No More Baltic Birch! What Am I Going To Do?
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
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![Birch Ply Alternatives? [video 527]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-injtkjghA8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Birch Ply Alternatives? [video 527]](/img/tr.png)
I work for Purebond and we may or may not be coming out with a 13 layer (3/4") voidless plywood, made from hybrid poplar. That means 100% plant based plywood made AND grown in the USA.
IF Purebond were to make such a plywood, when might it hit the market?
I'll believe it when I see it. There's a lot of pent up demand for hi-ply voidless plywood.
Around next spring.
@@jamesdeclan7538 I'm waiting!
I may or may not know a feller who's using it for your marketing team and it looks great, wish I could have done that as well
Chris, after meeting you today touring your fantastic shop and talking with you for a period of time I am very happy to say you have a new friend and a definite follower. Keep it up, stay safe and have fun.
Thank you Mike it was a pleasure showing you around. Tell Glenn I said hello
Chris- Oooo!!! I didn’t know you were giving tours! Headed your way Memorial Day weekend and (if I could convince my Navigator/Wife) would love to get a ticket for the show! Where do I sign up?!?!😜😜😜
OPHS Class of ‘87!
@@AGlimpseInside hello
Hi K9
A perspective from the UK. I don’t know if you have the same classifications of plywood as we do (AB is the best, then B, BB veneer, BB and finally C). We really buy based on that classification because the name Baltic Birch can be be misleading in terms of Baltic Birch = highest quality.
Some/most of the best Baltic birch comes from areas bordering….the Baltic. It doesn’t have to but a good plywood would consist of layers of slow grown timber and slow grown timber usually comes from colder climates.
AB is very hard to get hold of now - hardly surprising when you understand higher demand and lower supply from Russian sources. I would guess that the supplies from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden (?) are being used locally or snapped up on contract by businesses.
There is plenty of Chinese plywood around - as a woodworker I could class this on that alphabetical scale as between Y and Z. Whether Chinese or not, these cheaper plywood seem to be made on the basis of just throwing together every bit of junk wood, adding loads of glue and then pressing them as hard as you can to get somewhere near the thickness you say it should be. It delaminates in a heartbeat.
And just calling a plywood “hardwood plywood” is certainly no indication of quality. That term hardwood means different things to different manufacturers and, don’t forget, balsa wood is a hardwood.
There is some B/BB plywood being sold and an 8’ x 4’ x 18mm sheet is around £225 per sheet ( no doubt cheaper by the pallet). I haven’t seen this in person and so can only talk about it from a photo. From that, a grading of B/BB looks optimistic.
There are some alternatives and some potential alternatives. The eucalyptus ply that I have seen is in the BB/C category to my eye - although I haven’t seen it classified as anything. Eucalyptus itself is an interesting wood to work with - it can look great but it shakes and warps at will - but I guess the ply making process takes care of that. Rubber plywood is another as is bamboo plywood as is palm ply.
What I haven’t seen in any of these alternatives is high quality manufacture. I don’t know if it’s physically impossible to make the thin veneers of rubber, bamboo or palm that are needed for that Baltic birch aesthetic and stability. The laws off supply and demand should throw up high quality plywood if manufacturers think there will be a long term demand.
good commend, some C&A (cheep n' asty) Chinese "oak"ply has a paper thin outer layer, looks more like sprayed on oak !?
@@JohnColgan. thank you for that. I haven’t seen that particular travesty of plywood but I’m not surprised that it exists. Made in China doesn’t necessarily mean poor quality; it does depend upon what the customers of those factories ask for. However, I would never knowingly buy Chinese plywood just as I wouldn’t buy any machinery that has an engine made in China.
There does seem to be movement by some of the large manufacturers away from China. Those who went there to exploit the Chinese market will no doubt stay but there are some who went there for lower cost who have turned to Eastern Europe. However, as we currently see in Ukraine, there are issues sourcing even nearer to home.
Bamboo is extraordinary stuff but there are many varieties and apparently it's 2nd year growth of a particular variety that is structural. Sugar palm is weird looking but I have nice chop sticks and chop sticks holding box from the stuff, seems quite strong and durable. I had a few pieces of Royal Palm trunk, un-processed or treated in any way they turned into nasty mush in a few months. Paulownia is a wood that can be very high quality to keep an eye on. Grown fast it can be twice the strength of balsa at twice the weight of balsa. Grown slow in USA it is shipped to Asia for high quality harp type musical instruments. POTUS Jimmy Carter (among others) has grown the wood and produced $$$$$ furniture from it. Sometimes it may be sold as "whitewood" instead of pine. I know nothing about eucalyptus, I thought it was fast growing, I had no idea it was available as plywood, where the glue must be quite important in the qualities of the final product.
Via Googling there are varieties of Eucalyptus and also recently developed handling, kiln drying, and sawing techniques that make eucalyptus a much more usable wood than previously.
@@JohnColgan.
A friend who owns a cabinet shop measured the face veneer on some import plywood and the veneer measured .003 "
Improvise, adapt, and overcome! Keep up the great work Chris.
It looks like a great alternative, nice discovery
Baltic birch is still in supply here in Ireland 🇮🇪. But at between $140 and $ 160 a sheet it’s unaffordable. 2 years ago it was less than half that. Eucalyptus is about $80 a sheet so it will interesting to see how you get on with it. Keep us updated 👍
This time last year i was paying £64 for 18mm BB/BB birch ply. i looked the other day and it's now anywhere between £190 and £211 per sheet. 😭
Chris, herein Brazil we don't have Plywood any closer to the quality of those BB, but It seens to me that your gonna be very happy to the Eucalipytus one. I use blanks to make my french cleats and works great
You’re still a young man Chris and you will find that life is one big pivot.
I feel your pain. Halfway into a huge concessions renovation cabinet job in an old historic theater. Fifty feet with twelve modules. The first couple were made with BB. Then the supply dried up. Even domestic cabinet grade became hard to get. After accepting the fact that I had to use what I could get, like it or not, then another day got spent revising the drawing and tool paths to account for the extra two thousandths. It matters a lot for dados and when you are trying to thread a needle on dimensions. Most folks, hobbyists in particular, never think about that or realize the impact. Best of luck on your end. Send me some good karma my way if you find any extra. :-)
Absolutely I will send whatever, I can find. That sounds like a challenge brother in terms of everything drying up. I hope you were able to get out of the weeds on that as quick as possible
As long as you are going to talk "precision" it might be good to stop referring to the difference in thickness between .700 and .720 as 2 thousands of an inch when it is actually 20 thousands.
Hey Chris, Thank you making yet another tool holder... I am going to need to get!! 😀
I really like the look of the eucalyptus plywood!!
Keep up the great work! Praying over your business and family daily!!
Chris, thanks for sharing the results of all your research. I’ll see if I can get a sheet or two next time I’m in J’Ville.
Awesome, Chris! Looks like a great replacement! 😊
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
I've watched you for some time and love your progression thru the years to becoming a full fledged business. As a former woodworker from NY(but now a south Florida resident) I remember a product marketed as Appleply plywood with quality and construction very similar to Baltic Birch. If it's still available(and not another marketed name for the Baltic Birch your using) you should investigate. Hope that helps! Bill H.
Yes the mystical Appleply. I believe the manufacturer either stopped making it or makes it in limited sources may be in the Pacific Northwest. Which is the complete polar opposite from us lol. Although don’t hold me to this I’ve asked about it and just been told it’s not available
Unfortunately ApplePly is made by a manufacturer that is so swamped they are not taking on new business. To the best of my knowledge there are few (if any) dealers that have the product in NE Florida. Also, the retail price would be almost, if not, double the cost of Baltic.
I'm in the Northeast and Appleply is impossible to get. Ask any dealer about it and they'll immediately say they've tried and can't get it
@@AGlimpseInside Appleply is made by States Industries and is difficult to get. My solution was to use Columbia Forest Products Europly. I was able to specify the species and grade for the outside veneers. I did have to order a full lift which was 28 sheets. HD carries Columbia products so maybe you could do a special order from HD if your supplier does not carry Columbia.
You gotta do what you gotta do! We will be happy because you keep us informed, and you do make great products!
I use about 10 pallets of Baltic Birch for my laser cutting business per year. I bought a year's supply when I thought it was gonna "hit the fan". I'm having to plan on it never coming back so I'm looking into an $8000 veneer peeler from alibaba, drying racks, hydraulic press etc. I've always used 15" square sheets so I think I can make my own plywood using 16" long pieces of log, maple probably so I can source it locally. I could just get one of the local loggers to drop off 10 cord and I can chainsaw out 16" long pieces avoiding knots, use the rest for firewood. Glue it all up with slightly watered down Titebond II
Many woodworkers have a lot of tools with cables instead of batteries. How about making some cable management stuff for your tool holders? Just a thought, keep up the good work! :) Oh, and I love the look of that eucalyptus plywood btw!
Just a comment about cable management Marius; Last year while clearing out my father-in-law's estate shop, I came across several old but orange plastic-cased Black N Decker hand tools, with no cords on them figured they were old 1 gen battery-powered hand tools I tossed them in the junk pile. Later on in the project when the huge 30-yard dumper arrived a came across them again, this time I noticed I happen to notice that the drill, saber saw, and sander all had the same female 120-volt receptacle in the base of the pistol grip handle being of interest now I set them aside this time and keep my eye open for a cord that would fit them and sure enough I found one,. It was nice that the same cord would fit all three! Wow-what a great Idea and marketing scheme that I had never heard of seen before, B-n-D had a tool line feature that could have swept the power tool industry and never did anything with it? Just think, all your hand power tools and all you need was one or two cords laying on your workbench and you could use a real power tool that lasted 10 times longer than any stupid weakling battery-powered hand tool! That was a DAMN good idea! B n D bring it back again, although I don't care for B n D!
@@davidschwartz5127 Marius Hornberger here on YT refitted all his corded tools with a similar system in on of his videos actually! :)
Buy some zip ties
@@ironsparks1 yeah, that's a great business idea for a maker... 🙄
So glad to see you doing well, and giving back! Keep up the great work.
Ps. Don't worry about working with hardwoods, keep doing what you love. If it ain't broke..
We bought some 4x8-3/4 BB recently it was 165.00 a sheet supplier expected it to hit 500.00 per sheet for what was left in the U.S. Thanks for shearing.
I got my package for the supporting artist campaign and everything in it was EPIC!!!! All the tool holders are amazing and I'm glad you are continuing to create new products and support up and coming talent!!!
Thank you Patrick I appreciate the support. Thanks for the kind words as well
@@AGlimpseInside You do great work!!!
It is easy to find good Birch plywood here in Finland made in Finland or Latvia but we have other annoyance here, you ques it it starts letter R.
I've always thought the eucalyptus is very pretty. I'm glad to see someone giving it a try
Hi Chris Hope your well buddy, love the look of the eucalyptus wood, I think it will save the day and very pleasent on the eye. Stay safe buddy and blessings to you and your loved ones.
Thank you Neil very much appreciated Bubba
What you do is inspiring as always and definitely motivational too. I just designed a logo for my buddies new decorative concrete business. And it got me thinking you should do a couple cut outs, that when stacked on top of each other make a layered piece of art of your business name with the rest of the birch. Sell a few, give them away, but definitely keep one. Couldn't post a picture to better explain. Keep it up though .
Great info, Chris. BB is almost impossible to find here in S. Fl ( I'm about 250 miles south of you), so Plan B is always nice to have. Is the Eucalyptus available in 4x8 sheets and is it readily available? I have some shop builds coming up and really need the thicker outer plies for durability.
Great solution. You might also look at the boat building plywoods as well.
You know I reached out to a boat builder last week and they quoted me $500 for some of that marine grade plywood. Pretty crazy but it’s beautiful stuff the orange and yellow stuff I have that’s teak and Holly, My outfit table is made with it was gotten from a salvage yard and it was in bad shape. Rough edges in the lake a few scratches. And they still wanted $100 per sheet
Great tip on plywood Chris! Was thinking of switching to Masonite hardboard but it doesn’t look anywhere near as nice as Baltic birch. 👍
Awesome Pete. Thanks for tuning in bro
Thanks for the tip, Chris. I'll have to ask my local suppliers for Eucalyptus. I like the look. Good luck!
I understand. Thanks. Been looking for Baltic birch for a while now.... ror making some table saw inserts and some out feed extensions and a portable out feed router extension. I like the looks of the wooden equipment holders... trying to eliminate metal where i can to reduce emf noise and electrical/electric chatter for my electronic devices in my new basement workshop. Gonna check out your stuff asap.... i like your demeanor and the way you speak to your audience. Awsome job.
North American manufactures need to get their act together and produce a better plywood product, its not hard to do. Most of the lumber we get in BC is crap unless you spec #1 grade, same goes with the plywood. Most of the good lumber products goes overseas.
Looks like a good alternative, and the aestetic could work better for some projects. I'll have to see if I can find some to play with.
I recently bought plywood here in Oz called 'hardwood' ply. I don't know what the species is but assumed it was Australian hardwood and in my workspace it grew whiskers, extreme mould, within 6 weeks although none of it on the other plywoods. I'm guessing it was made with Casein glue.
Haven't watched the video yet but I just wanted to say that here in Tuscany where I live I bought two sheets of baltic birch from my local shop and this was the last pallet they got. They have no idea if they will get more or when. Quite sad though 😕
Considering the majority of birch comes from Russia, it’s understandable why we’re not currently receiving any, and may not for some time. Finland also provides much, as a few others in the Baltic states
Came here to say exactly the same thing. I don't expect that Baltic Birch will be available for a long time as I can't see the West clamouring to do business with Russia any time soon!
Actually Ukraine, according to my supplier, but yeah, that's why.
@@olafbigandglad more so that region
Plywood made of birch is made in almost all countries around the Baltic sea but some of the timber was usually from Russia or Belarus.
The problem is not so much the war, but the economic boom after Covid and backlog of orders.
I have also heard of a similar plywood called Appleply, made in Oregon by States Industries. Maybe worth checking out if available in your area.
Appleply is great. I think the quality is even better than Baltic Birch.
I've used ApplePly. It's pretty awesome stuff. More plys than baltic birch. Heavier. True maple veneers on both sides. A bit more expensive though.
@@brucejohnson1264, I remember Apple Ply as excellent, but composed of Poplar plies that were thicker than BB, and lighter.
Sorry dudes, apple ply is Baltic birch veneered with domestic species here in good old usa with a huge upcharge.
Source - I asked my apple ply vendor last week.
I have been a cabinet maker for thirty plus years.
@@tvogel1810, then the oroduct has changed over the years, I used it when it was first introduced to the market as an alternative to Baltic Birch. It was definitely as I describe: poplar plies a trifle thicker than the BB (with domestic thinner face veneers as you say).
You might want to mention the difference in thickness between BB and American made ply is that BB is made to Major millimeter dimensions and we make to inch fractions. Great video.
Maybe plywood is made to fractional inches But the nominal size is not the actual size. Typically, the actual thickness of plywood is 1/32 inch less than the nominal thickness. The metric size is kind of arbitrary too. 1220 x 2438 doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
Glad to hear you share in the process and problem solving you face as a maker. One of the great things I've respected of others like Izzy Swan over the years... Not afraid to share your thoughts or insights ... Big thumbs up 👍
Thsnks brother. Great video and I do like the new ply. Keep this stuff coming!
You might want to also look at what's called applebox plywood. Which is also fairly similar too Baltic birch, but domestically made. The biggest problem I see from my point of view on the eucalyptus is that the outward faces, at least on one side. Seem to be very thin. Which I personally try to avoid thin veneered plywood's. Since they go transparent, or due to cut and compression inconsistencies. Can lead to circular burn throughs. Which I find most Baltic birch, has less problems with. Since the outer faces are usually a fully ply, not just a veneer.
I’ve never been able to find the mythical 5x5 BB plywood and always used 11-layer cabinet grade birch. Works a treat
The 5x5 BB is all I've been able to find in stock around here. 4x8 BB has to be ordered in. I got stuck making a built-in out of the lower grade birch veneered plywood Home Depot sells because I needed a length of 81 inches. It had a few voids, but wasn't a problem in the end.
Gonna smell Lovely in your Shop ! Wishing you only the best....
I'm from The Oz, but hadn't heard of Eucalypt ply. Interesting. Where's it sourced & the manufacturer?
I've never had the opportunity to work with BB ply either, but my experience with Eucalypt hardwoods would indicate this will be an excellent hardwood ply, just maybe a bit heavier.
Easily machinable ply that does not tear out on the router was always expensive but since coof etc it is no longer available here.
All you can get is pine plywood - and it is too soft by a long shot.
Solution: Give it a liberal coat of thinned out varnish and let it dry slowly and well before you use it.
Varnish soaks in deep due to being thinned out and binds the fibers together so that it is much more stable for CNC routing.
Downside: Cutters get clogged up and I have had to program in a "stop and retract up" bit of code into the final g-code file so that I can clean the tool with a thinners rag otherwise all sorts of bad things happen.
Downside: Takes a little bit longer.
Upside: Cuts better (no tear-outs) than the material I used to use so far less rejects AND the material is WAY less expensive and freely available. Save about 60km to get more stock and petrol is EXPENSIVE...
Yuppp, that Baltic ply is incredible. 1/2" is more stronger than 3/4' softwood ply and alot cleaner.
A sheet of 1/2" is now about $180.
Don't know if it is available now, but years ago, along with Baltic birch, Finland made a comparable product, Finnish birch. Supposedly just as good as Baltic. I wonder why Canada isn't making something similar. They have the forests available. Thanks for the video. Jon
Nice. Yeah the Finnish stuff would be nice to see. Thanks Jon
@@AGlimpseInside The Baltic Sea connects Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark.
The countries in the South of the Baltic Sea probably don't have a lot of birch (somebody may know better?), but I know for a fact that Sweden, Finland, Russia and Estonia all have the same type of birch trees, and quite a few of them to boot.
The cost of labor is higher in Sweden and Finland than in Russia and Estonia, but if I were you I would try to contact companies there and see what they can offer.
NAFTA killed a ton of the mills in Canada. We mostly ship raw lumber to be processed elsewhere now. It sucks for a lot of those towns that used to rely on those Mills
@@AGlimpseInside Look up a company from Finland called Koskisen. They make great quality Finnish Birch ply. Maybe your suppliers in the US could start talking to them in the absence of Russian Baltic Birch. No doubt it will be more expensive than the Russian stuff!
About 15 years ago, the Seattle area Home Depot stores stocked a great hardwood 3/4 inch plywood from Chile at around $45 a sheet. Man, it was heaven. Not so today.
Baltic Birch is completely unobtainium where I live. Been searching everywhere and can't find it in any grade or size. I have piles of lauan plywood to choose from but 90% of it is construction grade. The rest is surfaced with printed melamine or a thin coating of some kind. It's also very expensive but fairly uniform in thickness so would probably work OK in a CNC. Just wish I had one to find out. Hardwood veneered plys for furniture are also rare and even more expensive. I'll keep an eye out for eucalyptus ply, thanks for the tip.
I use Apple Ply. It’s 13 ply .73 which is a lot closer to the US standard 3/4” and comes in 4’ by 8’ and is faced with maple.
Eucalyptus ply is expensive here in Australia. The timber comes all the way from….Australia. 🤪
Love your work 👍
Where I work we have had the same problem with getting bb plywood, what we used to get was 5'×5' and great quality. We had to switch to a 4x8 plywood that comes from China. The quality is dramatically poorer. The veneer layer is so thin it sands through to reveal an orange layer underneath in no time. Also it doesn't take a screw well at all without delaminating whereas the Baltic Birch had no problems with fasteners. I can't wait until real BB ply comes back.
Looks nice pal. Good luck with the changes.
x Russian Birch importer, newly importing a panel that is 90% as dense as Russian Birch, 2 great faces and a voidless core. Awesome for cabinets. I am impressed by the similar quality!
I love your videos! Keep them coming and keep including your family!
I am a big fan of cross laminated timber, 3 thick plies and it can be your regular spruce. Soft wood but good stuff.
Its interesting , that Birch from Russia was 90% exported to USA and China. And all the time it was problem inside Russia to buy it. Time is changing. Wish you luck and new materials, man!
Great! I also understand that eucalyptus is a very fast growing wood (making it more sustainable). Bamboo might be faster, but I don't know if it's easy to make bamboo plywood.
I was curious, so I spent a tiny bit of time googling it.
The first few prices I saw for 4x8 "bamboo plywood" sheets were around $190. It is a much more engineered form of lumber than most plywood. It looked like there are several radically different technologies. One cuts the bamboo into little planks and glues them into a solid sheets. Another breaks the bamboo down into fibers then makes larger sheets out of that.
I haven't seen any of the stuff up close. It doesn't appear to be worth paying a premium for it. If it truly is more sustainable, then the price should drop eventually.
What part of fast growing makes it more sustainable?
We use bamboo ply for some parts of our van builds. Love it! The last order we got from Cali bamboo and I think it was about 160 a sheet? For 3/4”
My son has eucalyptus flooring. Works great.
It looks like nice plywood! Thanks Chris
There is (last I checked) still one mill in the US that makes premium plywood. I can buy it at Northland Forest Products in Troy VA. It's A-1 grade, all hardwood cores, 13 ply (in 3/4"). It comes as 96.5" x 48.5" rough cut so you don't ding an edge in handling. Available in Red Oak, White Maple, and Cherry. I have never found a void in the sheets that I have used. Absolutely beautiful, except for the price. The yard has to buy a whole bunk and this stuff isn't cheap, so hard to find folks carrying it. Also, I've never been able to find it to purchase, but in some parts of the company ApplyPly is available. I'm told it's similar to high quality baltic birch or the plywood I describe and was specifically designed for making furniture with exposed plywood edges. It's made in Oregon, so availability is probably better on the west coast. The high quality plywood is getting harder and harder to find -- cabinet makers have switched to MDF cores with hardwood veneers as the MDF is cheaper and generally good enough for cabinets. The only people left using this stuff are people who need extreme strength (13 ply) like boat builders or people doing decorative projects like furniture and the like who want exposed edges with no voids.
I contacted your guys when you posted the video about a month ago because the only BB I could find in my area was $250/sheet! They told me then that their supply had completely dried up, like a lot of places, but recommended Asian import plywood (Vietnam and Malaysia) as a good alternative. I will have to compare to the eucalyptus, so thanks for sharing! Those guys are great, btw... you are lucky to have them!
That’s awesome. Yeah good group of guys and gals. Glad you had a good experience and they were helpful. And thanks for watching thanks for being here it means a lot
I've never seen birch in South-East Asia. What kind of birch would that be?
You mean the tree source? I have never researched it, but a quick google search for a spec sheet indicates the Vietnamese plywood is White Birch veneer with Acacia & Eucalyptus core. I can't find good spec info on the Malaysian plywood, but it seems maybe Malaysian Red veneer with Keruing core. I edited my original comment to read Asian import plywood rather than Asian import "birch" plywood.
@@melissagraham6180 Ok - that makes a lot more sense! There is a lot of wood in South-East Asia, and I am sure there are wood types that can be used to make good plywood given the right knowledge and equipment.
@@meadish To be honest, I still find a lot of instances where both are called "birch" plywood, so I don't know. Regardless... they are alternatives to the much loved Baltic Birch that we have to do without for now.
Our supplier said theres a few months left and then it's gone. Priced at $230 a sheet for 18mm 4x8 sheets.
We do what's necessary to keep the business going. You got my support brother.
Thank you Philip I appreciate that
So,,interesting is that I didn’t know you were going to make a “larger “ tool holder,so I enlarged one of yours..and it does work well for larger tools. Thanks 😎
What’s up Lou!! If I remember correctly you were one of the first people to buy something from my website. Like the first 10 or so I believe. Thank you brother I appreciate the feedback
I just called my supplier. They'd never even heard of Eucalyptus plywood. Hopefully they'll look into it now.
In France there is recently much more ply made with poplar in local hardware stores... it's all sourced and processed within France. I have no idea what it's going to be like long term but have started using it in my production and it's very nice to work with and good quality stuff. Baltic birch (sold generally as 'marine' ply in France) has reached totally insane prices.
Looks more like a marine grade plywood. No problem getting it up here in Canada. Lots of it on the shelves.
I appreciate you sharing your discovery. It looks like a viable option. I only wish the outer veneer was thicker.
Is the cost a lot different, relative to when baltic birch was still available?
I wish the veneer was thicker on all plywood lol.
@@A6Legit at least with birch plywood the veneer is usually the thickness of the regular layers.
Watch out for hungry koalas coming to chew on your eucalyptus!
Great insight into your process, thanks for the glimpse 😎
Thank you Cory. Good to hear from you brother!
I don’t know that I would call it game changing but well done on the pivot. Lots of small businesses failed because of supply issues and a failure to pivot. It’s hard to leave behind what works normally just because the world isn’t acting normal.
We used to always say in the Air Force “Adapt and Overcome”. Which is what you are doing here.👍👍
So, what else are you stealing from the Marines? Their goal is, improvise, adapt and overcome all obstacles in all situations.
I worked with eucalyptus 3/4 ply. At $150 for a 4x8 sheet. I had high hopes. I had outer veneer failure, veneer splintering into my hands(really sharp), and small voids. Surely there’s a better voidless ply available now?
Thank you 😊
The eucalyptus ply looked pretty nice.
Great information, i don't have Baltic Birch plywood in my area. I usually use cabinet plywood from Home Depot, that's at a stand still right now. The price of a sheet went from $44.00 to$64.00 a sheet. In the matter of 3 weeks, they told me that price is only garentyed for a few days, inflation is out of control
Looked at price yesterday and its $90
Here in Hawaii, BB plywood is a termite magnet. Actually that is pretty much true of anything that is not treated. I wonder if eucalyptus is better? Bamboo plywood does not have terrible termite problems, but it gets moldy really fast. I have to store my stock in a dehumidified closet.
No comparison as far as toxicity level though. Baltic Birch plywood has NO formaldehyde in the product and the ones your showing DO have formaldehyde in them.
I need to build me some garage cabinets, What is the best thickness plywood to use? Will not be a lot of weight in them.
That's great that you found an alternative to BB plywood. Our local lumberyard primarily caters to the construction industry, so the closest I've come is the BB from the big box stores an hour away. Do you have any recommendations on how to source quality ply affordably when there's nothing nearby?
Love that shirt!!!!!!
Well I would sure hope so
Flexibility, Agility and Persistence is the key to success. You go, Chris!
I used to buy it 3 yrs ago from McCoys lumber. Then they quit carrying it. Can’t find it anymore.. bummer!
Like the look of the new plywood.
Love it brother. I know you’ve been hard at work looking for an alternative. Definitely looks like you found it.
Good work-around for your plywood of choice.
Hi Chris. Good heads up 'cause we'd all be asking... I never been able to get the premium BB locally (small town in rural PA) but I used to get a pretty decent 11 ply at the big box although it had pretty thin face veneer. It also became unavailable during Covid. I'll have to look into some alternatives as well. I'm moving into my outdoor furniture season where I use mostly Larch/Tamarack so well see what happens. As always I appreciate all you do. Thanx, Greg
Hey Greg. I’m from central pa. Where do you find the best plywood? I’ve heard industrial plywood has great stuff but they are only open when I’m at work. My woodworking is a side thing.
If you think that baltic birch plywood is only made in russia you are little wrong. Best baltic birch plywood is manufactured in Estonia and Latvia by Finland company called UPM and I think it’s possible to buy without any problems
Yeah I’m aware of the Baltic area in which it originated and is still made somewhat. The lion’s share of the worlds “Baltic” birch does come from Russia. I’ve heard of some manufacturers up in South Carolina having Finnish Birch. A little too pricey for my blood but I bet it’s amazing
New stuff looks superb!! Can’t wait to get some of it.
Ok so where do you source the Eu ply from and for that matter the baltic birch..here in the northeast both are pretty non available..
how is the manufacture getting around the major spliting problem of Eucalipytus?
I'm in central Maryland and so far, I still have Baltic Birch available to me here. The price has skyrocketed since just this past September. Least expensive 1/2" 4x8 BB was $68 in September. Just picked up a load last week for $111 per sheet. Insane. Other suppliers around here have it but at much higher pricing. I like the look of the Eucalyptus. I've done a few projects with the hardwood and it had a unique smell. Almost antiseptic-like. Is the ply the same when cut?
Over here in the UK, birch ply is very hard to find as well. The last price I was quoted for 3/4" was £131 a sheet, or slightly under $164!
I buy 8'x4' sheets of 15mm here in the UK, up until Xmas I was paying £55 a sheet, now paying £110, but that stock of 20 sheets will only last a couple of months. Have seen some places selling at over £300 a sheet !!
Trying other grades of ply but have found nothing suitable for my trade yet.
Poplar is darn soft and the eucalyptus is a nice idea but meh. I am looking at maple for cabinets.
The cost of G2S A Baltic Birch plywood adds up very fast.
Apple ply is worth looking into
Well, I went to apple ply some time ago, and it still seems to be readily available here in Oregon. Haven't seen the eucalyptus yet. Most of what I do is on the wood lathe...
Not true. Appleply is baltic birch. They just put domestic hardwood veneers on the outside. supplies are running thin to non existent at state industries. Appleply and europly will dry up same as baltic birch
Sorry I couldn’t make it past2:03. , but let’s visualize world peace and get this stuff worked out and get back using Baltic Birch plywood.
So.... Does it smell like eucalyptus? If so, you could easily get into areas where smell would be a selling factor, such as kitchens, inside closet organizers, etc.
Just curious, does the eucalyptus plywood smell like eucalyptus when you cut it? That would almost be as good as chopping up a bunch of Cedar next in a shop
The wood smells nothing like the leaves do. I have a tree service in Southern California and work with it almost daily. It is a super tough wood(there are many varieties) .
@@robertbenedict4651 thanks. I'll add that to my list of things I didn't know this morning that I know this afternoon.
I though about you when you posted about how to get Baltic plywood, I was pretty sure it was going to be impossible to get due to where it comes from, and the situation there. I think you made a great pivot. Good luck.
Thank you Scott I appreciate that
Thanks!
Nice Making It t shirt!
Can you update your programs to use cutter radius/diameter comp so that you can make quick adjustments at the control depending on material thickness instead of needing to re-program parts if your material changes again or the Eucalyptus is not a consistent as the Birch was?