Are you guy's using exclusively Baltic Birch, I just passed by Home Depot and they're selling 4'X8' 3/4" Hardwood Pine 9 plies for $35 each are these any good for Reflex subs 18", because I get my 18 mm 13 ply Baltic Birch for $63 exterior glue B/BB face at a local distributor free delivery. The subs I am building now are for experimental use may use it on occassion easy simple gigs will be putting casters on the bottom instead of hauling my 3 way horn loaded system.
do you have a product/SKU number from home depot?
the fact that it's 9 plies is interesting
; most construction grades 3/4" are 5 or 6 plies so this does warrant some attention. but i'm not sure about pine qualifying as a "hardwood" that smacks of deceptive marketing to me.
the fact that it's 9 ply qualifies
it as furniture grade is it listed as "void free"?
the fact that it's 9 plies is interesting
; most construction grades 3/4" are 5 or 6 plies so this does warrant some attention. but i'm not sure about pine qualifying as a "hardwood" that smacks of deceptive marketing to me.the fact that it's 9 ply qualifies
it as furniture grade is it listed as "void free"?
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I believe Home Depot "hardwood plywood" is Poplar core around here
you can even do better than Baltic Birch - cabinet makers, others use better hardwood core plywoods - but are of course another step up in price over BB
Choosing the Right Plywood Core is Important
you can even do better than Baltic Birch - cabinet makers, others use better hardwood core plywoods - but are of course another step up in price over BB
Choosing the Right Plywood Core is Important
HD sells Purebond hardwood ply from Columbia Forest Products here in NC. Several nice veneers available, but usually Oak and Birch in stock. It is 5 ply plus veneers and it's pretty good stuff. I've built a few speakers with it. It does have occasional void or knot on inner plies, but it's rare. Like BB it doesn't warp easily.
I've seen 3/4 13 ply from a local lumber yard sold as Baltic Birch in 4x8 sheets. It is real crap, splintery, plys overlap, voids, bark inside and gluing is poor. Real Baltic Birch is sized 5' square (1.5m square) and has a purple ink Cyrillic (Russian) stamp on each board.
I've seen 3/4 13 ply from a local lumber yard sold as Baltic Birch in 4x8 sheets. It is real crap, splintery, plys overlap, voids, bark inside and gluing is poor. Real Baltic Birch is sized 5' square (1.5m square) and has a purple ink Cyrillic (Russian) stamp on each board.
The 2 outer plies on the 13-ply Chinese "Birch" are very thin, and may bubble & delaminate. Most of the panels I used for subs were warped. I doubt if there's much actual Birch sandwiched in the center....
An affordable alternative to BB recommended on some other forums is Arauco (or Araucoply). They're home-based in Atlanta, GA. They were very helpful when I emailed them for local wholesale & retail outlets. I haven't tried any yet, let us know what you find if you're the 1st....
Just my opinion, if you intend to build loudspeakers to sell, stick with BB.
An affordable alternative to BB recommended on some other forums is Arauco (or Araucoply). They're home-based in Atlanta, GA. They were very helpful when I emailed them for local wholesale & retail outlets. I haven't tried any yet, let us know what you find if you're the 1st....
Just my opinion, if you intend to build loudspeakers to sell, stick with BB.
You're right Cuppa Joe, I do plan to sell these in the future I went back to home depot it was 7-8 plies and in between the plies there are inconsistencies with the thickness and seems there are more voids causing the variance in thickness. There really is no substitute Baltic Birch all the way especially if you can get exterior glue would be the Best in my opinion.
Appleply is an American product that is better than BB, but at a price.
I generfally use BB, but did a project in 1" Appleply with Maple faces a while back.
APPLEPLY Description: American version of Baltic birch with alder and birch core plies and quality veneer faces. Birch face is standard, other woods available. Uses: Same uses as Baltic above, plus applications where a fine-hardwood face veneer is needed. Available Sizes: Available in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4" thicknesses, in 4'x8' sheets. Common Grades: No standardized grades, but manufactured with void-free plies and face veneers carrying a grade of B or better. Pros: Stiff, stable, void-free, nice-looking edge, holds screws, offers a variety of face veneers. Cons: Difficult to find, costly, requires large order to get optional veneers. Where to find it: You'll find distributor information at
States Industries | States Industries - Hardwood Panel Products
I generfally use BB, but did a project in 1" Appleply with Maple faces a while back.
APPLEPLY Description: American version of Baltic birch with alder and birch core plies and quality veneer faces. Birch face is standard, other woods available. Uses: Same uses as Baltic above, plus applications where a fine-hardwood face veneer is needed. Available Sizes: Available in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4" thicknesses, in 4'x8' sheets. Common Grades: No standardized grades, but manufactured with void-free plies and face veneers carrying a grade of B or better. Pros: Stiff, stable, void-free, nice-looking edge, holds screws, offers a variety of face veneers. Cons: Difficult to find, costly, requires large order to get optional veneers. Where to find it: You'll find distributor information at
States Industries | States Industries - Hardwood Panel Products
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That Apple ply looks like some nice material but I didn't see any description of the adhesive. True Baltic birch is available in sizes larger than the 5x5 size with a large importer. Besides that apple material I would normally say to run from domestically produced ply for a speaker cabinet let alone a sub. The chances for voids are just to high and there are just to many de-laminations that will cause some nasty buzzing. Most domestic ply is just sloppily produced as construction grade material.
My two cents worth of opinion.
My two cents worth of opinion.
I've seen numerous projects created from Appleply, including high-end office furniture. It's definitely superior to BB, but I flee swiftly from the price point in this area of the country. Last time I bothered to check, a 3/4" 4x8 sheet was over $100, whereas a 5x5 sheet of BB was $46 & some change. I'll stay with BB.
I got a sheet of Arauco branded ply just last week, it's just CD, but it is the nicest piece of CD I've ever seen, no warp or voids nice to saw and sand.
Just to let you know guy's there's a new product in the market way better than Arauco and seems a little better than BB, it's called Golden Ply I'll try and upload a pic later when my lazy teenager wakes up I know it's noon, gez these kids! Anyway it was shown to me last year by my distributor and you know me I am skeptic about using other than BB well to tell you the truth Quality Plywood Clearwater,Florida is my main supplier of BB and they said these might be a good alternate to the more expensive Russian BB they come in 4'X6' or I think 4'X3' sheets they come from S. America, they gave me a sample 6"X6" piece of this Golden ply. It's shiny on one side for water and the other side is sanded smooth like a baby's rear end. Well I have it on my Ottoman shiny side up and for the last 12 months I would put my icy drink or hot coffee on top of this piece of wood; the RESULT tadaaan, I could not believe my eyes this has survived it discolorated to white from tiny beige stripes or (wood grain) it did not delaminate and to this day it is as tough as the day they gave me this piece, but the thickness is only available in 13mm exactly and 16 mm with 13 mm in 9 plies. If you guys are interested call up Quality maybe they can send you a sample but it is heavier by a little from BB because of the glue they use and NO patches.
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