Is 5x5 cheaper or more expensive than 4x8?

[DJ Higgumz]

I'm trying to scale my budget for the upcoming t60s and was wondering if buying 5x5 ply, particularly arauco would be cheaper than 4x8. I can get 4x8 for 25$ at menards, but I doubt they stock 5x5, so I will probably end up going to zuern. Being it has less sq ft, would I expect to pay more or less than $25 for a sheet at zuern. What do you pay for your 5x5 sheets?

[DJPhatman]

Do the math. 5x5=25 square feet, 4x8=32 square feet. $25/32= $0.78125 per square foot. $25/25= $1 per square foot.

BTW, only Baltic Birch comes in 5x5.

[DJ Higgumz]

I thing arauco comes in 5x5, but anyways I was wondering what lumber yards charge compared to big box stores

[bassmonster]

I get 5x5 nine-ply BB from my local lumber yard for $50. 4x8 five-ply Arauco about $25 from Lowes.

[Bruce Weldy]

5x5 is a European thing. Unless Aruaco is from across the pond, you ain't gettin' 5x5.

In Baltic Birch, the 5x5 is cheaper by the square foot than 4x8 since it's the "norm" where it's made and 4x8 is a special size. My first build was 4x8, but went to the 5x5 afterwards to save money.

[Rune Bivrin]

5x5 is a European thing. Unless Aruaco is from across the pond, you ain't gettin' 5x5.

Weird. I have never heard of - much less seen - 5x5 outside of this site.

All plywood except the small "hobby" boards are 2400x1200 (mm) or 2440x1220 mm

[Bruce Weldy]

Here's the info that I found on a woodworking forum.....it addressed the size, but I thought I'd leave all of it for educational purposes since there seems to be a lack of knowledge concerning baltic birch vs. birch plywood....

A baltic birch plywood primer

On January 9, 2010 · 19 Comments
It seems like every other month or so, someone asks about Baltic Birch plywood on one of the forums I frequent. I think one of reasons so many questions exist, is because there isn’t much information on the net. The following is a basic primer on Baltic Birch plywood, generated from various internet sources I’ve come across.

Region of origin – As the name implies, Baltic Birch plywood is produced from Birch trees from the Baltic region of Europe. The two main producers appear to be Russia & Finland.

Thickness – True Baltic Birch plywood only comes in metric thicknesses. The most common sizes found in North America are 6mm, 12mm, & 18mm. Additionally 3mm, 9mm, 15mm, & 25mm can occasionally be found in a narrower range of grades.

Size – You used to only be able to find Baltic Birch plywood in 5′x5′ sheets. Recently people have reported finding 4′x8′ sheets. Supposedly Manufactures have become wise to the fact that plywood comes in 4′x8′ sheets in North America, and have started producing to that size.


Plies – Baltic Birch plywood has more plies for a given thickness that North American plywood. Additionally every ply is birch, unlike a lot of plywood of North American origin that has hardwood exterior & softwood interior plys. The following chart list ply count by thickness.

3mm – 3 ply
6mm – 5 ply
9mm – 7ply
12mm – 9 ply
15mm – 11 ply
18mm – 13 ply
25mm – 18 ply
Grading – Baltic Birch does not follow ANSI grading standards most are familiar with, instead the following grading scheme is used. A typical grade found in quality furniture is B/BB.

Grade “B” – Selected one-piece face generally light and even in color. Occasional small pin knots and some brown streaks may be allowed. Intended for natural finish. No patches allowed.
Grade “BB” – One-piece face generally light and even in color. Occasional sound tight knots are permitted but open knots and defects in BB have been cut out and replaced with small ovular or round veneer patches before gluing. The veneer selected for the patches is of the same general color as the basic face veneer.
Grade “CP” – One-piece face very close to grade BB. Rejected from BB for small defects with more streaking. Occasional hairline splits of less than .5mm are allowed. The oval or round patches may or may not be matched for color with the base face veneer. There will normally be more patches per face than the BB grade.
Grade “C” – One-piece utility grade veneer. Open defects and open splits are allowed.

[doncolga]

Size – You used to only be able to find Baltic Birch plywood in 5′x5′ sheets. Recently people have reported finding 4′x8′ sheets. Supposedly Manufactures have become wise to the fact that plywood comes in 4′x8′ sheets in North America, and have started producing to that size.

+1 I talked to a local cabinet maker last week who uses 5x5 and 4x8 BB. He said the 5x5 uses clear glue and the 4x8 uses red glue. His ships to my area from Jacksonvill, FL, which is about three hours.

[el_ingeniero]

Dude, Wisconsin is the heart of Menard's-land. Get yourself to one, you can order 4x8 sheets of 1/2" BB at $50 each.

[DJ Higgumz]

Getting to a yard isn't an issue it's if they have 5x5. I should order the plans so I can run a sketch on Delphi cutlist. Maybe 4x8 won't be that bad. What are your thoughts on using arauco? 25$ a sheet, I could build twice as many cabs than bb. It seems to be strong enough, and a couple extra coats of duratex should strengthen it right?

[BrentEvans]

. It seems to be strong enough, and a couple extra coats of duratex should strengthen it right?

Duratex is tougher than paint, in that it resists chip and wear better, but it won't add mechanical strength to the wood. Softer wood will still dent more easily.

That said... if you're always handling your own cabs, and you're fairly easy on them, Auraco works fine. I have some cabs made from BB and painted with oil paint (these were pre-BF for me) and my Auraco/Duratex DR200 hold up better... by a bit. I still have to touch up the edges every now and again... but I have to do that on the BB cabs too, and there is wood damage there where there isn't much on the DRs.

If you can get BB for the same price as Auraco (or at a small premium, maybe) ,use it. If you need the added durability, use it. Otherwise... do what you can afford.

[bassmonster]

With my recent builds I'm using BB for the externals panels and Arauco on the internals. My all-Arauco dual TT has gotten enough dings and dents that I'm willing to spend the extra ~$25 for much better durability. Duratex helps with scratching, but if your cab gets bumped really hard the Arauco dents severely, and the Duratex can't protect against severe damage, like Brent said.

I'm pretty careful with dual TT, but it being so heavy and bulky it's going to get dents and dings anyway, no matter how careful I am with it. For a room corner queen, or for a small and lightweight cab, Arauco would be just fine for all panels, but for anything heavy or bulky that gets moved around a lot BB is where it's at for the exterior panels IMO.

[DJ Higgumz]

I am pretty careful with my t39, and if I do hit it, it is on the corner hardware. I will probably stick with arauco, but I probably will regret it. But then again money can turn around for the best and the worst so we'll see about that when we get there. Anyways about how many sheets of 4x8 would go into a 20" t60?

[el_ingeniero]

5x5 is a European thing. Unless Aruaco is from across the pond, you ain't gettin' 5x5.

In Baltic Birch, the 5x5 is cheaper by the square foot than 4x8 since it's the "norm" where it's made and 4x8 is a special size. My first build was 4x8, but went to the 5x5 afterwards to save money.

Not everywhere. In the Twin Cities:

Menard's - 4x8 - $50
Youngblood's - 5x5 - $43

For $7, you get more 7 square feet at Menard's.

[Bruce Weldy]

5x5 is a European thing. Unless Aruaco is from across the pond, you ain't gettin' 5x5.

In Baltic Birch, the 5x5 is cheaper by the square foot than 4x8 since it's the "norm" where it's made and 4x8 is a special size. My first build was 4x8, but went to the 5x5 afterwards to save money.

Not everywhere. In the Twin Cities:

Menard's - 4x8 - $50
Youngblood's - 5x5 - $43

For $7, you get more 7 square feet at Menard's.

For a true comparison though, you'd have to price them at the same store. Youngblood's might just be higher in all their prices. But bottom line, get whatever is cheapest.

Compared to down here, those prices are really high. Try looking for a lumber supplier as opposed to a retail store. All they do is lumber and I bet they'll be cheaper.