Where to buy Phenolic Plywood?

[John Pendery]

Out of curiosity what are you guys using this stuff for?

When I did that plywood kitchen last year I believe I paid around $150 for 4x8 sheets and $225 or so for 5x10. Shipping was the expensive part at around $1000 from CaraGreen in NC. The stuff had a very cool kind of transparency where you could see the grain through the color. Not a product I would order to solely make jigs with though. For solid colors I just order laminate through Abet Laminati which comes in pretty much any color or texture rolled up in tubes so is much less expensive shipping. Pretty quick and easy to glue to Baltic birch or MDF with a vacuum press or just clamps for smaller pieces.

[Larry Edgerton]

What about the BB that is glued together with Resorsinal glue? I just bought a 3/4" 4x8 and it was $160. I have left that stuff outside in the dirt for a couple of years as a test and it showed no degradation. Think I am going to use it in 1/2" fr the deck of my boat, but looking for something lighter.

[John Pendery]

Out of curiosity what are you guys using this stuff for?

When I did that plywood kitchen last year I believe I paid around $150 for 4x8 sheets and $225 or so for 5x10. Shipping was the expensive part at around $1000 from CaraGreen in NC. The stuff had a very cool kind of transparency where you could see the grain through the color. Not a product I would order to solely make jigs with though. For solid colors I just order laminate through Abet Laminati which comes in pretty much any color or texture rolled up in tubes so is much less expensive shipping. Pretty quick and easy to glue to Baltic birch or MDF with a vacuum press or just clamps for smaller pieces.

To clarify I’m referring to the Koskisen ply I used last year, not either product Al posted about.

[al ladd]

I think John, like me, has been interested in this stuff for woodworking jig platforms. It's sort of a hybrid between baltic birch and plastic. I think the Koskisen ply would work well too.

In my continued quest for this stuff, I've found an even more attractive supplier: https://www.penn-elcom.com/us/flight...m-faced-panels. They told me prices start at $90/ 4x8 sheet for 1/2".

I haven't priced regular baltic birch for awhile now, but wasn't it selling for a good deal more than than for a couple years after COVID and then the Ukraine war?

[John Pendery]

Larry, maybe an opportunity for a carbon fiber layup? Probably overkill but could be a fun boat project!

Al, I think the stuff you posted would be excellent jig making material. I hope my post didn’t come across as condescending when I said I wouldn’t purchase for the sole purpose of jig making. I was just referring to the exorbitant cost to ship small quantities of 4x8 and 5x10 sheets due to their large footprint! You can bet a lot of the off cuts from that kitchen have gone into jigs and fixtures around my shop!

[John TenEyck]

I think John, like me, has been interested in this stuff for woodworking jig platforms. It's sort of a hybrid between baltic birch and plastic. I think the Koskisen ply would work well too.

In my continued quest for this stuff, I've found an even more attractive supplier: https://www.penn-elcom.com/us/flight...m-faced-panels. They told me prices start at $90/ 4x8 sheet for 1/2".

I haven't priced regular baltic birch for awhile now, but wasn't it selling for a good deal more than than for a couple years after COVID and then the Ukraine war?

Yes, I'm interested in this type of material for the plane ramps on my shooting boards. I'm using BB ply now with Formica glued to the surface the plane slides on. The user can slide his/her plane directly on the Formica or add a couple of strips of stick-on UHMW tape for an even smoother, quieter ride. In either case, it looks good, is dead flat, and very durable. The downside is the cost of materials and time it takes to put together.

Al, I paid less than $100/sheet for 3/4" genuine (Russian) 5 x 5 ft BB plywood a couple of weeks ago. The stuff has been available even with the war in Ukraine, so whatever ban there is on Russian goods hasn't trickled down to BB plywood. $100/sheet is almost as low as ever where I buy it in the quantities I buy.

John