selling it. Also does any birch come from the United States and if so why can’t we make The best quality product?

in general terms Asian operations are about low price and volume.

Companies in the U.S. could make it, but you wouldn’t want to pay the price so they make something else.

[Bill Dufour]

China has been clear cutting in russia. these forests are near the arctic and will take over 500 years to regrow. If anyone bothered to replant. russia sold timber rights,cheap, for bribes to the local oligarchs.
Bill D

[Jonathan Jung]

This might be a dumb question, but what does BB do that other plywood can't? For starters, right off the bat it requires significant more sanding.

[Jim Becker]

This might be a dumb question, but what does BB do that other plywood can't? For starters, right off the bat it requires significant more sanding.

Good question. The "good stuff" is more consistent, doesn't generally have voids and has very thick face veneers. It tends to be denser, too. Most other plywood has very thin veneer faces, comparably speaking, and has a lot more variability. Some is great and some is, um...not.

[Bill Dufour]

I think baltic birch is all old growth. There have not been enough centuries for regrowth since the invention of power logging tools like winches, tractors, and chainsaws.
Just like 50 years ago all redwood was old growth and was much better quality then what can be bought today.
Bill D.

[Bryan Hall]

The stuff I get is dramatically denser/heavier. I personally think it sags less but I don't have actual data to back that up. I still get some voids in mine, but always small, nothing like box store ply. The face veneer looks to be equal thickness to the other veneers in the sheet. I get a fair amount of requests to leave the cut edge exposed, some people like the natural look of that ply. My painter even says don't bother with putting any edge banding on the sides, he can paint it smooth no problem.

As far as sanding goes. Yes, BB is a bit rough (appleply is delivered quite smooth) but I find that with a nice sander (I have the Mirka Deros?) it only takes 1-2 passes with 180 grit and it's buttery smooth.

[Brian Holcombe]

Baltic birch is true veneer core and so it is more rigid. I had a veneer job yesterday and we used plycore MDF on the recommendation of my friend and it went well. I plan up use that next time, it was better than veneering onto plywood and it is stronger than mdf while remaining lighter.

[Rich Aldrich]

This might be a dumb question, but what does BB do that other plywood can't? For starters, right off the bat it requires significant more sanding.

One of the biggest differences is the inner core is birch as well as the face and back. The inner core is made up of more layers of veneer so if a standard 3/4" sheet has a 5 layer core, Baltic birch has more like 11 layers plus the front and back. It makes it more stable. Many of the US manufacturers will use soft wood core in their standard hardwood plywood, so the only part of the plywood that is hardwood is the face and the back.

Then, of course, there is the quality of the face and back with Baltic birch which is superior to birch grown elsewhere.

[Jonathan Jung]

Thanks for the replies, I was actually asking about the application of BB plywood vs other cabinet-grade plywood, since I am already familiar with it's layup. In what situations is that denser core and thicker face veneer necessary?

All the hardwood-veneered ply I get works just fine for cabinetry and furniture backs. The stuff I routinely get rarely has voids, holds a screw fine, and with proper building practice, the face veneer thickness isn't an issue.

[mike stenson]

But your veneer choices are extremely limited.

[Jim Becker]

Jonathan, for "captive cabinetry", the extra strength of the BB isn't likely to add any benefit and Mike is correct that you'd pretty much be doing your own veneer work with it in most cases. But for constructions that require more precision and more strength...or exposed edges, BB is really nice to use.

[Kevin Jenness]

This might be a dumb question, but what does BB do that other plywood can't? For starters, right off the bat it requires significant more sanding.

The largely void-free birch inner plies look better when exposed and the panels are stiffer than normal veneer core ply. Aside from that, I got nothing. Maybe I don't have access to the good stuff, but I use it only for exposed edge projects and prefer a product like Columbia Europly Plus for better quality face veneers. BB I have used normally shows rolling shear checks and multiple football patches in the faces and often is twisted.

[Jeff Roltgen]

UPDATE: Just bought a few sheets from my local supplier. Had plenty of genuine, baltic-birch, 5x5 sheets, and expressed no concern about supply issues. Price is up, but not obscene. I paid $20 a sheet for 3mm and $79 for an 18mm. Double what it used to be, but compared to everything else hitting $150 - $200, this isn't terribly bad.
USES: Templating for complex mirror glass pattern with the 3mm
As always, 18mm is kept on hand simply for building shop fixtures and jigs.

I know one of our busiest stone countertop fabricators relies on 3mm for his templating - hot glues 2" strips to form the outline of countertop and wall fitting, and he goes through tons of it. He's not had any issues with supply as of yet. Sure, price is up, but what isn't?
Maybe situation is not as dire as initially presumed...