Informal Survey: Where Do You Get Your Baltic Birch?

[Jeff Wright]

As a serious woodworking hobbyist, I find many uses for a quality ply, something far more stable and refined than that available at the Lowes and HDepot stores. But not being "in the business," getting good baltic birch from area cabinet suppliers is a challenge, made additionally so by not having a truck to transport it home.

How and where do you buy your good plys? Do you create a fictitious company name, approach local cabinet makers and buy some of their stock, order over the internet, or ????

It looks to me like it might pay to buy a large quantity of baltic and resell it to local fellow woodworkers.

[Mike Henderson]

Here in southern California we're blessed with several places that sell good Baltic birch. My favorite is Anderson International (http://www.aitwood.com/)- they carry excellent quality material and they're good people to work with.

The problem with shipping any wood, and especially sheet goods, is the cost and damage in transit.

Mike

[Sam Shank]

I can buy it at lumber yards and at a plywood distributor that sells everyplywood you could ever want - cleveland plywood. They have warehouses in Toledo and I think Sandusky too.

It costs about $25 (I can't remember very well - could be way off) for a 5'x5' 3/4" 13 ply sheet.

[glenn bradley]

I get mine at the local lumber yard, a real lumber yard, that is, not a home center.

[Joe Chritz]

Most lumber yards will be able to order it from their distributors.

I just called around today looking for mdf core ply and all the yards I called could get it in just a few days.

BB shouldn't be odd enough to have to buy large quantities at once.

FWIW I found a shop that stocks it in Clare, MI which isn't a metropolis by any stretch.

Joe

[Doug Shepard]

There's 2 outfits pretty close to me that have BB ply (Pontiac Plywood and Drayton Plywood). Between the 2 of them, getting MDF, MDO, good Birch, Cherry, Maple, and Oak veneer ply, bending ply, and a few other odds and ends usually isn't a problem. They both sell direct to the public but primarily cater to cabinet makers.

[Ron Hedrick]

In the St. Louis area we have 3 sellers that have exceptiona Ply. The Woodnshop, www.woodnshop.com (http://www.woodnshop.com), Aplus Hardwood, AKA: www.cedarcreekhardwoods.com (http://www.cedarcreekhardwoods.com), and St. Charles Hardwod, www.stcharleshardwoods.com (http://www.stcharleshardwoods.com). I have found that in my area anyway, the shops that make various moldings and parts for the flooring, staircase and cabinet makers will sell to individuals as well.

[Glenn Clabo]

http://www.boulterplywood.com/

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I live in a town of about 15,000 in central Texas - not big enough for a BORG. There are three local lumberyards that stock it. It's been a while since I bought any so I couldn't comment on current quality, but I've never had any problems with any I got and it's always in stock. I just called to check on it out of curiosity and half inch, 5'x5' is little over $18.

[Rod Sheridan]

My local sawmill sells baltic Birch plywood.

www.centurymill.com (http://www.centurymill.com)


Regards, Rod.

[Nancy Laird]

Albuquerque has a lumber yard - Lumber Products - where we get our BB ply - we buy it in 1/8" for $6.75 for a 5x5' sheet. I don't remember right now how much we pay for 1/2", but it isn't as much as $18.00.

Nancy

[Ryan Myers]

I buy all my sheet goods at Liberty Hardwoods, located in the midwest. Their closest warehouse to me is amazing, approximately 50,000 sq ft stacked floor to ceiling with wood. I get that warm fuzzy feeling everytime I step inside their warehouse. :) I would say they stock about every variety of sheet good that there is. At least I haven't found one yet that they didn't have. Prices and quality are much better than the BORG too.

[Art Mulder]

My local small hardwood dealer also stocks plywood, and his price for half-inch BB is within a dollar of the price charged at the local Borg. Furthermore, he stocks it in thicknesses from 1/4 to 1" (metric equiv, actually) which the Borg doesn't.

[Don Bullock]

Here in southern California we're blessed with several places that sell good Baltic birch. My favorite is Anderson International (http://www.aitwood.com/)- they carry excellent quality material and they're good people to work with.

The problem with shipping any wood, and especially sheet goods, is the cost and damage in transit.

Mike

Mike, thanks for the post. At least now I have one good source here in So. Cal. for plywood. They are a lot closer to you than they are to me, but they may come in handy the next time I need plywood.:D

[Brian Hale]

I got some from Steve Wall Lumber and was very pleased with price and quality

http://www.walllumber.com/default.asp

Brian :)

[Mark Engel]

If you are not looking for full (5x5 or 4x8, etc.) sheets, check this place out.

http://www.bargainbirch.com/commerce/index.php?cPath=21

They sell 'pre-cut' baltic birch in odd sizes. The inventory is constantly changing, which leads me to believe that they are getting cut offs and/or leftovers from furniture manufacturers or some similar source.

Every time I have checked they have had a decent selection of sizes. Mostly in 12mm(1/2") and 15mm(3/4").

[Nancy Laird]

Sloan's - http://www.sloanswoodshop.com/plywoods.htm - also sells BB ply, cut to size, but they are definitely a little pricey. However, I know that their stock is good.

Nancy

[Dan Oliphant]

Kelly-Wright Hardwoods, in Orange County also carries Baltic Birch 5X5 sheets. My last order, about a week ago, stock was good, my saleman tells me the winter was warm in the Baltic countries, so the harvest of trees was delayed several months. This will have an impact on prices fairly soon if the existing inventory gets stretched too thin prior to new shipments comming into the USA.

[James Leonard]

Here in southern California we're blessed with several places that sell good Baltic birch. My favorite is Anderson International (http://www.aitwood.com/)- they carry excellent quality material and they're good people to work with.

The problem with shipping any wood, and especially sheet goods, is the cost and damage in transit.

Mike

Hi Mike,

That's just around the corner from where I work in Orange. I will go over at lunch sometime and take a look. Austin Hardwoods in Santa Ana has a large plywood inventory and they deliver too.

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

P.S. not much of a website there right now.

-James

[Al Killian]

I get my BB from http://www.niagaralumber.com/products.cfm and hardwood plywood from Thruway Plywood.

[Jeff Wright]

With all these replies to my post, I'm sure someone will mention a good consumer-friendly source here in the Tampa Florida area at any moment. Otherwise, I might have to move to a small mid-western town! ;-)

My local calling so far has turned up no sources for the hobbyist. Gotta have a business account or they won't talk to you.

[Larry Rasmussen]

For the 3/4" 5X5 it is about $45-50 a sheet using Dunn Lumber or Crosscut Lumber. The local Rockler stocks it in 24" X 60 " sheets and smaller for what works out to be a little more than the full sheet price elsewhere. They have had two half price plywood sales recently and I've stocked up then. So if you have a Rockler near by get on the mailing list. Nice to have it pre cut, I just slip it on to the rack on top of my Corolla.
Larry

[Bob Stack]

I get it from "L.L. Johnson Lumber " in either Charlotte or Grand Rapids Michigan. I think they got a store in Fort Wayne but I don't get down that way.

www.theworkbench.com (http://www.theworkbench.com)

They have a graduated price scale the more you buy the better the discount, and have their prices on line. So, I save up my money and go once a year. Went about 2 weeks ago, they had shop grade 3/8 on sale for $10 a sheet, picked up 10 sheets of that along with some 1/2 and 3/4. Now I'll start making big sheets smaller. ;)