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plywood since it looks and works a lot like Baltic birch. To know the difference, let's look at their history. History. Before World War II, what we now call "Baltic" birch was called "Russian" birch. It was made in the Baltic region, including Finland. After the U.S. entered the war, the product became known as "Baltic" birch. After the war, Finland took over their plywood production from Russia. And that's where "Finnish" birch plywood comes into play. Finnish Birch. Finland soon made improvements to their birch plywood. As I said, Finnish plywood looks the same as Baltic birch. But Finnish birch typically has better quality face veneers and inner plies than Baltic birch. And what might be most important is that the veneers in Finnish plywood are put together using exterior-grade glue. As you might expect, these differences mean that Finnish birch can cost more than comparable Baltic birch. ANOTHER OPTION When I built the workstation (page 36), I didn't need all the strength (and expense) of Baltic birch plywood. But I wanted something a little stronger than the typical cabinet-grade birch plywood. I found a plywood product called Arauco. Arauco is the name of the company in South America that makes a plywood from radiata pine trees (see photo at the bottom of opposite page). You'll see that Arauco plywood has seven plies. It's stronger than domestic birch and less expensive than domestic or Baltic birch. The downside is its face veneers are less attractive and may contain some defects or patches. So there are a number of plywood options for shop projects. It all depends on your needs. A Variety. Baltic birch plywood is commonly available in thicknesses from to over 1". Durable and Attractive: Phenolic-Faced Plywood As I was looking around for plywood to use for some shop projects, I found something that's almost ideal. I wondered why I hadn't noticed it before. It's a unique product — phenolic-faced plywood. If you look at the photos below, you'll see what looks like Baltic birch plywood with a thin coating on the faces. This tough coating is a plastic material (phenolic) over Finnish birch (exterior grade) plywood. What I found out was that it was originally engineered for concrete forms. Its coating was designed to withstand the abrasion and moisture from concrete. And since this coating is slippery, it releases from the concrete easily. This plywood has great properties for making jigs and fixtures — durability and low-friction. An extra benefit is that it looks great, too. Manufacturers make this product available in a variety of colors and thicknesses, but I had a hard time finding retail sources for it. The good news is that Woodcraft carries this specialty plywood. It's available in 2'x4' sheets in V2" andthicknesses in a green color like you see in the photos (see Sources). I'm sure you'll find lots of uses for it in the shop. A Water-Resistant. A thin phenolic film protects the faces. You'll want to seal the edges for exterior use. Great for Jigs and Fixtures. Durability and less friction make this an ideal product for lots of shop uses. |
