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source for baltic birch

8K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  holtzdreher 
#1 ·
I'm getting ready to build my guitar cabinet out of baltic birch and wanted to see where some of you guys get baltic birch from. I live in southwest VA.
 
#6 ·
Hey man, check out aitwood.com, they are normally used for drum shells and such, but I believe they actually sell sheets of Baltic Birch still, that is who I used to go through for that same purpose.
 
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#11 ·
You can find Baltic Birch at lumber yards. Call around first. It comes in 5x5 foot (60 x 60 inch) square sheets. Specialty woodworking stores like Woodcraft and Rockler sell cut pieces, like 12 x 24 or 24 x 30 inches, for example. There may be a store near you. Baltic Birch is expensive from them:
https://www.woodcraft.com/search?q=baltic+birch
https://www.rockler.com/shop?w=baltic+birch

There are different grades of Baltic Birch. If you price shop, be sure you are comparing the same grade and thickness. Baltic Birch is actually metric. Stated Imperial dimensions are approximate.

Around here (Southern California), you can also buy "Russian Birch" plywood. It is similar to Baltic Birch (many thin plies, all birch, no fills). It comes in 4x8 foot sheets. Prices are usually lower than comparable Baltic Birch, but I have seen them cost more, too. (My price comparisons were "per square foot" for the same thickness plywood.) I have not used it myself.

When I got back into woodworking a few years ago, I bought some low-cost plywood just to have some in stock for jigs and stuff. Based on my previous woodworking experience from the 1970s and 1980s, I expected something flat and practical. What I got was badly warped and useless. I went out and bought some Baltic Birch. It cost twice as much, but I never looked back. I like to keep Baltic Birch "in stock" at home - 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 inch. When I run low on a given thickness, I replace it with another 5x5 sheet.
 
#12 ·
In Cincinnati, none of the big-box stores I checked stock BB. 5x5 sheets and 4x8 sheets are stocked at Paxton Lumber, a store that specializes in wood for the professional woodworking/cabinet maker. I find that Menards in Cincinnati will order it for you and two years ago I order 6 sheets from them along with a variety of others and had it delivered.

I wanted to support Paxton, but they will not deliver to residential address whereas Menards would.

Folks like Rockler and Woodcraft in Cincinnati stock only small squares of the material, presumably for jig use, but do not carry full-size sheets.



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#13 ·
I buy my Baltic birch in 5' x 5' sheets from a local cabinet shop, not a normal retailer. I would suspect most, or all, cabinet shops would have a supply on hand for their own use and in my experience, they will sell it to as a hobbyist woodworker if asked. You might try that angle.
 
#15 ·
Perhaps the description means different things in different regions, but in eastern Iowa where I am, Baltic Birch ply is commonly used as drawer material for cabinets. That is what I use it for and what my source, the cabinet making shop, is also using it for FWIW.
 
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