60" x 60" plywood?

[Mark Rios]

I'm very familiar with the APA and that there are many different "standard" sizes of plywood and I'm sure that there are many dimensions that I don't know about. But I saw (and bought) this 60" x 60", 9 ply, birch plywood at my local hardwood (and hardwood plywood) supplier for the first time about 4 months ago. There are NO voids and they sell it to me for $20. The veneer skins are thicker (a little) than the 3/4" imported birch that I use for the carcasses.

While cutting out the plywood for the cabinetes for my current job, I got to thinking............BOY!!!!! THIS SURE IS AN AWKWARD SIZE PLYWOOD TO DEAL WITH!!!! :D :D (I'm going with a suggestion made to me earlier from my last set of cabs by a couple of you wonderful creekers. I'll be using this 1/2" material for the cab backs and not using nailing cleats. We'll see how it goes.)

Any of you longtimers know what the history of this size plywood is? Why not 60" x 96" or 60" x 120" or whatever?

Loking forward to a little wood/plywood history lesson.;)

[Scott Thornton]

What you probably bought was Baltic Birch plywood. If you check out last month's ShopNotes magazine I believe, they have an excellent description of Baltic Birch and it's history.

Basically, Baltic birch is Russian Birch. Through historical events, it was renamed "Baltic" for the Baltic region. It is an excellent material because it doesn't have voids, the ply's are generally better and it's an overall more consistant plywood.

A spin of Baltic Birch is Finnish Birch, an improvement of Baltic Birch, from...guess where? Finland. Finnish Birch has even better ply and uses exterior glue, obviously, a little more expensive.

HTH.

Thanks.

[Mark Rios]

Thanks Scott. It just might be BB. It certainly is very stable and is very nice to work with.

I was really interested though in the odd (to me) size. Does 60" x 60" material layout better for a certain application? The size is curious. I thought that this might be a good topic for discussion and learning for those of us a little less educated in the fine art and mysteries of plywood. :D Anyone got any other comments/ instruction/ideas?

[Rob Bodenschatz]

All I know is, a 4x8 sheet fits very precisely in the back of my wife's Toyota Sienna. By that I mean there is not an inch of space around the sheet. Chicken? Egg?

[Lee DeRaud]

Are they actually 60"x60" or a touch smaller? In metric-speak, that's pretty close to 150cm square.

(Of course we also have things like melamine sold in 49"x97", so it may be some odd number even in metric.)

[Doug Shepard]

I have a hunch if you convert 60" to metric that it may come out to some nice round metric value. But it's just a hunch.

[Alan Turner]

BB is actually 60" x 60", and it does not translate evenly to metric. Why I do not know, and have never heard a credible explanation. They are a PITA to handle, but I use them all the time. I typically stock BB in 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24mm sizes. Best shop jig material going. But, all that said, only the 24mm is flat. I think it is two 12mm glued up. Note that the veneers inside the plywood are also hardwood, so it is much stronger than standard Am ply.

[Frank Chaffee]

I have a hunch if you convert 60" to metric that it may come out to some nice round metric value. But it's just a hunch.
Doug,
~152.4cm.
Perhaps just enuf oversize for a quality panel to be trimmed and squared of edge dings?
Frank

P.S. The 2.4cm oversize dimension is about 15/16th of an inch, comparable to the 49x97” dimension of some US sheet goods.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

The 5 x 5 panels are 1525mm x 1525 mm. Close enough for 5 by 5.

Usually the same plywood is manufactured at 1220mm by 2440mm (4 by 8 feet) for the export market namely for North American market.

Why 1525 square? Don't know.

GREG

[Stephen Dixon]

The 60" X 60" or 5 by 5 is sized to fit a standard shipping container.

Steve

[Steve Clardy]

Haven't found a reason yet for the odd sizes, but seems like it was said long ago that the trees were short, thus the 5x5 sheets.
Ran across this link on sizes produced.

http://www.th-h.com/balticbirch.html

[John Hulett]

(Of course we also have things like melamine sold in 49"x97", so it may be some odd number even in metric.)

I belive that melamine is oversized because they expect the edges to be trashed. Gives you some cutoff with plenty left over for a 48x96 sheet.

- John

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

And that is why they make panel saws.

[Jim King]

We have a plywood factory here in the Amazon of Peru that produces 48" by 144 " x 1 " thick and it goes to Mexico. I have no idea what it is for.

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Amazon sells plywood now? Can I use my 10% off code? :p

[Jim King]

Rob: The way this Amazon works is with a case of beer to the gaurd you get at least a 50% discount. No card needed.

[glenn bradley]

:( $20 in Modesto? Was that 3/4"? I pay like $33 :( Do that enough and I could finance a road trip.

[Mark Rios]

:( $20 in Modesto? Was that 3/4"? I pay like $33 :( Do that enough and I could finance a road trip.


60" x 60" x 1/2" ply. Normally $22 and some change but they sell it to regular customers for $20.

Apparently ( this is what they tell me anyway) alot of folks use it for drawer bottoms and some even use it for drawer sides. I've used it for sides and put a double roundover on the top and it looks very nice when finished. No voids and consistant plys.

[Rafael Carias]

how's this for a price on baltic birch, at a local lumber yard (Pasadena, California) the price for 1/2" 4' x 4' is an astronomical $65 :eek:. their stuff isn't even 5' x 5' :rolleyes:

[Randy Meijer]

We have a plywood factory here in the Amazon of Peru that produces 48" by 144 " x 1 " thick and it goes to Mexico. I have no idea what it is for.

Why don't you see if you can find out?? That might be very interesting!!:confused: :confused:

[Mark Rios]

Why don't you see if you can find out?? That might be very interesting!!:confused: :confused:


I think that they might use it for tables to roll out REALLY big tortillas on.

MMMmmmmmmmmmm...................tortillas. :p

[John Hemenway]

how's this for a price on baltic birch, at a local lumber yard (Pasadena, California) the price for 1/2" 4' x 4' is an astronomical $65 :eek:. their stuff isn't even 5' x 5' :rolleyes:
Are you sure it's BB? Could be a half sheet of 'ApplePly'. That stuff is $$ plus the upcharge for a half sheet. I've been told there is no apple in 'ApplePly' - just another of life's mysteries. :)

[Rafael Carias]

John, it was baltic birch with a 300% mark up for sure. i'm never gonig there ever again.

[tod evans]

wholesale on broken units of 1/2" baltic is 14.50 each..02 tod

[Mack Cameron]

Hey Doug; 60 X 2.54 = 152.40 cm. Not a really nice round number.