Plywood coasters durability?

[Keith Winter]

Thoughts on using regular birch plywood for coasters?

I was thinking of laser cutting them onto shapes with patterns cut out of them. On the surface I thought no plywood is a bad choice but I see many companies doing coasters like the attached out of plywood. Think they would holdup as coasters for a reasonable time?

[Mike Wilkins]

Why not. You can seal them by placing them in a container of poly or warmed boiled linseed oil. Let them drip dry; maybe repeat for a completely sealed product. Maybe spraying with poly to get all the nooks and crevices filled. Great design.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd use Baltic birch plywood. It has more plies in a given thickness than regular plywood, and there are very few voids. My local dealers carry 1/4" thickness in both 5'x5' and 4'x8' dimensions.

As to durability, I'd expect the plywood coasters to be more durable than solid wood. There's less likelihood of splits in those thin webs.

[Keith Winter]

Thanks guys!

[Jamie Cowan]

Baltic birch all the way. Any lesser plywood is for suckers.

[Robert Parent]

Another vote for baltic birch.... It's also nice to work with!