Rivervalleymgb Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 birch has been in demand for furniture and cabinetry for almost a century. It looks a lot like maple for less money. Speaking of maple, a lot of the older pianos had Birdseye Maple in them. When I lived in Hope, I bought a piano simply for the STUNNING Bird's Eye Maple inside the back. I must say it was a pain to get rid of the metal frame inside. Not a problem now due to the number of recyclers, but a pain in the 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I'm working with some 3/4 now (birch). I'll count the plys tonight but there's no way it's Baltic. The quality isn't there. We don't have a Menards around here. It actually measured 11/16'ths. if I was building a pair of Cornwalls and wanted birch baltic - how many sheets would I need - of the 5x5 or the 4x8 and which is the best one to use in 3/4 inch or 1 inch -can I also glue 2 half inches of baltic birch to make a 1 inch thick panel or is 3/4 sufficient - sorry If I am confused - but my head is spinning reading all this infurmation - To keep the original size you would need 2 sheets of 4x8. I'm sure 3/4 inch would be fine, to glue( 2) 1/2 inch panels together would definitely stiffen things up, but would add some weight, and cost. I'm not sure if you would gain anything though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Looks goon Metro, I'm sure you're staining that plywood? Got a pic of the final finish? I painted half of the stuff white for the living room and am staining the other half black for my pirate room, aka. the combination theater room and office. I'm not very good at finishing stuff, I get impatient. I used to be a pro painter believe it or not but that doesn't mean I'm actually good at it. First pic was before it dried. The table top and skirt is baltic birch, legs are probably pine. The bookshelves are 100% baltic birch. Edited January 20, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Looks good, I like dark stain. Those shelves look handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Those shelves look handy. We homeschool in case anybody was wondering. My living room is more or less an educational facility and day care. No way to get around it right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Those shelves look handy. We homeschool in case anybody was wondering. My living room is more or less an educational facility and day care. No way to get around it right now. Good for you. We home schooled all three of ours. Two finished college with honors, the third went to Full Sail, also doing well in his class. Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Birch Bayh was speaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Birch Bayh was speaker Haha…good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevenarrow Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 my understanding is that the individual layers within a sheet of ply alternate grain direction 90°. This is what adds to the stiffness opposed to the homogenous make up of MDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) If you don't mind observations and tales of woe. I believe it is true that the interior plies are alternating in grain orientation. Otherwise it would be more flexible in one direction. Granted, in wood, we want high quality material for our babies, like in wire, speakers, and connectors. If you want quality plywood, you have to go to a specialty shop. The best I bought was from WoodWorld in Dallas north of TI on Central. It is not cheap but you get some joy at out of working with it. Also, my guess is that the plies are not hardwood at all. Just some fir or whatever is economical, maybe not as strong as a hardwood. This shouldn't be an issue because our speakers are not imposing any significant load on the wood. Freedom from voids in the interior plies may be a little overrated. I've never heard of a panel having an acoustic buzz because of voids. OTOH, voids are a pain in the neck if you want to drive a screw into the edge. In a worst case situation, there are so many voids you can't be sure that your screw is biting into anything. For various reasons, I have had to purchase plywood and dimensional lumber from Home Depot. Mostly because it is close and prices are cheap. At Christmas I purchased a quarter sheet of 1/2 birch from the hobby section. The surface ply was clear and free of knots and boat patches (those crescent shaped patches of veneer). But there were voids and the top veneer chipped off while cutting. Not just a little at the edge, rather, something about 1 inch by 1 inch. Back in Chicago, last week I purchased a quarter sheet of 3/4birch, again from HD. No voids to speak of, the top veneer was well attached, but the surface had knots with filler (which of course I knew). Many of the sheets in the bin were warped to one extent or another, so you have to cherry pick at HD. The same is true of dimensional lumber at HD such as 1 x 3 poplar, or pine or oak. It looks pretty but you have to strike a sight down the length, like you see in movies. The sales associates must wonder what is up. There was one odd thing several years ago. I bought some 1/4 inch birch ply which was very flat, and cut it for a project and set it aside. A month later I went to assemble the pieces and they had developed warps and twists. My guess is that there were internal stresses which were balanced in a big sheet but had an effect when the ply was cut into smaller pieces. In praise of birch ply: There are grades to the stuff based on whether the top and bottom surface are clear, or boat patched, or have knots. In the best case it is clear but bland. Lacquer gives a very clear "water white" finish without accenting figuring of the grain. (Klipsch does this.) Varnish gives a warm finish (slightly tan/yellow) with some nice accentuation of the grain. As you've read, I love the wipe on varnishes. Paint goes on to form a smooth finish with proper sanding, etc. On the forum we've had people say they have birch LaScalas and the like. They want to use a stain (I like dye) to make them look like walnut or mahogany. You can get colors but the grain will never be like walnut or mahogany. The alternative to birch is often just fir plywood (top and bottom grain). In my view it is worthless for any sort of finishing. Professionals have some sophisticated processes of sealing and staining which might work to get it away from hideous. In my view it is worth it to start with birch. WMcD Edited January 24, 2015 by William F. Gil McDermott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Gil, Baltic birch has all the plus being birch. Makes for a very stiff piece. I seen cherry ply the same... gets a little pricey. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) IMO birch looks best with either maple or cherry stain, not so much for a mahogany or walnut stain. Edited January 25, 2015 by djk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.