Do any of you know where I might find 3/8" thick birch plywood in the South?

Amos McCormick

Have you checked places like Home Depot? If they don't have it then I'd check the phone book under lumber, and make some calls to local lumber yards. If they don't have what you are looking for, I'm sure they can tell you who does.

Brian

Amos,

In smaller pieces (12" x 24"), Michael's carries it in their section of aircraft ply (near the balsa and basswood).

Since I generally make smaller items, this works for me. I also am a cost cutter. I get the coupons that they send out in the mail (included with their weekly ad). 40% off a single item saves you a good chunk of money in the long run. I will often stop by when I am in the area and pick up a sheet of 3/8", 1/4", or 1/8", whether I need it or not at the time... eventually I will.

Woodcraft also carries (when they decide to stock their store) Finnish and Baltic Birch, and I have found pieces as large as 24" x 48". I think 3/8" is among the thicknesses they carry.

~michael

The area I live in has many lumber yards and home centers, but none of them carry 3/8" birch. None of them carry 1/2" either, but I have been able to get that through a friend at a cabinet and millwork company. For the time being I could probably use 24"x48", but the largest I've found in 3/8" is 24"x30".

Amos McCormick

Amos;
The "good stuff" comes in 5' x 5' sheets - that's 60" x 60". The catch is that to get it full sheet size, you'll need to pick it up. Here are a couple sources:
http://www.bristolvalley.com/catalog.asp?prodid=296590
http://www.woodnshop.com/hardwood/Baltic_Birch_Plywood.htm

If you needed enough of it, you could have it shipped in full sheets by carriers like Yellow Freight. For small quantities, the shipping would cost too much.

If you have a local cabinet maker that uses a lot of it, you might piggy back an order with the cabinet maker's shipment.
Jim

Jim,

Thanks for the references. One is in St. Louis, which isn't too far away, but Memphis or New Orleans would be better for me. I'm trying to get a large, local cabinet shop to order some. They don't use that thickness, however, so they are having problems finding it from their regular suppliers. They were able to get me some nice 1/2" birch a couple of years ago, so I'm hoping they will come through on this.

Amos McCormick

Hi Amos,
I noticed you mentioned being close to Memphis. This place is great!
http://www.colcofinewoods.com/
I have bought lots of 3/8 baltic birch ply in 5X5 and full size 5x8 sheets. They also have 1/2 and 3/8 plywood in cherry, walnut, maple and others for any special projects you may have. They carry TONS of exotic solid woods too.
Colco is a great place and the staff is very friendly and helpful.
How close to Memphis are you?

I found that in florida, the aspen plywood is MUCH better quality than the birch (at least what lowes and home depot have available).

Don't go to the general-use home centers. Look for the specialty shops that cater to cabinet builders. Or, give some local cabinet builders a call and they might be able to direct you to a supplier in your area. I found mine (and, yes, it comes in 60"X60" sheets, which limits it's use for some magic cabinets!) at a dealer of hardwoods.

I live in northern California, (Bay Area) and have had a hard time finding 3/8" plywood in Birch. None of the local lumberyards or home improvement stores carries it. I haven't checked at a few specialty hardwood stores in Berkeley and I would suspect they can get it. I checked at a doll house workshop in Benicia and he orders it but he says it is expensive.

Dan

I have located 5'x5' sheets of 3/8" birch in Memphis at Hardwoods of Memphis, and it's not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be.

Get a woodworking magazine and look at the ads in the back, plenty of places to order any type of speciality wood or ply you want.

Quite frequently the catch phrase "It's expensive" means "I don't want to go to the trouble of ordering one sheet." Be sure to ask for a dollar amount.

Yep, something about $60 shipping on a $30 sheet of plywood pretty much kills the deal for me...

I get hardwood ply wood in from AP plywood. they can order what you need but hold onto your wallet it's gonna hurt unless you are buying a truckload. I use 9ply 7/8 double birch in 4x8 sheets by the pallet load. when your talking $85 a sheet in bulk that's a lot but hey our customer is paying for it.

Very good resources. I can always count on Rockler for 1/2 sheets of 3/8 Birch ply
A little pricey. But very good quality
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=846

I looked under "woodworking supplies" in the phonebook and found a place.
5' x 5' sheet was $39.99.

Eyebuildillusions, thank you for the Rockler link. It turns out there is a store 15 minutes away from where I live.

Dan