baltic birch plywood

[tinker1]

information on baltic birch plywoods
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/blog/woodworking-101/tips-tricks/your-ultimate-guide-to-baltic-birch-plywood-why-its-better-when-to-use-it/

[puzzleguy]

Its a hard thing to find where i live , trying to find the thin stuff is next to impossible -
use to be common to find it in 5 by 5 sheets -- and the stuff i do find is not Baltic at all .

[Rapid Roger]

Sometimes you can find Baltic Birch ply at a hobby shop in smaller sizes (12" x 12" ) and various thicknesses.
And of course it can be had at most mail order places that cater to scroll sawyers. But, it is fairly hard to find in larger sizes like 5' x 5' anyplace but larger lumber supply house who cater to the fine wood working crowd.

[JPetrick]

Is the stuff you find in hobby shops that is marked "birch" Baltic Birch?

[Rapid Roger]

 Generally speaking.... yes.
The thing about Baltic birch is it has more ply's in it and no voids. Count the layers on the edge, in a given thickness there will be more ply's in Baltic birch than other types of plywood. In 3/4" for example, most kinds will have 7 or 9 layers and Baltic birch will have 13! The thinner wood of course will be different. In 1/8" there may be only 3 layers in other wood and Baltic birch will have 5. (Please note that ALL plywood has an odd number of layers)
Voids are another thing to watch out for in other types of plywood, Baltic birch will have VERY FEW if any in it  on any thickness.
A few years ago, I found an OLD (1970's I think) piece of 3/4" plywood with 7 layers and NO voids which is VERY rare these days. It made some beautiful vases and bowls. If you should run across some, KEEP IT! It will require some sanding on the surfaces but, the edges can create some beautiful patterns.

[herrwood]

Nice work

[JPetrick]

Rapid Roger,

Thanks for the explanation. Very informative especially for a new scroller like me. Your work is gorgeous.

John