Where do you buy good quality plywood?

[jacko9]

Question that's more for the hobbyist than the professionals on the FOG, where do you buy good quality hardwood plywood or Russian, Baltic Birch plywood?

When I ran a business I had a wholesale lumber supplier that carried whatever grade of plywood you wanted but, now when I want to buy one or two sheets the only local suppliers seem to be the big box stores that carry imported junk from China.

I live in Northern California so, I would like to find a supplier in the greater Bay Area.

 

[mouppe]

I have found Made in Canada Russian Birch at my local Home Depot so don't discard the big box stores too readily. I usually buy my lumber from one or two local yards, and one of them also has cabinet grade plywood.

Richard.

 

[live4ever]

I'm in San Francisco and regularly head out to MacBeath in Berkeley for both plywood and hardwood.  They have 1/2" and 3/4" baltic birch and a large inventory of hardwood plywood...I recently got some African mahogany ply from them.  Prices are about as good as it gets in the Bay Area.  Example:  I paid $76 for a sheet of 3/4" Khaya (Af. mahogany) ply.  A plywood retailer in the city quoted me $100 something for 3/4" Af. mahogany.  The staff is helpful and nice.  

Their regular cabinet grade birch ply is much better than the big box stores and a few bucks cheaper.  Tons of prefinished ply as well.

 

[jacko9]

I'm in San Francisco and regularly head out to MacBeath in Berkeley for both plywood and hardwood.  They have 1/2" and 3/4" baltic birch and a large inventory of hardwood plywood...I recently got some African mahogany ply from them.  Prices are about as good as it gets in the Bay Area.  Example:  I paid $76 for a sheet of 3/4" Khaya (Af. mahogany) ply.  A plywood retailer in the city quoted me $100 something for 3/4" Af. mahogany.  The staff is helpful and nice.  

Their regular cabinet grade birch ply is much better than the big box stores and a few bucks cheaper.  Tons of prefinished ply as well.

I guess I'll have to leave the Livermore Valley and head out to MacBeath. 

I just got back from the local Home Depot and didn't find any "Russian Birch" from Canada, only imports from China.

 

[andvari]

Well, you can special order Columbia Forest Products Europly Plus and probably other of their products from the Home Depots around where I live and maybe most of the country. Europly is not cheap but it does seem to be pretty good.

You are right though - the stuff they normally stock is really obnoxious.

There is an email contact on this page:

http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/products/europlyplus

I found it helpful to write.

 

[jacko9]

Well, you can special order Columbia Forest Products Europly Plus and probably other of their products from the Home Depots around where I live and maybe most of the country. Europly is not cheap but it does seem to be pretty good.

You are right though - the stuff they normally stock is really obnoxious.

There is an email contact on this page:

http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/products/europlyplus

I found it helpful to write.

Thank you, I'll check with my local Home Depot manager to see if I can purchase that product locally.

 

[Vindingo]

I'll add another +1 for MacBeath.  They have some good stuff.  If you do make the trip to Berkeley you should swing by Hida Tool  they have a great selection of Japanese hand tools. 

There is a good plywood place in Hayward  http://www.mckillican.com/  which is a little closer to you than Berkeley

 

[JPF Woodworking]

Not sure where you are located but if you are near the northeast I would check out Boulter Plywood in Sommerville, MA. Kind of a "hole-in-the-wall" type of place but they have an impressive inventory of sheet goods, veneers and hardwood. I buy my prefinished maple plywood from them. I have also bought melamine and other laminate type materials. Whe I was doing my last kitchen I also got a pretty good deal on Blum self-closing drawer guides, bulk order.

Hope this is helpful.
JPF

 

[Sparktrician]

Macbeath sells Appleply. 

[smile]

 

[otis04]

If you are in Northern New England, Maine Coast Lumber in York, Maine (on the New Hampshire border) is very hard to beat.  I think they deliver all over MA, too.

 

[andvari]

Well, you can special order Columbia Forest Products Europly Plus and probably other of their products from the Home Depots around where I live and maybe most of the country. Europly is not cheap but it does seem to be pretty good.

You are right though - the stuff they normally stock is really obnoxious.

There is an email contact on this page:

http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/products/europlyplus

I found it helpful to write.

Thank you, I'll check with my local Home Depot manager to see if I can purchase that product locally.

You might have to educate them - my local Home Depot had no clue they offered the stuff. I ended up bringing them a quote that I got by writing to the email address on the page I linked to.

 

[jacko9]

I'll add another +1 for MacBeath.  They have some good stuff.   If you do make the trip to Berkeley you should swing by Hida Tool  they have a great selection of Japanese hand tools. 

There is a good plywood place in Hayward  http://www.mckillican.com/  which is a little closer to you than Berkeley

Thanks,  I had forgotten about McKillican so,  I'll have to contact them again.  I had previously purchased drawer slides from them and at the time they were just building up their plywood supply.  One of their guys had quoted me $125/sheet of 3/4 Rift White Oak which seems reasonable.

I use Japan Woodworker for my Japanese tools and have been buying from them for over 35 years.