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Baltic Birch plywood
in DIY
Does anyone here have a local supplier? I am in Maryland and there isn't one. I am tired of paying 100 dollars a sheet for sh!t plywood from the big box stores. I use to be able to get some decent stuff but after 2020, the wood turn to trash and doubled in price. I use MDF too but some projects I like to use plywood.
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I haven't bought Baltic birch since before covid. 3/4 ACX plywood from auracoply is about 50 bucks here in the midwest. It is very coarsely sanded however and rotary cut so it would be best to veneer or texture paint. You might try locating some double refined MDF.
Aetna plywood is in Chicago and they have locations in other states, but I don't know about the East coast.
I can't even find HDF here. Pretty piss poor. Thanks for the reply.
I will do a search, but I doubt they are here. I just looked for an hour for suppliers. There is a place in Baltimore but they only sell truckloads.
Just checked. KY closest location. Shipping would kill me. I might have to call Russia and start importing to MD, lol!
I’m outside of Steamboat- so local ply is not great. I order from Woodworkers Source https://www.woodworkerssource.com/plywood/12-baltic-birch-plywood-pack-choose-your-size.html
Not inexpensive, but high quality BB ply shipped to your door
I have some local, in Norfolk, VA.
If you need only small pieces, Michael’s carries Baltic birch….or at least did a few years ago….
Crazy I tired selling 4- 4’x4’ 3/4 sheets about a year ago for $100 a sheet locally and all I got was Low Ballers. I’ll burn it and video it for what they were offering.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
I know that feeling ^ . . .
Isn't Apple Ply in Ohio?
https://www.buyappleply.com/
I probably would have made the road trip for that.
Sehlin Sound Solutions
Not sure what part of Md., but check out this ad out of Frederick: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1131559605230068/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:76a1a219-bd49-4e1c-b182-97e89bac801a
Opps, Oregon is a little far. Any distributors in your area?
Only time i used bb was when menards had ~20" squares of 1/2" for reasonable price on sale. But that was before the "special military op".
I would try walking into a local cabinet shop and tell them you are looking for a couple 4x8 sheets of Plum creek double refined MDF made by Weyerhauser or maybe Medex by Roseburgh which would be overkill because it is moisture resistant and therefore more expensive but is good stuff. Make sure you are wearing work clothes with some holes or stains.
The only place to actually buy BB around here is at a couple distributors and they really like selling an entire skid at a time. The one place offers actual BB and a domestic alternative. Not sure if they sell MDF or not, but I imagine they do as they supply cabinet shops in the area. I know a sign/casework company I worked for used particle board for certain things.
Eggguy suggestion is probably your best bet, but will likely cost you.
I have an Eatna Plywood branch in Rockford. Unfortunately they don't sell to the general public (me). I don't have a business tax ID number and I don't want to buy a whole stack of sheets. There is a wood distributor in town that sells their BB. But they want $150 for a 5' × 5' sheet of 3/4". Too salty for me.
https://www.woodworkerssource.com/plywood/12-baltic-birch-plywood-pack-choose-your-size.html
Is currently having a sale on BB
For those who haven't clicked Tajanes link (which takes me to 1/2" material) and browsed around a bit... the vendor can't sell 5'x5' due to shipping limitations so is slicing it up and shipping it. So basically you can get a sheet of 1/8", 1/2", 3/4" etc. cut to your choice of 9 different sizes. A sheet of 3/4" is normally $149 (so @PWRRYD , your local guys seems to be in line with others, which of course salty
) But the 3/4" boards are currently $119 with free S&H. The precut sizes look pretty convenient for most two-way cabinets.
For $119 it would be nice to work with BB again. Maybe the next project with better drivers...
Yeah, I am building towers with Arum Cantus drivers. Two 8", two 5" and Bliesma 34 mm aluminum dome tweeters. I am also going to put a layer of carbon fiber between two sheets of 1/2" BB. I have enough for the baffles so far but looking for a cheaper price for the rest of the cabinet.
QTY 6 of 3/4" BB 20x30 is a pretty great price - that's bigger than a 5x5 sheet.
Other than that, contact cabinet makers, ask where they buy.
Not sure why your BB is so much more expensive than what I pay up here in the Great White North.
I normally pay ~$100.00 CDN for a 3/4" 5'x5' sheet, which works out to be about $73.00 USD.
Most of ours is imported.
My main wood supplier in Santa Fe carries BB, and they REALLY want to sell truckloads to construction crews, but they will sell me single sheets and cut it down to fit my SUV. Price was about $120 5x5 IIRC early 2024.
https://wood-database.com/baltic-birch/
"Baltic Birch is not a specific species of birch, but is a general designation of plywood from Russia, Finland, and nearby Baltic states"
By that it would mean 100% imported. And due to the current "issues" importing things from Russia, we can probably only rely on other countries who likely don't have even close to the same output capacity.
If those damn Canadians would stop peeling the bark off of those trees all winter long for canoe manufacturing and killing them we might have more available, Eh?
BB is now a generic term, and there are domestic suppliers. I'm not sure the status of individual manufacturers, but when I worked for a sign and cabinet company we used exclusively domestic birch plywood.
There are also Chinese options out there but likely not in volume, and not anymore anyways. We switched to the domestic because of QC issues with imported. Odds are the lumber itself was Canadian and it was processed here.