Difference in birch?

[Jessica]

i see some members suggesting using birch plywood for enclosures, i've always used mdf. i talked to the local lumber yard and they told me the only difference in birch plywood and regular plywood is the last layer, which doubles the cost btw.He also said what the plywood is made up of as far as composition and glues, varies by manufacturer a bit. So maybe i am uniformed here. Are you guys talking about something else? I am going to be building a new enclosure soon so i would like to get this figured out. Thanks.

[kingsuv]

There is different grades of plywood as well as types.

First is the type, You have a birch veneer which is a thin skin of birch on the outside with other lesser dense, and cheaper will filler in the middle. And within the type, you will have a few grades for the application used. Typically this stuff is used in cabinet making and is 5 ply ( 5 layers). This makes for a poor box building material

The other type is a Birch ply which is a solid birch material. Typically 13-18 layers depending on thickness. The wood is much more dense and makes a good material to build a box with.

Price wise, the veneer, is only a couple bucks less then the solid at a quality lumber yard. You can often find it in 4x8 AND 5x5 sheets.

[OrionStang]

Baltic birch, 13-ply.

[varietyguy]

Baltic birch, 13-ply.

x2 Lumber yards and Menards.

Since we are on this topic..... Does anyone know the actual weight difference from mdf to birch?

[SWIFT]

If you get the Russian Baltic Birch 13ply it is just alittle lighter that MDF. Not a huge difference but lighter. The 5 ply Birch at Home Depot is much much ighter than MDF

[chrishova]

Thanks for clearing that up, I got some "birch" from home depot and lucily he cut thm ALL too short, lolz, kinda $45 wasted..