Russian or Lithuanian Birch Ply

[jmbfestool]

They vary in price a lot but I have never bothered to ask when I have been buying pallet loads of birch until one dealer gave me the option with different prices.

So I don't know which I have bought in the past.  I am going to call and found out where the birch came from I bought

But I thought I would ask here on fog I assume quality will be the reason but maybe it's not? 

Thing is I don't want to take the risk depending £4000 on a lot of sheets to find its poor quality.

 

[mattfc]

Lithuania I guess would be Baltic Ply, but I have also read that Finnish ply is very good, especially for smaller pieces, as for example their 6mm ply has 12 plies with no gaps

 

[jmbfestool]

Lithuania I guess would be Baltic Ply, but I have also read that Finnish ply is very good, especially for smaller pieces, as for example their 6mm ply has 12 plies with no gaps

That sounds expensive lol

I'm wanting 15mm.

 

[Svar]

Given my experience I would definitely go with Lithuanian.

 

[neeleman]

I should look for the Birch plywood surfaces which suits your finish:
Typical properties:
- B (I) – lacquering grade
- S (II) – painting grade
- BB (III) – standard grade (patched)
- WG (IV) – reverse grade

Russian, Baltic or Finnish doesn't matter as long as it has the right properties and of course price!
I usually go for B/BB Birch plywood. Some of the BB panels-side do not have any patches at all.
The B/B surface is more expensive and only available in 18 mm, at least in Holland.
I recently made 8 wardrobes, 10 kitchen cabinets and a large retracting cabinet on wheels, all from 9-15-18 mm B/BB Birch plywood all only connected with Dominos, all with MDF doors and Blum fittings.
All the Birch plywood is stained with clear coating and the doors are all painted white.

 

[jmbfestool]

I should look for the Birch plywood surfaces which suits your finish:
Typical properties:
- B (I) – lacquering grade
- S (II) – painting grade
- BB (III) – standard grade (patched)
- WG (IV) – reverse grade

Russian, Baltic or Finnish doesn't matter as long as it has the right properties and of course price!
I usually go for B/BB Birch plywood. Some of the BB panels-side do not have any patches at all.
The B/B surface is more expensive and only available in 18 mm, at least in Holland.
I recently made 8 wardrobes, 10 kitchen cabinets and a large retracting cabinet on wheels, all from 9-15-18 mm B/BB Birch plywood all only connected with Dominos, all with MDF doors and Blum fittings.
All the Birch plywood is stained with clear coating and the doors are all painted white.

They are both BB. I always go BB grade.

Where I believe quality might lack with the cheaper ones is in the layers.  Which I won't find out untill I start cutting.

Currently the birch I use I am able to put a mould on the edge of the board and get good quality results painted and stained.    Yet I have seen birch with lots of bits missing in between layers.

Also when I make rings the grade of face becomes totally irrelevant because only about 1mm of the face exists so I am more bothered about quality in the layers and not so much the face.

Jmb

 

[RC]

I might be a bit biased, but I would definitely go with Finnish plywood [embarassed]

Don't know how Lithuanian manufacturing has become after the fall of the Soviet Union, but most stuff made in Russia is low quality outside of optics. I would not buy a Russian car [Lada, Zil, etc.] to save my life... [tongue]

If I've understood plywood at all the quality of a given ply is defined as neeleman mentioned by the surface layer gradings and also to some extent by the glue and gluing method employed by the manufacturer. To my understanding the cheap plywood typically has cheaper glue and/or uneven glue distribution between the layers which might result in the top layers peeling off eventually. I recall there was a segment about this in one of the more recent WoodTalk podcasts like #201 or #202 by Shannon Rogers.

 

[jmbfestool]

I might be a bit biased, but I would definitely go with Finnish plywood [embarassed]

Don't know how Lithuanian manufacturing has become after the fall of the Soviet Union, but most stuff made in Russia is low quality outside of optics. I would not buy a Russian car [Lada, Zil, etc.] to save my life... [tongue]

If I've understood plywood at all the quality of a given ply is defined as neeleman mentioned by the surface layer gradings and also to some extent by the glue and gluing method employed by the manufacturer. To my understanding the cheap plywood typically has cheaper glue and/or uneven glue distribution between the layers which might result in the top layers peeling off eventually. I recall there was a segment about this in one of the more recent WoodTalk podcasts like #201 or #202 by Shannon Rogers.

Well I would go with quality over price unless its silly money, if the Finnish is better and is a good price I would buy it.

That's why I buy BB grade because I always thought if I go for the lower quality grade face its likely its lower quality all round.

I'll have to contact the dealer I bought my birch from before and ask them where it's from. The 30mm and 18mm birch from them was really good.  I just found with sheet material from this dealer they are really over priced so I'm going else where.  Still using them for solid timbers.

Both thicknesses were really good quality in the layers very consistent pretty much solid no bits missing.

 

[wow]

BB got so expensive here for a while that I switched to Apple Ply. And it comes in 4 x 8 sheets!

 

[jmbfestool]

BB got so expensive here for a while that I switched to Apple Ply. And it comes in 4 x 8 sheets!

Sounds tasty!

Don't know anything about apple ply.

 

[RC]

How does the Apple ply integrate with the iCloud? [big grin]

 

[wow]

How does the Apple ply integrate with the iCloud? [big grin]

That would be their iPly  - which I've never used.

[poke]

 

[Michael Kellough]

ApplePly "All domestic and most imported face and back veneers are available in
ApplePly, though it is commonly stocked in Maple."

 

[EV]

I might be a bit biased, but I would definitely go with Finnish plywood [embarassed]

Don't know how Lithuanian manufacturing has become after the fall of the Soviet Union, but most stuff made in Russia is low quality outside of optics. I would not buy a Russian car [Lada, Zil, etc.] to save my life... [tongue]

If I've understood plywood at all the quality of a given ply is defined as neeleman mentioned by the surface layer gradings and also to some extent by the glue and gluing method employed by the manufacturer. To my understanding the cheap plywood typically has cheaper glue and/or uneven glue distribution between the layers which might result in the top layers peeling off eventually. I recall there was a segment about this in one of the more recent WoodTalk podcasts like #201 or #202 by Shannon Rogers.

I"m from Lithuania and slightly of  topic, Some of the Ikea furniture sold here in the UK has been manufactured in Lithuania. I am unable to comment on their sheet goods production as I have not had an encounter with them yet. Besides I have not been to Lithuania in best part of 13 years. So ever so slightly feeling detached from there.

 

[RC]

Sorry EV, I guess I should have rephrased my comment a bit - what I meant with my original comment was that I'm hoping Lithuania has been doing similar positive progress as Estonia and Latvia in producing more 'western' quality and mentality as a nation after its departure from the Soviet Union.

I have some business partners from Latvia and at least in the software industry they have progressed in leaps and bounds (as well as actually Russian software companies who have a lot of real talent available).

It's just sad to see the enormous rebuilding exercise all the Baltic states are currently undergoing and trying to fund with varying degrees of success after gaining independence. Riga in Latvia for example is a beautiful city but still full of very ugly Russian built gray blocks of flats in 10 mile long rows outside the Old Town. Same story in Tallinn, Estonia though there the rebuild seems to be progressing faster. I've never had the pleasure to visit Lithuania for myself so cannot comment on how its there.

Its just sad and unfortunate, that Russia itself seems to have gotten stuck in the 80's in many senses but I will not go into politics as its against forum rules. 

 

[EV]

Reiska, If you feel you have offended me, then you shouldn't need to feel that way. I know exactly what you mean, I have been to Riga once and like any town or a village (regardless where in the world it is) it is very pretty. but start wondering out of the centre and you might as well be in a rundown Russian city.

Once again from what I remember going back around 13 years, Lithuania was still in that sort of state where elements of soviet union still remained and I'm sure they still do, but hpoefully the country slowly but surely starting to stand up on its own feet and so are the other Baltic states. I must confess that I feel some what guilty of not going back there in a such long time, maybe in the summer.........

Regards

EV