Ontario Canada source for Baltic Birch...?

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I want to give A&M Wood Specialty Products in Cambridge a very big thumbs up. I have visited them twice now for an upcoming project. As a veneering noob I can use all the help I can get and these guys are very helpful indeed.

They even gave me a couple of small sheets of veneer (well, it cost me a whole buck) so I can do a couple of practice runs before I try this on my speakers.
 
I am in Clinton so I will check out Hoffmeyer
I recommend them highly. Reg and I spoke on the phone and he agreed to cut the 5x5 sheet into 18 pieces for my project for a reasonable $30.00. I sent him a PDF by email and the job was done in just a few days. They promised 1/16" tolerances and they are probably closer to 1/32" -- excellent work! No credit card required when I placed the order either -- cash on pickup. Very satisfied :)
 
A&M Wood Specialty Dec. 2010 Update

A&M is now stocking 4x8 sheets of Baltic Birch:)


Quote:
3/4" x 48" x 96" Baltic Birch Veneer Core Plywood - The faces and inner plies in product are Baltic Birch. This is an exceptional product because of the core being made of multiple thinner plies of Baltic birch.
We now carry 3/4" in a standard 4 x 8 sheet size.

Thicknesses of 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", and 3/4" are
also available in a 60" x 60" sheet size.
 
Ottawa and area

If anyone in the Ottawa area needs some Baltic birch panels they can e-mail me. I have accounts at Robert Bury, McFaddens, and Commonwealth Plywood. They stock Baltic Birch in 5 x 5 and 4 x 8 from 1/8'' to 1". I have no problem passing on the good pricing. It keeps my account volume up and therefore better pricing. I keep 1/2" in stock usually 4 sheets.

I'll throw this in if it helps.

$75 on top of the basic sheet price gets a cut and delivered sheet.

Contact me for up to date pricing. They change monthly.
 
"Baltic Birch" is just a generic nickname for a type of plywood. it is not a specific grade or brand name; it comes from the product's original suppliers who were in Scandinavia.
Like a lot of things in the modern world, it no longer means what it used to, and you should be careful you are getting what you want.

The primary manufacturers we find in stores today are from Russia.
There are four grades of the Russian product, the grade will be marked on the wood edge or sometimes on the face. Look for it.

The original "Baltic Birch" is used in boat building. Zero voids, waterproof glue, more plys per inch.
The only type insurable by Lloyds of London is Joubert Okoume (British Standard BS1088 and BS6566) and is made in France.

The Russian stuff comes in 4 grades; B, BB, CP, and C, and none are marine grade. That means no waterproof glues are used.
They must meet Russian standard GOST 3916.1-96.

You want grades B (zero voids) and BB (knot voids are cut out and replaced by football-shaped patches of birch). Note that virtually all grades of plywood will have decent face laminations; it's the inner plies we're talking about with regard to voids. Without the grade, you are simply guessing what's there unless examination of the edge shows obvious voids.

You can consider CP which is BB rejects; they may have some narrow unfilled voids. If you are looking at CP examine the sheet carefully.

Grade C is unsuitable for audio applications and you may as well be using regular plywood. It has the same unfilled voids as ordinary plywood and it's only attribute is more plies per inch.

If your supplier cannot tell you what grade, what standard, and where it comes from, take a walk and look elsewhere. Otherwise you may be paying too much for not much.
 
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Wish I had stumbled across this thread earlier, lol!

Anyways, I live in Barrie and have myself been searching for birch ply for some time. I litteraly bumped into a 5x5 sheet in the Home Hardware on bayfield st. And decided to ask for pricing on a full sheet of 18mm. The next day I got a call from them saying it would be special order but theycould get me up to 10 sheets of 5x10 18mm for $140 (iirc), there would be a price drop abouve that quantity.
I still have not bothered to purchase any so thesheet quality may not be great, from what i saw in store however, it looks pretty darn good. I just can't seem to justify spending thAt much on wood yet when using MDF is sooooo much cheaper
 
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