Anyone ever use light weight italian poplar?

[gilscales]

Looking to buy a unit of birch and ran accross this stuff http://www.forestplywood.com/images/Imports.pdf at 32 lbs. a sheet for 12mm 4x8 it is about 36% lighter than the 12mm 9 ply birch. I will be going to Forest Plywood tomorrow to see how it looks and most important how it's priced! I did see several manufacturers of bass/guitar cabs using it though so it cant be to much?

[sine143]

cant speak for poplar ply, but I have used poplar to fashion a couple electric guitar bodies. Unfortunately, there are 2 different types of poplar, and I believe the variety I have experience with is actually american tulipwood. If its got a greenish tint, we might be talking about the same thing.

Feature wise, its fairly light for a hardwood. with that lightness, its also kind of soft. I wouldnt say it nicks EASY, but i'd say it nicks about as easily as the surface of the Araceli ply I have.

Although this isnt really an issue for plywood, its fairly fun to work with. Cuts easy, sands easy, doesnt splinter like oak, and has a non aggressive grain pattern. The exterior is generally smooth, pale green in complexion, unless you have both sapwood and heartwood.

[gilscales]

It says under features and benifits that it has a uniform white color so I don't think it is the same type of poplar we would see at HD, Lowe's or your local lumber yard (with the greenish streaks) that said I would think in order to be lighter it has to be softer/less dense so I will check it out tomorrow and see (probably will stick to the birch though)

[sine143]

I've heard someone on the forum say they had good experience with poplar ply (the italian stuff). Cant remember who it was though.

[Harley]

Yes, I use it here for carpeted cabs.

It's very light but reasonably strong. It is very easy and nice to machine and is consistent throughout.

The outer plies are a bit thinner than the inside plies but I have found it more than adequate strength wise.

It does dent easy, so I doubt if Duratex over Italian Poplar would be OK. A thick hard bed-truck liner like Scorpion or Gator Guard would be necessary if you are going to paint it instead of carpet it.

It's about 3/4 of the price of the equivalent to Baltic Birch here.

[sine143]

^^^ thats the man.

I thought it was you... but I wasnt sure enough to throw your name in there.

[WB]

I once ordered (online) a bunch of 1/2" and 1/4" Italian Poplar Ply, in 2' x 4' sheets. 1/2" weighs about the same as 3/8" BB. It does feel light, but the quality of BB is better in every way. Machinability, warpage, voids, delaminating, outer layers. I did like using the 1/4" poplar for the DR250 horn sheathing though, because it developed a huge warp which meant I didn't have to work hard to bend it in place.

All in all, it's decent enough, but will use 3/8" BB instead of 1/2" poplar when weight is a concern.

[AntonZ]

Similar experience here with wood that was labeled poplar. If I recall correctly I did my O10.5 in poplar. It was white rather than greenish. I prefer to work good quality birch ply. It has a smoother surface, better cuts, less voids. Mine did not suffer delamination or too much warpage, but then again most pieces in an Omni 10.5 are pretty small. And I try to store any ply flat on a concrete floor with some weight on top. The surface is rather soft compared to birch.

[gilscales]

Looked at the Italian Poplar and would agree with Harley that it is to soft for Duratex, but I found the best deal around for the Russian Birch BB/BB 5x5 for $18.75 ea. or BB/CP for $17.85 ea. but that is the unit price (33 sheets) also picked up 3 sheets 4x8 1/8" Poplar bending ply for $21.51 ea. and 3 sheets 4x8 1/4" Eucalyptus bending ply for $18.47 ea. from some of the other posts I have read I am lucky to have 3 major plywood supply places all within a mile triangle 15 min. from me (best price of the 3 was Royal plywood in Cerritos, CA) Well I'm stocked up on the materials for many builds just need to find the time to make with the sawdust!

[bzb]

Looked at the Italian Poplar and would agree with Harley that it is to soft for Duratex, but I found the best deal around for the Russian Birch BB/BB 5x5 for $18.75 ea. or BB/CP for $17.85 ea. but that is the unit price (33 sheets) also picked up 3 sheets 4x8 1/8" Poplar bending ply for $21.51 ea. and 3 sheets 4x8 1/4" Eucalyptus bending ply for $18.47 ea. from some of the other posts I have read I am lucky to have 3 major plywood supply places all within a mile triangle 15 min. from me (best price of the 3 was Royal plywood in Cerritos, CA) Well I'm stocked up on the materials for many builds just need to find the time to make with the sawdust!

Wow, from what I've read, that's incredibly cheap for a California supplier. That's what we pay out here in the South.

[gilscales]

Looked at the Italian Poplar and would agree with Harley that it is to soft for Duratex, but I found the best deal around for the Russian Birch BB/BB 5x5 for $18.75 ea. or BB/CP for $17.85 ea. but that is the unit price (33 sheets) also picked up 3 sheets 4x8 1/8" Poplar bending ply for $21.51 ea. and 3 sheets 4x8 1/4" Eucalyptus bending ply for $18.47 ea. from some of the other posts I have read I am lucky to have 3 major plywood supply places all within a mile triangle 15 min. from me (best price of the 3 was Royal plywood in Cerritos, CA) Well I'm stocked up on the materials for many builds just need to find the time to make with the sawdust!

Wow, from what I've read, that's incredibly cheap for a California supplier. That's what we pay out here in the South.

why is it cheaper there? I had to buy 33 sheets for that price otherwise BB/BB was $20.19 a sheet so all I did is almost save my sales tax!

[sine143]

some people are paying like 50 dollars a sheet for BB

[gilscales]

some people are paying like 50 dollars a sheet for BB

that has to be the 4x8 sheets, I was quoted about 25% higher on that stuff as it has exterior glue but the Russian birch is interior glue, my price for the 4x8 was over $32 a sheet