Plywood question

[billkatz]

After reading many threads here I know the basic requirements - 5 or more equal plies - I'm just not sure if I've found the right stuff... I found a lumberyard that advertised "Baltic Birch" on its website, but when I visited today on a scouting trip they had only one material in 5' square sheets, and they called it "Russian Birch". The thicknesses were marked in millimeters. What I've learned: 5'x5' sheets = good, 12mm = good. After going to the car to get my reading glasses I looked carefully at the edge - 9 plies, but the plies didn't seem perfectly even to me, with the odd-numbered plies (including the outsides) seeming thinner, but I didn't have a caliper with me. Is this likely the Right Stuff? Or should I continue my lumberyard quest?

BTW - if anyone has a proven source of good priced proper lumber in the San Francisco/San Jose area, please let me know.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I found a lumberyard that advertised "Baltic Birch" on its website, but when I visited today on a scouting trip they had only one material in 5' square sheets, and they called it "Russian Birch".

Baltic Birch comes from the Baltic counties, primarily Finland and Russia.

[Tom Smit]

.....and.....12mm BB is 9 ply!

[billkatz]

Thank you! Now I need to return in something bigger than my Prius.

[fastslappy]

http://www.westernplywood.com/Products.html San Francisco

Western Plywood Inc.
2600 Harrison St. San Francisco, CA 94242
415 431-3600

they say on website 1 piece or a truck load
& they do have Baltic Birch listed

I'm calling tomorrow BUT I will not do my build till next spring

[billkatz]

I talked to a friend who is a cabinet maker, and he steered me to:

MOORE•NEWTON HARDWOODS
2115 Williams St.
San Leandro, CA 94577

They have both Russian and Finnish birch. I plan to stop by tomorrow morning.

[fastslappy]

let me know what you find .
I'm lining up everything I need now , I have tools to buy yet
I'm looking track saw & related I have more speakers I want to build ,I want to redo my Klipsch clones I made & also do my 2 THT LP as well I just don't have the room for good table saw & don't want a cheapo contractor one, it's a "I like My Fingers" thing .

[fastslappy]

they got a website

http://www.moorenewton.com/

[bzb]

Bill - I have a full size SUV, but I still rip off 12" off those 5x5 sheets. Many lumberyards will do it for you (although they may not be totally straight) but it's not a huge hassle just to take a circular saw and straight edge with you, and rip off what you need. Take a look at the cut sheets included with your plans or possibly with the cut sheet program that's floating around. You might be able to get it to fit in that hippy toaster mobile of yours.

[billkatz]

It turns out that they stock the Russian Birch in 4x8s, and the marvelous engineers at Honda made my Odyssey just the right size. I just left the middle seats at home (5 minutes to pop them out and put them in the garage). Picked up 4 sheets this morning. Brought a whole pallet of ply out to the car on a forklift and slid the panels in. Next challenge - purchase and align table saw.

[fastslappy]

It turns out that they stock the Russian Birch in 4x8s, and the marvelous engineers at Honda made my Odyssey just the right size. I just left the middle seats at home (5 minutes to pop them out and put them in the garage). Picked up 4 sheets this morning. Brought a whole pallet of ply out to the car on a forklift and slid the panels in. Next challenge - purchase and align table saw.

Bill how many ply is that stuff ? how much was it ? & that's the Hayward place ?

I'd much rather have 4x8 sheets than anything

[billkatz]

It is 9 ply. They charged me $52.40 a sheet, but that quote was to my friend that has a business relationship with them. It is in San Leandro - the Marina Exit from 880, just south of the Oakland Coliseum.

[MissileCrisis]

FYI a Martinez independent lumber place sells 5x5's of BB for 37.50 (half inch). That's like 5 percent less than what you paid per square foot with the only disadvantage being the 5 foot max length.

[fastslappy]

9 ply & 4x8 sheets , getting those critical specifications , I don't mind at all the cost if it's higher
that was 1/2 " ?

cool , i'll be buying all my ply from them if that is the case
the last stuff I used for my Klipsch clones was said to be void free & it was not (some voids were just under the veneer ,the worst possible place at all )
Imagine doing a real nice multicoat finish & have the veneer cave in on Ya when you went to place the speaker in the house

Thanx Bill Mucho Gracias

[MissileCrisis]

Yeah, well you won't find 4x8's of BB there. Yep it was 1/2 inch, 7 even plies. You can take a look at it in my SLA center build thread (to be created). It looks very clear and only a couple knots (not even dents) on the "bad side".