# Plywood, the good stuff?



## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I want to buy some 3/4" plywood with a good face on both sides and no interior voids. I have googled and googled and read and read and I am still confused. What kind of ply do they call it and what would be the grade? Also if anyone knows an estimate on what a price would be that would be nice.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

here...


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Read what Stick says.


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Don
Baltic Birch plywood 
Price?
number of hardwood stores sell this 
Some of the big box stores also carry it

https://forestplywood.com/product/baltic-birch/?gclid=CLXo2q7yiNECFYmRfgodZ-oKig


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## Ray Newman (Mar 9, 2009)

Appleply-- made by States Industries -- is good plywood, very good plywood. Made in the US-of-A. Equals Baltic Birch quality and stability. Multiple veneer core. Available in 4x8' sheets -- not metric sized! 'Fer 'zample': a 4x8' sheets of 3/4" has 13 plies.

Have been told that the so-called "Russian Birch" is not very stable, has voids, and not worth the cost. 

Read all 'bout it: States Industries


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Baltic Birch . Cheap for you but over $100 a sheet where I'm at after tax


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## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Baltic Birch . Cheap for you but over $100 a sheet where I'm at after tax


Ouch!


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

kklowell said:


> Ouch!


Just bought a sheet of 1/2" two weeks ago , was $106 total


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Appleply is even pricier up here.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

DaninVan said:


> Appleply is even pricier up here.


Understandably seeing as we have no wood in BC


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Balic Birch around here is in 5x5 sheets around $50 per sheet. Rockler and some other woodworking stores carry it, lumber yards. Some have suggested checking local cabinet shops to see where they buy it from, or even arrange to buy it through them. I have heard nice things about Appleply, but have never used it. The 4x8 sheets would be nice. Real Baltic Birch does not have voids, but the second side usually has some patches. Chinese cheap stuff sold at big box stoes isn't particularly nice and almost always has voids. A sheet I got not long ago had a layer made of bamboo strips and was useless. Impossible to cut a clean dado, rabbit or groove without splintering. I have to drive 120 miles RT to buy the real stuff, but prefer to look it over carefully for warping before buying. Once you use Baltic Birch quality ply, you won't settle for anything else.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

DesertRatTom said:


> Once you use Baltic Birch quality ply, you won't settle for anything else.


Tom that's what happened to me . After getting a taste of BB , I won't use any other material. I have too pay a premium , but I just love working with it and the outcome of a project is always far better 
It's funny as I didn't know there was such a thing as BB till I joined


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Tom that's what happened to me . After getting a taste of BB , I won't use any other material. I have too pay a premium , but I just love working with it and the outcome of a project is always far better
> It's funny as I didn't know there was such a thing as BB till I joined


I learned about it years ago when I did a consultation in Amish country and the client had his fixtures made out of it. But it was the Forum that convinced me to try it. You are right about once you use it you're hooked. I have several sheets of half inch waiting to become drawers. The 4x8 sheets of Appleply would allow you to make tall, floor to ceiling cases.


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

This is always a conundrum because some of this stuff is hard to come by in different regions. Apple Ply, to the best of my knowledge, is non-existent in the Eastern half of the US. Baltic Birch is expensive and hard to source, but available if you look. Most of us will have to engage in a road trip to get BB, which drives up the cost.

I sympathize with people trying to get BB. I can acquire it through the area Hood Distributor/Mc Ewen Group but as I was told by a Hood rep, they bill through the local Woodcraft store. OUCH! A half sheet of "3/4" is $50+. This would be around 20-25% more than what a comparable 5' x 5' was quoted above.

I looked at some USA made (Birch) faced ply at Lowe's yesterday. $47 for a piece of "3/4" that were so full of voids that I swear you could have seen through to the other end. 

So, the only solution I see is to find a source for BB (or Apple Ply) make a road trip and bring your checkbook (stock up).


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Just bought a sheet of 1/2" two weeks ago , was $106 total


Wow! Now I don't feel so bad about the prices here in Kentucky.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Ray Newman said:


> Appleply-- made by States Industries -- is good plywood, very good plywood. Made in the US-of-A. Equals Baltic Birch quality and stability. Multiple veneer core. Available in 4x8' sheets -- not metric sized! 'Fer 'zample': a 4x8' sheets of 3/4" has 13 plies.
> *
> Have been told that the so-called "Russian Birch" is not very stable, has voids, and not worth the cost.
> *
> Read all 'bout it: States Industries


agreed on the apple ply...
it's the knock offs that are the issue...


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

schnewj said:


> This is always a conundrum because some of this stuff is hard to come by in different regions. Apple Ply, to the best of my knowledge, is non-existent in the Eastern half of the US. Baltic Birch is expensive and hard to source, but available if you look. Most of us will have to engage in a road trip to get BB, which drives up the cost.
> 
> I sympathize with people trying to get BB. I can acquire it through the area Hood Distributor/Mc Ewen Group but as I was told by a Hood rep, they bill through the local Woodcraft store. OUCH! A half sheet of "3/4" is $50+. This would be around 20-25% more than what a comparable 5' x 5' was quoted above.
> 
> ...


Hood is who I buy from but unless they have changed they don't bill through Woodcraft. The closest Woodcraft is about 40 miles from Hood. That might be the reason I don't know.


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Anything is better than chinese plywood.

http://www.routerforums.com/general-routing/32340-chinese-plywood.html#post261803


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

schnewj said:


> I looked at some USA made (Birch) faced ply at Lowe's yesterday. $47 for a piece of "3/4" that were so full of voids that I swear you could have seen through to the other end.
> 
> .


for the record..
BB and birch ply are two different animals...
get over it....
major voids in ply is usually in offshore supplied plywood...
andyou get what you pay for...............


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

hawkeye10 said:


> Hood is who I buy from but unless they have changed they don't bill through Woodcraft. The closest Woodcraft is about 40 miles from Hood. That might be the reason I don't know.


They are just a few miles apart here. Apparently, they have some sort of business arrangement. Hood may be supplying the materials to the local store instead of dealing with the general, non-commercial population. Then again, he may have been trying to get me to buy it at the Woodcraft store. I haven't tried to go directly to Hood, but I'm getting ready to build some storage cabinets/shelves after the first of the year. I'll know more when I get to that project.


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

Stick486 said:


> for the record..
> BB and birch ply are two different animals...
> get over it....
> major voids in ply is usually in offshore supplied plywood...
> andyou get what you pay for...............


Come on, Stick, you know I know that. The plywood was listed as blondewood (birch veneer) and it was not off-shore. It was stenciled, "Made in Georgia, USA. The only other choice is crappy oak plywood that was almost the same price.

The price and the terrible quality were the issues. Then, again, what do you expect from the Big Blue and BORG stores?


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Check the classified in some of the boat magazines.


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## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

Just bought a sheet of 3/4 BB and paid $69 plus tax for it. Wish I could find it for $50.


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

billyjim said:


> Just bought a sheet of 3/4 BB and paid $69 plus tax for it. Wish I could find it for $50.


That was $50 for a 1/2, not for a full sheet.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

schnewj said:


> Come on, Stick, you know I know that. The plywood was listed as blondewood (birch veneer) and it was not off-shore. It was stenciled, "Made in Georgia, USA. The only other choice is crappy oak plywood that was almost the same price.
> 
> The price and the terrible quality were the issues. Then, again, what do you expect from the Big Blue and BORG stores?


where we going Schnooge???
Blonde-wood??? be suspicious... very suspicious...


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

schnewj said:


> They are just a few miles apart here. Apparently, they have some sort of business arrangement. Hood may be supplying the materials to the local store instead of dealing with the general, non-commercial population. Then again, he may have been trying to get me to buy it at the Woodcraft store. I haven't tried to go directly to Hood, but I'm getting ready to build some storage cabinets/shelves after the first of the year. I'll know more when I get to that project.


At my location you have to buy $200 of lumber to buy from them. That isn't a problem because you don't get to much wood for $200. I try not to buy to much so if something comes up and I need more lumber I don't have a problem meeting the $200 limit.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

I could kick myself because I bought a sheet of 1/2" BB for $33 when it went on sale at WP. Screwed up my window casing and went back for more and it was three times the cost .
I should have bought a dozen sheets at that awesome price when I had the chance 
Don't know where I would have stored it though :|


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Locally, I don't care to buy the plywood from the big blue box store. They don't carry birch, just oak, maple and blondewood.

Now at the big orange store, they carry birch made by Columbia Products in the USA. That seems to be OK for paint grade, which is C2. Obviously grade C2 is not the best cabinet grade. I go to the Hardwood dealer to buy the good stuff. The walnut I bought for the liquor cabinet was almost $125 for the 4x8 sheet. Birch can be had good one side or two. You pay for what to you get.


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## mobilepaul (Apr 14, 2010)

*Special Order Plywood*



MT Stringer said:


> Locally, I don't care to buy the plywood from the big blue box store. They don't carry birch, just oak, maple and blondewood.
> 
> Now at the big orange store, they carry birch made by Columbia Products in the USA. That seems to be OK for paint grade, which is C2. Obviously grade C2 is not the best cabinet grade. I go to the Hardwood dealer to buy the good stuff. The walnut I bought for the liquor cabinet was almost $125 for the 4x8 sheet. Birch can be had good one side or two. You pay for what to you get.


I can tell you guys that you can get even better grades and choose your plys material as a special order from HD and Columbia Products. I ordered, for a set of whole-wall cabinets, this stuff 17 sheets, total: Purebond Formaldehyde Free

PANEL: 3/4", 4' X 8', MPX Composed, B, B, R/C Whole Piece, Maple, Sap, R/C Whole 77.45 / PNL
PANEL: 3/4", 4' X 8', MPX Composed, A, A, R/C Whole Piece, Maple, Sap, R/C Whole 102.79 / PNL
PANEL: 1/2", 4' X 8', MPX Composed, B, B, R/C Whole Piece, Maple, Sap, R/C Whole 69.50 / PNL

That was priced for shipping and everything delivered to HD locally in Mobile. I felt that, because it was a special order and it was not a whole unit, the price was very good. If I had purchased an entire unit, I would have saved another 10%. All the plys were hardwood, not softwood or "netherwood"

You can, actually special order one sheet or as many as you can cart off, makes no difference.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

As always the Forum discussions are informative, I was not aware of States Industries and they do have 3 local suppliers in this area. I'll be checking it out for sure. Otherwise I use only Baltic Birch.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Rainman, if there are no trees in BC, where does Sasquatch hide during the day?
I repaired the deck and seats in my old boat several years ago. I'm not sure about the surfaces as they weren't furniture quality. I was told that marine plywood has not voids to prevent water from collecting in the wood layers.
Shocked at the prices of plywood as mentioned here. I might cut come trees and make my own. Yeh, right!


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