Serious question, why did I waste years using oak plywood when Baltic birch was right there?

I finally switched to Baltic birch for a set of kitchen drawer boxes after fighting with oak plywood warping on me three times in a row, and the difference in stability and how clean the edges come out has me wondering what else I've been stubborn about for no good reason, has anyone else had a similar wake up call on a material or technique you ignored for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

thompson.robin21d ago

And honestly I'm gonna push back on this a little. Oak plywood has its place and baltic birch is NOT some magical perfect material for everything. Yeah birch edges look cleaner but oak plywood is WAY tougher if you're building something that's gonna take abuse like workbench tops or shop fixtures where dents and dings matter more than pretty edges. Plus baltic birch has gotten SO expensive lately that for certain projects the cost difference is just not worth it especially if you're gonna paint or cover the edges anyway. I've had baltic birch sheets that were absolute garbage with voids in the core layers and the last oak plywood I bought from a REAL lumberyard was flatter and more stable than most of the birch I've handled. So maybe you just had bad luck with your oak suppliers or you were buying the cheap big box store stuff which is a whole different animal.

leo_carr1321d ago

Baltic birch's edge consistency matters a lot for things like cabinets or drawer boxes where you're not painting over it, and oak plywood's open grain can be a pain to finish smooth if you're not going for that rustic look. Core voids are a risk with any plywood brand if you get a bad batch, not just birch, but the multi-layer construction of baltic birch handles stress way better in my experience. Maybe your oak supplier is top tier, but the average oak plywood I've seen just doesn't hold up to the same flatness standards once you take it home.