BB plywood at Menards?

[cgallery]

I know there has been discussion here about borg plywood made in China recently. This last weekend Menards was advertising Baltic Birch plywood. The ad showed various thicknesses. The 3/4" was a 4x8 (instead of customary 5x5) sheet size, and was about $55. I was near a Menards yesterday, but they said it is only sold at the larger stores.

Anyone see this mystery Menards BB? The price is too high to be cheap, crappy China stuff. However, the size (4x8) is kinda worrisome.

The add said it was made of equal thicknesses of birch all the way though. No thin face veneer.

[jackellis]

Check the number of plies, their thickness and their appearance. I picked up a couple of BB cutoffs from a cabinet shop on Saturday and they look much nicer on edge than any other plywood, including veneer face, that I've seen except the stuff Kirby uses for his jigs. Can't afford that!

[LCHIEN]

I've read somewhere that some BB made for the uS markets comes in 4x8 sheets.

[LarryG]

I've read somewhere that some BB made for the uS markets comes in 4x8 sheets.

There's a domestic version of BB plywood known as ApplePly. So named not because it's made of apple wood, but because it's as American as apple ... ply.

(Seriously.)

The stuff at Menard's may be similar to what I've been buying at Home Depot. I don't know the country of origin, but the 3/4" thickness has the same 13 plies as "official" Baltic birch, and the quality has generally been quite good ... if BB is a 10, I'd rate this stuff about a solid 8. Price is ~$16 for a 2x4 precut panel, which if you allow for the usual higher pricing of smaller pieces, would be roughly comparable to those full-size sheets you found.

I've been hoping HD would get in some of the same stuff in 4x8, but no joy so far.

EDIT: I seem to recall others mentioning that they've found pseudo-BB plywood at HD/Lowe's that wasn't any good at all. Seems to vary by store/state/region/something.

[BigguyZ]

I've seen the BB ply at one of the local Menards'. However, they won't cut it down for you and I don't have a truck to haul it in. I'll be stuck with whatever Lowes has and having them chop it up for a while I guess.

[Kristofor]

Hmmm, I don't recall seeing BB at Menards before, but it's close so it's probably worth a trip by to see I suppose. There may be some other reason why people prefer the square size, but for me a 4'x8' panel is actually easier to deal with than a 5'x5' since it fits flat between the wheel-wells.

Kristofor.

[BigguyZ]

Kristofor,
I have 3 Menards that I regularily visit in the cities, and only one of them carries the BB ply. So your local store may not carry it regularily. You may have to special order it from another store.

I have a sedan, so I typically get a 4x8 sheet cut lengthwise down the middle to give me 2 2x8 sheets... It's a tight fit, but I can fit 2 or 3 sheets of 3/4" ply/MDF in the car at once.

[LCHIEN]

...There may be some other reason why people prefer the square size, but for me a 4'x8' panel is actually easier to deal with than a 5'x5' since it fits flat between the wheel-wells.

Kristofor.

well, it's european. So European sizing is in.
5'x5' works out to a hair more than 1.5m x 1.5m
and BB is sold in thicknesses of 6mm, 9mm, 12mm and 18mm
which is a hair less than 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 respectively and it so happens that US-plywood is also a little undersized so its basically the same as 1/4, 3/8 etc. - that's why they sell BB as fractional-sized here.

And you don't see many Pickup trucks in Europe. Their wheel wells are probably closer together, anyway.

[Slik Geek]

I have 3 Menards that I regularily visit in the cities, and only one of them carries the BB ply. So your local store may not carry it regularily. You may have to special order it from another store.

In the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I've only noticed the baltic birch plywood at one (larger) Menards, so I concur that it apparently isn't carried at all stores.

I discovered it recently as I was looking through the hard woods section. I didn't take a really close look, but at a glance, it did look like it was quality wood. However, Menard's personnel don't take care of the wood as well as the specialty woodworking store that one usually purchases baltic birch from. IIRC, they had just a few sheets on hand (they probably don't move very much), and the one on top looked like it had been abused (and had been around for awhile).

[MBG]

I've bought a few sheets (4'x8'x1/2") at my Menards. Ends up about 1/2 the price I pay at Rockler. I have a Suburban and I can haul a 4'x8' inside the truck but not a 5'x5'.

[greencat]

I've bought a few sheets (4'x8'x1/2") at my Menards. Ends up about 1/2 the price I pay at Rockler. I have a Suburban and I can haul a 4'x8' inside the truck but not a 5'x5'.

Do you mind me asking what you paid for it and what they call it?

[JimD]

On characteristic of the BB plywood I use is the number of plies. The 1/2 inch has 11 plies. The outer plys are a bit thinner, presumably from sanding, but the plys are all the same material and there are very few voids. I buy it in 5x5 sheets but I have heard it is also sold in 4x8. It is really nice plywood and costs a bit more than shop grade birch but is still inexpensive versus hardwood or hardwood veneered plywood. I use it mostly for drawers which I dovetail. I also used 3/4 BB for slats under my daughters double bed. The five foot dimension was handy for this application.

Jim