MA / New England Builders, where to find 1/2" Baltic Birch

[Bas Gooiker]

I'm with you on that. A few extra pounds vs. getting to work with flat, straight plywood - I'm on that like a duck on a junebug. (or, as Harley would say, an aussie on sheep...but I wouldn't say that. )

Ah thats so easy, using a stereo type... I heared a story once about one Aussie who never even once touched a sheep...
Harley is from NZ though...

[Bruce Weldy]

I heared a story once about one Aussie who never even once touched a sheep...

You can't live your life based on fantasies......





And, the joke was for Harley's benefit - since he's outnumbered here by the Aussies.

Actually, here in Texas - it's the Aggies (Texas A&M) who get this treatment.

[Bas Gooiker]

I heared a story once about one Aussie who never even once touched a sheep...

You can't live your life based on fantasies......

He was in a wheelchair....

Sorry for the thread de-rail djtecthreat!

[Bruce Weldy]

Sorry for the thread de-rail djtecthreat!

Oh, it's ok......he's out looking for some wood!

[djtecthreat]

What the hell happened to my thread...

Nice work guys!

[Harley]

What the hell happened to my thread...

Nice work guys!

You can't blame me this time!

Anyhow, if it's any consolation, I've been to and stayed in Worcestor MA...on my way to Laconia. Had a wonderful evening there ( Worcestor ) with a bass player/music teacher, a lovely dinner cooked by his wife and several bottles of first class Australian Red Wine. Nice town too.

And yeah. it's a bit of a drive to Laconia from there.

[djtecthreat]

You can't blame me this time!

Anyhow, if it's any consolation, I've been to and stayed in Worcestor MA...on my way to Laconia. Had a wonderful evening there ( Worcestor ) with a bass player/music teacher, a lovely dinner cooked by his wife and several bottles of first class Australian Red Wine. Nice town too.

And yeah. it's a bit of a drive to Laconia from there.

That's awesome Harley, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay here. I've lived in Worcester pretty much my entire life, a lot of the locals are good for complaining about it, but I find it to be a pretty decent place to live. I'd prefer a tropical climate, but I don't mind being close to many things and our nightlife is thriving these days (so that's good for me on both ends of my business).

If you're ever back on this side of the globe, feel free to get in touch. I'm good for a few beers, and a tour of my modest shop to see how many Harleys I can get. Always a pleasure meeting up with people who love sound and building speakers like I do.


-J

[djtecthreat]

I'm going to bump this back up.

Still can not find any decent plywood (including Birch) in my area at a fair price. Totally holding up several of my builds. Anyone?

[But it Hertz]

I'm going to bump this back up.

Still can not find any decent plywood (including Birch) in my area at a fair price. Totally holding up several of my builds. Anyone?

I figured out a way to get any Arauco product into any Lowes this week. My thread is here.

Here is a cut & paste:

Success!! Sherlock Holmes reporting....

So I went to the Arauco Ply website and called the contact number in Atlanta, GA.

I spoke to a very helpful girl who told me lots of good information.

Looks like the ply I want is AC grade 1/2 inch (more accurately 15/32) sanded on both sides with a part number #720458.

As I read else where here, they had a yard burn down recently so 1/2 inch ply is restricted because demand is higher than supply. They expect the new yard to come on line 4th quarter 2013.

They don't deal with public and wouldn't give me any pricing info but she gave me the number of their main distributor "Blue Linx Corp" who can be contacted at 770.953.7000.

Called Blue Linx Corp and spoke to another very helpful girl there who wouldn't sell to me or give me any pricing info unless I purchased by the container load but told me she does distribute to my local Lowes every other Tuesday. She reserved 4 sheets and gave me her name along with my local Lowes phone number.

I called my Lowes pro desk, who by now I'm on first name terms with, and gave the Blue Linx information & Arauco part number. My Lowes girl called me back 10 minutes later with a price of $40.64 per sheet! No delivery charges - Woooooooooooooo!

So later today I'm off to open an account with Lowes and get this stuff ordered. I will have my plywood next Tuesday

Seems like anyone can do this... so no need to use inferior wood any more! You can call Arauco Ply, get the part number of exactly what you want and then with a little giggery-pokery get it delivered to your local Lowes.

Hope this helps... I opened a Lowes account at the same time and got another 5% off these prices... so $38 ish per sheet.

[djtecthreat]

Thanks for that Hertz. I will see if this method works for me.

I did ask my lowes if they had any ability to order and they claimed no. But maybe Arauco is producing again.

[But it Hertz]

Thanks for that Hertz. I will see if this method works for me.

I did ask my lowes if they had any ability to order and they claimed no. But maybe Arauco is producing again.

As of yesterday Blue Linx had plenty of 1/2 inch in stock!

[mr.lussier]

Guess I was lucky... The first time I ever needed Baltic Birch I searched all kinds of places on the net. Finally while I was at my local hardware/lumberyard for something else I asked a guy at the counter if they had any kind of ''premium plywood'' (they mostly sell OSB and subfloor ply). The guy answered follow me, we've got something in the back. And there it was... Very nice quality baltic birch, one side free of any voids, always in stock from 1/8 to 1 inch in 1/8 increments. I felt like the guy who spends 4 hours troubleshooting why his car won't start, before realizing he's low on gas or he forgot the headlamps. I was already prepared to drive several hours to go get my plywood in larger yards in larger cities... All I had to do was drive to the next corner.

In the case you didn't do this recently, I'd suggest to first forget about exotic plywood distributors and such places, keep these as last resort. First do a methodic list of small, independant lumberyards. Call them and make sure you talk to someone who knows his stuff. If you can, try to talk to the guy that actually works in the yard and/or places the orders to lumber suppliers. Nothing more frustrating than to be answered no when the product you want is actually in alley 7 next to the chistmas decorations...

In big box stores, they have what sells, and more often than not what is available is what the franchise headquarters think will sell. In independant stores, depending on who runs the place and who the customers are, the things you see in stock may vary a lot. In small places the folks will often even offer you to find what you're looking for and order it for you.

[Tom Smit]

My local Home Hardware now stocks 5x5 BB. I requested a sheet of 1/8" BB, no rush. Got a call two days later saying that it was in. What service!

[But it Hertz]

That's about as awesome as it gets!

[djtecthreat]

Chased down the Lowes scenario, they called me back to inform that the good news is- they can get me all the Arauco I want. The bad news is- If I'm willing to buy 80 sheets (minimum) @ $3200. So...

I really needed these cabs for February, looking like that will not happen.