Anyone know a good supplier of Baltic Birch plywood?

[davy_owen_88]

Hi all, I'm looking for 3/4 and 1 inch thick void free high quality baltic birch ply for the construction of guitar/bass speaker cabs.

I've looked all over and I can only seem to find different varieties of birch. I really don't know what the differences are between the different varieties, but I do know that baltic birch is the one recommended and most widely used.

I'm prepared to buy it in large quantities but something to consider from reading another post about plywood is that

1) I don't have a forklift truck...
2) I don't have a farmer friend with a tractor
3) I'm not prepared to move to a farmer occupied area or buy a forklift truck. :lol:

What size are standard sheets (if there is such a thing) and will the suppliers mentioned be able to cut it into more manageable sheets for delivery or will I need to hire a van for a day to pick it up?

Cheers all,
Davy

 

[jasonB]

Baltic refers to the area where the tree was grown. Finnish birch is generally regarded as the best but is now harder to find. Latvian and other east european countries are the most common source now.

1220x2440 is standard but you may find 1525x1525 is also stocked.

Speak to your supplier, the ones I use, the driver is willing to help unload and I can manage an 18mm sheet myself.

Hopefully one of the other members will know a more local supplier.

Jason

 

[Scrit]

As Jason says, the Latvian stuff is easier to find than the Finnish and it's also considerably cheaper although I don't rate it as highly for quality (even when it's nominally graded the same). The Chinese are now starting to come into the market with hardwood and birch plywoods (and they're cheap) although I've heard some horror stories about the quality. Nott been too impressed when I've machined it to date.

The other "standard" size on Finnish (apart from 8 x 4 and 5 x 5) up to about 18mm thick is 10 x 5 feet (3050 x 1525) with a few mills offering 10 x 4 feet (3050 x 2440) although you really don't want to handle eithert of those on your own.

If you are looking for void-free then you'll need at least a B/BB grade or possibly the better S/B grade (you might get away with a BB/BB, but only in Finnish). S/B or S/BB is more expensive than B/BB and probably the best surface you'll see (although at a cost premium) and personally I've never seen the mythical A grade, so maybe it is a myth after all. For your benefit the grades (best to worse) are A, S, B and BB - below BB is shuttering or construction grade and not suitable. Normally one side is "face quality" and better than the other, hence the "B/VBB" notation.

Few of the plywood merchants I know are prepared to cut, although for anyone in the North of England Peter Benson in Darwen and Lawcris in Leeds will both do so at an extra charge. Unfortunately they aren't in your patch.

If you are prepared to buy in pack quantities (40 to 60 sheets at that thickness) then any of the plywood importers (such as my local plywood supplier, Pennine Timber in Oldham/Tilbury) will deliver to you and the prices are considerably better - however they won't cut. In these quantities prices are normally quoted landed and cleared ex-Tilbury (or Hull the other majot r plywood port) with a transport surcharge, so the more you buy the cheaper the transport cost - but they do like you to have a FLT to offload the wagon as shifting 40 odd sheets can take some time!

Scrit