Baltic birch plywood

[mike johnston]

Is Baltic birch plywood from a big box store the same grade as from a lumberyard? I do know there are different grades.

[Jim Becker]

"Maybe"...if it's real BB. But the 'borg's sourcing is variable with time and region so there's no way to know without being able to identify what the actual product is. I'd be surprised but if it's 5x5, it's more likely than if it's 4x8 "multiply".

[Rich Engelhardt]

I would not put it past the big box people to stock Batlic Birch & try to get away with that....

[Edwin Santos]

I've never seen a big box store carry true Baltic Birch. If you found it, consider yourself lucky but caveat emptor.

[Richard Coers]

I would not put it past the big box people to stock Batlic Birch & try to get away with that....
Big Box Stores don't try to get away with anything. If they sell a sheet of plywood for 30% less than a true plywood supplier, I think everyone should know why by now.

[roger wiegand]

Never seen it there. The real stuff is generally stamped. If it comes from far northern Europe (ie Finland, Sweden, Russia, and the norther Baltics) and looks good then it's probably the real thing. There are some makers of real Baltic in 4x8 ft for the US market, I've seen it at Boulter Plywood. The vast majority is 1.5 m square.

[Matt Day]

Big box stores have birch plywood, NOT Baltic birch. At least for HD, Lowe’s, and Menards. Big box store plywood has a bad habit of turning into a potato chip.

[Bill Dufour]

The Home depots near me carry a lot of unknown south and central american plywood. No indication beyond "plywood". Good luck matching some latter.
Bill D

[Warren Lake]

Baltic birch is not even consistent quality from a real supplier. Mine years back said it comes from different places and is not always consistent depending on what he can get at the time. He often had it in 4 x 8's but not always. Havent purchased it for a bit so not sure of the story now.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Big Box Stores don't try to get away with anything. If they sell a sheet of plywood for 30% less than a true plywood supplierI guess it was too subtle..

I said - Batlic B-a-t-, not Baltic B-a-l.

[Wes Grass]

I missed that. LOL!

HD has some small 'project panels'. I've assumed they're BB, but I'm not sure if I've ever even looked at them.

Otherwise, the birch ply I've seen has maybe 3 to 5 inner plies? Not what I'd be looking for.

[andrew whicker]

You will know the real stuff when you see it.

For what it's worth I bought some w/ small account discount a few weeks ago: ~$180 per 19mm (3/4") 4x8 sheet. I don't think HD or Lowes is going to stock $200 plywood..

[Scott Bernstein]

You might already know this - and if so...sorry - but Baltic Birch is a specific type of brand-name plywood which is made with 13 plies of solid wood veneer (in the 3/4" thick variety) and high quality glue. The 1/2" thickness has 9 layers. All the veneer layers, including both faces, are the same thickness. Because the face veneers are much thicker than regular plywood, it does much better with sanding and prepping than regular plywoods. There are other brands of similar style/quality of plywood, one of them is called Apple Ply. They aim to avoid using fillers and general have no, or far fewer, voids than "standard" grade plywoods. Standard grade plywood has far fewer plies for a given thickness than Baltic Birch and may have more voids and/or fillers. Depending on the specific type, the core veneers may be soft wood, MDF, HDF, etc... I have seen Birch plywood at the blue and the orange stores, but it is a standard grade of plywood with a very thin veneer face of birch - this is not the same as Baltic Birch plywood.

I ordered a stack of Baltic Birch 3/4" and 1/2" from a local lumber yard for my kitchen project and now having worked with it, I can tell you it is indeed superior and the "regular" stuff I have purchased at the big box stores is not even close.

[Michael Drew]

I'm curious, why 5'X5' sheets? I can't seem to recall needing 2.5' wide panels in any great amount. Plus, 5X5 sheets are a PITA to get into the back of a pickup with a cab height cap on it. I have to fit them diagonally, and that just makes getting other stuff in the bed even more difficult.

[Scott Winners]

I'm curious, why 5'X5' sheets? I can't seem to recall needing 2.5' wide panels in any great amount. Plus, 5X5 sheets are a PITA to get into the back of a pickup with a cab height cap on it. I have to fit them diagonally, and that just makes getting other stuff in the bed even more difficult.

cabinets. If you rip a 60 x 60 sheet you can have two pieces 30 x 60…

[Wayne Cannon]

I, for one, have been very happy with ApplePly. It comes in 4'x8' sheets. For most jigs and smaller projects, I buy "shop" grade -- very few dings from strapping or handling and a significant price break.

[Donald G. Burns]

I'm curious, why 5'X5' sheets? I can't seem to recall needing 2.5' wide panels in any great amount. Plus, 5X5 sheets are a PITA to get into the back of a pickup with a cab height cap on it. I have to fit them diagonally, and that just makes getting other stuff in the bed even more difficult.


Because BB is produced in countries using metric measurements and it is 1.5 meters x 1.5 meters and 12mm or 19mm thick. Not 5' x 5' and not 1/2" or 3/4" thick.

[Jim Becker]

Because BB is produced in countries using metric measurements and it is 1.5 meters x 1.5 meters and 12mm or 19mm thick. Not 5' x 5' and not 1/2" or 3/4" thick.

True, but most plywood is produced in metric thickness and has been for some time. That's why it's marked with the odd fractional thicknesses. The only materai I've bought in a very long time that came actually at .75" was MDF.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I just bought 3 sheets of 1/2" and 3 sheets of 3/4" Baltic Birch from Terry Lumber in Peninsula Ohio a couple months ago.
It was 60" x 60" - and it was spot on at 1/2" and 3/4".
It's also a pleasure to work with something like that since it makes it so easy to measure and cut.

As far as why it's 5' X 5' - I have searched high and low and nobody seems to know why.

[Frank Pratt]

I just bought 3 sheets of 1/2" and 3 sheets of 3/4" Baltic Birch from Terry Lumber in Peninsula Ohio a couple months ago.
It was 60" x 60" - and it was spot on at 1/2" and 3/4".
It's also a pleasure to work with something like that since it makes it so easy to measure and cut.

As far as why it's 5' X 5' - I have searched high and low and nobody seems to know why.

I got this from a BB distributor. The sheets are actually produced in 5' x 10' sheets for use locally, but for shipping cost reasons, they're cut down to 5' x 5' for the export market.

With regards to quality, several years ago I came across a batch of BB plywood that was about 1/8" out of square. That caused no small amount of grief, so now I always give sheet goods a quick check before cutting just to be sure. I haven't had any BB since that was out, but I've found other sheet goods that were.

[Bill McNiel]

I, for one, have been very happy with ApplePly. It comes in 4'x8' sheets. For most jigs and smaller projects, I buy "shop" grade -- very few dings from strapping or handling and a significant price break.

Here in Seattle ApplePly is significantly more expensive than BB. I use BB for every sheet goods project that I care at about. Crosscut Hardwoods carries both 5x5 & 4x8 which allows me to choose the size that minimizes waste the best.

[andrew whicker]

I can't imagine handling a sheet of 5 x 10 3/4 BB solo.... It's hard enough w/ a 4x8 sheet.

[Frank Pratt]

I can't imagine handling a sheet of 5 x 10 3/4 BB solo.... It's hard enough w/ a 4x8 sheet.

Try to get your head around manhandling 5x10x3/4" MDF. I made all the millwork trim & door jambs for my house out of that stuff. It was pure hell, both for the heaviness of the stock & the ankle deep ocean of dust. I did have a helper for the heavy lifting.

[Earl McLain]

I can't imagine handling a sheet of 5 x 10 3/4 BB solo.... It's hard enough w/ a 4x8 sheet.

At first read the extra didn't sound too bad--only 1 x 2 difference. Then i did the math in my head and came up with 50 Sq Ft versus 32 Sq Ft--right about 55% more area, and weight!! Motivator to stick with small boxes!!
earl

[mike johnston]

Wow this post has legs. The reason I asked is because a few years ago I did see Baltic birch ply at the local menards, 5x5 sheets. It was advertised as Baltic birch. But have not looked lately.

[andrew whicker]

Not just the weight.. have you handled a 5x5? I am 5'9 (and mostly square, i.e. my ape index is 1) and I can't reach the top of the sheet, so it's a total pain to carry around. Let alone doubling it's length..

[Derek Meyer]

I can handle 5x5 Baltic birch with no trouble, but 5x10 would be difficult.

I've got a sheet of 1" 4x8 MDF in my garage, left over from a project years ago. I had to move it last year, and about killed myself. That stuff is really heavy!

[Frank Pratt]

Not just the weight.. have you handled a 5x5? I am 5'9 (and mostly square, i.e. my ape index is 1) and I can't reach the top of the sheet, so it's a total pain to carry around. Let alone doubling it's length..

Yes, that's one of the down sides to 5x5 sheets. They really are awkward to handle. I'm careful to think it through before moving a sheet cause it's so easy to strain something.

[Ron Selzer]

Back in my mid 30's I worked for a company and we made office furniture for in house use. 5x12 3/4 mdf was feed through the panel saw from time to time. I handled it by myself, the rest of the guys were smarter and two carried it to the panel saw.
Fortunately not an every day occurrence as most was 30" by 10' or 4x8. Also I was maintenance electrician for the company and only had to work in the shop when they were behind bad, to make prototypes, or I had nothing else to do.
No way could I handle one of those big sheets now, struggle with 4x8 melamine now. 5x5 3/4 BB is not bad to handle as I do have the wing span to do it.
Ron

[Alan Lightstone]

The 5 x 5 sheets also don't fit in my panel saw, which I learned the hard way. Ah, time to break out the track saw.