Baltic Birch Substitute

[Bill Leonard]

During a recent conversation with a contractor friend, not a woodworker, we wound up discussing the gradual decline of the quality of materials generally available. I mentioned Baltic Birch when the discussion found its way to plywood. He was not familiar with Baltic Birch, but claimed he once purchased some ply that was USA made that sounded identical, but could not recall what it was called.
Anyone have a clue? Is there a US product equivalent to true Baltic Birch?

[Tom Veatch]

Appleply?
http://www.statesind.com/prod/ind_2a2.html

[Von Bickley]

There may be some plywood that is just as good as Baltic birch but I haven't found anything in my area that can compare.

True Baltic birch will come in 5X5 sheets........

[Sean Nagle]

In my area Appleply is of comparable quality but the few suppliers seem to charge up to a 50% premium over Baltic Birch.

[Eric DeSilva]

In my area Appleply is of comparable quality but the few suppliers seem to charge up to a 50% premium over Baltic Birch.

+1 Appleply often gets mentioned as a substitute, but I've never seen any around me.

[Brian Tymchak]

There may be some plywood that is just as good as Baltic birch but I haven't found anything in my area that can compare.

True Baltic birch will come in 5X5 sheets........

I got some 5x5 stuff sold as Baltic Birch, but it had an odd stamp on it, and it warped like crazy, as bad as the Chinese ply from BORG. I think there are cheap substitutes being sold as Baltic Birch. a little Buyer Beware is in order..

[Joe Jensen]

I used to buy Applyply locally in Phoenix 15 years ago or so, and back then both Baltic Birch and Appleply were comparable and excellent. I preferred Applyply because it was sold in 4 by 8 sheets which I find more convenient than 5 by 5 sheets.

Jump forward to today, and I've seen a wide range of quality levels and naming for this type of plywood. It now seems like "Baltic Birch" has become a generic name. I've been told to look for "Finnish Birch" or "Russian Birch", but that's not completely reliable either. My new rule is to never buy any Chinese plywood products. The "Baltic Birch" from China I did get by accident, was horrible. Softer core plys, lighter, warpped horribly, and big voids.

[Jacob Reverb]

+1 Appleply often gets mentioned as a substitute, but I've never seen any around me.

Yeah, good luck finding it, or even getting a rep from the manufacturer to call you back.

[Tom Veatch]

Yeah, good luck finding it, or even getting a rep from the manufacturer to call you back.

Yep, States Industries doesn't seem to put much effort into marketing to retail. Neither the local lumber yards nor wholesale suppliers (those I've asked, anyway) will admit to having heard of it.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

You may be able to get a small cabinet shop get Appleply for you, or possibly a wholesale plywood dealer may sell to you if you buy enough. Our shop did a huge job last year that used about 300 sheets of it. I've got piles of small scrap pieces in my garage. :)

[Pat Germain]

I know David Marks uses apple ply all the time. This suggests there's a supplier for it in Northern California, anyway. But like you guys, I've never seen it anywhere in my area.

[Peter Kuhlman]

The last "baltic birch" that I purchased came from a cabinet shop supplier. It looked great til I took it home. By the next morning, it was so twisted and warped it was totally unusable. Would love to try some Appleply.

[Peter Quinn]

My boss stocks Russian birch in 5X5 sheets at his lumber yard, and its decent stuff to work with. I'm told appleply is not so easy to come by on the East coast, at least in our area. Not sure if its true, or they just on't want to carry another product?

[Tom Veatch]

If anybody's interested, States Industries has a Distributor Locator (http://www.statesind.com/market/zipcode.html) on their website. Enter your zip code. Closest distributors for me are about 200 miles South in Oklahoma City or 200 miles North East in Kansas City, Missouri. No more than I'd use, it's not worth the drive, even if they did sell it in oneses and twoses.