Need to find 8 foot long 3/4 inch thick baltic plywood, 4 foot wide or less. My local supplier has only 60 x 60 inch. Any suggestions?
Just about any lumberyard that supplies the cabinet-making trade should have it in 4’x8’ sheets, longer and wider by special order. As it happens, I got a couple of sheets of 1" not long ago for some desktops I was making.
Though if you don’t mind my asking, what you gonna use it for - that’s awfully heavy for a hollow board. And if you’re making jigs and fixtures out of it you can get away fine with the cheaper 3/4" AC or underlayment ply.
hope that’s of use
doc…
Thanks for your reply Doc. Actually my use is unorthodox. I am a sculptor and use wood, glass, and metal to make clocks which are really kinetic sculpture pieces. I found a 2002 reference in the Swaylocks archives to cheap 3/4" baltic burch plywood from LA but the discussion did not mention the source. Now that I am working on larger pieces, I need that 96" dimension so I have no seams. My Albuquerque NM supplier of hardwoods denies the existence of 8 foot baltic plywood, and local lumberyards are even less helpful. I know its out there, but I need a source to buy a couple of sheets without having to get a second mortgage on the house. Know little of surfboards, but reading the discussions has astounded me in terms of the technology and science in these wonderful sea and air sculptural pieces.
Ak, I gotcha now, it may not have been a baltic birch mentioned but a birch-faced cabinet ply instead, the terms can get mixed up in use… Just looked out in my shop and the birch-faced 1" stuff I last got ( in a 4’ x 8’ sheet) was marked made in Canada by Columbia which means it was probably from these folks:
http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com and have a look at http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/products/hardply/index.html . It’s nice stuff, the 1" is seven plies, about a fat eighth of an inch per ply. I get mine from a local guy who in turn orders stuff from Boulter Plywood (http://www.boulterplywood.com/ ) and Boulter will ship but the price would be excessive. I’d email Columbia Forest Products or see their links pages for info on who might sell the stuff in the Southwest. That page is at http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/company/links.html
hope that’s of use
doc…
If you are searching around you might look at http://www.woodweb.com/ Lots of info on the site.
I have also heard that Edensaw Lumber in Port Townsend, Washington can supply many hard to find items. While I have yet to check if it is true, I have heard, they can still come up with 4’x24’ sheets of plywood - no scarfing! Good luck with your search. Patrick
I’ll add this to Patrick’s post –
Paul Jensen turned me on to North American Plywood Co.
They have just about everything you are looking for. It will reference you to the differences in materials. I’m sure if you call them and others you will find a source that you need. Most places that I deal w/ can accommodate small orders by common carrier. A lower grade ¾” Baltic birch ply I use for cabinets (even paint grade), goes for about ~ $40.00 / sheet delivered to Santa Barbara, from L.A.
Russian Birch is a lower cost alternative to our Finland Birch. All panels are manufactured with birch veneer and the standard glue line is interior water-resistant glue. The major size available is 60"x60" with fall down sizes sometimes available. Thicknesses range from 3mm through 24mm. Thicknesses are in Metric units, which will always be slightly thinner than U.S. thicknesses. On special orders some 48"x96" and also exterior glue panels are available.
60" x 60"
48" x 96"
96" x 48"
60" x 50"
50" x 60"
58" x 58"
The average weight per pallet 60" x 60" is 1452 pounds.
The standard glue for 60" x 60" is urea formaldehyde which is clear in color. Waterproof Phenolic glue is standard for 48" x 96".
Grain direction is the first dimension. Therefore a 60" x 50" panel has a 60" grain length.
3mm
.118" 3-PLY
130 sheets/crate
4mm
.157" 4-PLY
100
5mm
.196" 5-PLY
80
6mm
.236" 5-PLY
65
9mm
.354" 7-PLY
44
12mm
.472" 9-PLY
33
15mm
.590" 11-PLY
26
5/8"
.625" 12-PLY
26
18mm
.708" 13-PLY
22
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Finland Birch plywood is strong, lightweight and extremely durable. It has become the standard by which other plywoods are judged. Manufactured with 1.4mm rotary cut white birch veneers, even the thinnest panels provide uncommon strength. Finland Birch is bonded with a Phenolic resin adhesive, which is weather and boil proof. The formaldehyde content is very low which gives it an E-1 emission classification. For special applications such as laser cutting, interior glue is available.
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Available sizes:
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Thicknesses:
Aircraft Plywood 1/64" 3-ply through 1/2" 24-ply
Regular Plywood 5/32" 3-ply through 4" 72-ply
Both U.S. and Metric thickness are available and in stock for immediate shipment.
Additional specifications are listed in our Finland Birch brochure. (click here to request a brochure)
In L.A., there is Far West Plywood in Pacoima, Van Nuys Plywood (guess where) In Santa Maria, Higgins Plywood. All are decent sources.