BB ply vs. regualar red oak ply.? Got a deal!

[mowerman1193]

Hi Everyone,

First of all I would like to know a couple things about BB ply versus say red oak ply ..I just got home from my local wood supplier ( LL Johnson lumber Charlotte Mi)..Why do most use the BB ply over just some regular red oak or other types of ply? reason I ask is I priced a sheet ( 1/8"x 4' x 8' ) of red oak ply and was quoted like $23.00. But the BB ply 1/8" x 5' x5' is $22..They had some damaged sheets of other plywood ( not red oak in 1/8" though ) for real cheap..like between $10 - $15 price range and from what I seen they just had a small busted area on the corner. I didn't buy any as I didn't recall ever reading about anyone cutting this stuff..So I thought maybe it doesn't cut well or something..I told the sales guy that I hate to buy a whole sheet if I can't use it..Asked if they had just a very small chunk to try..he said no he didn't think so and sent me out to another building to talk with the guy that is in charge of the plywood building..Turns out the guy gave me a good size piece he had laying there probably a 2' x 3' peice.. So at least I can give it a try..

I then told him I wanted to buy a sheet of BB ply while I was there..He said for scroll sawing I should use the cheaper BB ply..Is there different grades of this stuff? The stuff he sold me is called BB shop grade ply?..He punch it into the system and it came out to $7.95 for the 1/8 x 5' x5'..he then sent it to the cashier and when I went to pay they said no way that's less that our cost..I guess that someone put it into the system wrong but they sold it to me and they was going to check into that, lol I felt like a thief and offered to pay the going rate but she said no because that is what the system is charging, LOL Wish now that I would have bought the whole skid, LOL

Anyway I brought home enough wood to keep me busy for a little while and I only payed $7.95..I can't wait to give the regular ply a run through the saw to see how it cuts..Hopefully I can make good use of the free piece..

Kevin

[wood-n-things]

My experience with regular plywoods has not been good.
They splinter. There are massive amounts of voids in the interior you won't see until you cut and they make a heck of a mess.
The veneers /laminates have a tendency to lift and mineral spirits will deteriorate the glues used in them.

Great price though..There are different grades of BB as well..

[georgewoodie]

mowerman1193:

I like Baltic birch for several reasons.

First, it is made of more layers than regular ply. As the layers are placed with different grain direction, I feel that this wood is stronger. Making finer cuts stronger, that is small areas for finger joints in jig saw puzzles. I like the idea of a stronger wood product.

Second, I understand that there are zero or very few voids in Baltic birch as opposed to regular ply. I would not bet my life on that, but so far, that is what I have found to be the case.

Third, very often I will sand and varnish my stock after the first cut to approximate size. I find that sanding is quicker and more satisfactory with Baltic birch. I am able to start with 180 and go to 220 and get a good job on both sides. Regular ply requires more sanding and start with courser grit.

The reason that I varnish at this stage is mostly for glue clean up. I like the appearance of the wood and a varnish finish shows the grain and colour where paint would not. Nor do I like to stain. If I glue up before varnish and get just a hint of glue where it should not be, then when I do finish, that shows up like a flag to a bull. That is no bull.

Glue spill over on to a varnished surface easily cleans away and will not soak into the now sealed wood.

Where the varnish might interfere with glue as in a groove, I then mask before that initial varnish.

At one point I had calculated the cost per sq ft for Baltic birch vs regular ply. If I recall, the Baltic birch was always more costly. Then I figured the time, effort and desired final result outweighed the cost of material. Don't get me wrong, I like to get as much for my buck as I can and I really hate to have to resort to my chiminea for the final touch. However, wood material is not so different that tools. I try to buy the best that I can afford and my boss will allow. Actually she is pretty accepting of my wood work costs.

I live in Western Canada with a provincial population of about 10% of Canada, more or less, so our buying power out here is pretty poor and we pay more for a lot of things, including Baltic birch. But as I said, in the overall picture, I end up wanting to use Baltic birch for a lot of projects, even those where that material will not show.

Woodie

[Bill Wilson]

George pretty much summed it up regarding BB ply. Only thing I would add is that BB tends to have a bit thicker outer surface so there is less splintering and less chance of sanding through the veneer.

Also, much of the thin oak ply I see at the Big Box stores has a solid core between the surface veneers. This works OK as a backer, but if you are doing much intricate fretwork with it, this center core will sometimes break out on sharp corners, essentially ruining the piece.

[ubgoofy2003]

You are right, Bill. I just came back from Lowes, where I looked at the 4x8 sheets of BB & they had the core in the middle. I had some a while back & it had a lot of voids in it. When I was cutting, it would just take off in whatever direction I happen to be pushing & that was the end of that piece. Don't ever want that stuff again for anything. Underlayment would be better than that. I just have a hard time finding any wood that is any good here in Arizona. Good Luck.
Perk

[mowerman1193]

Thanks for all your comments..I think I will just use the free regular ply somewhere else..maybe backers or something..

Perk, I bet you had regular birch plywood as I do not think BB ply comes in 4 x 8 sheets..

Anyone know anything about this shop grade BB ply? it looks just like the BB ply I bought last year from them..Looks to me like maybe its only good on one side, which is fine as I mostly use it for portraits anyway..there was a sticker on it that said Russian plywood or something like that..This was the normal size as the usual 1/8 x 5 x 5..I hope it cuts good like the other stuff I had..

Thanks,
Kevin

[wood-n-things]

Shop grade is good one side and my have some fillers..I use it when it is available for backers and you can get some nice wood by cutting around the fillers/plugs.

[mowerman1193]

Thanks mike for your response..I think maybe what they sold me the last time was probably shop grade as it had plugs on one side of it.Although I got quite a lot of projects made with it I was a little dissatisfied with some of it because of the plugs and some other areas that was less than perfect..Next time I will see if I can get the better stuff..

Kevin

[wood-n-things]

You are welcome...When it comes to wood that you purchase. it seems like you do get what you pay for it. Some of the best wood is free....so go figure.

[fredfret]

Baltic birch is quite different from birch plywood. Baltic birch comes in 5x5 sheets amd birch ply is in the traditional 4x8. Voids, other defects are much more prevelent in Birch than Baltic birch. I use Baltic birch for almost all my projects that use plywood. I do have a source of mdf with cabinet grade vaneer on both sides for free. I use that for Portraits and shadow art. (non structual)
Fredfret