Inexpensive baltic birch source

I got 6 full sheets of 1/8" baltic today. (Grade B/B, no patches on either side)

Short version: It works out to $0.97 per full GF-sized sheet.

I needed long pieces, so I cut 12" strips on each side of 5 of the full sheets (keeping one factory edge), 20" off of the 6th, then rendering the rest into full sheets for the GF.

End yield:
10 - 12"x60"
2 - 20" x 60"
50 - 12"x20" full sheets

Total cost: 88$ (including taxes-- the sheets were $13-something each), plus my labor with the circular saw. It works out to $0.97 per full GF-sized sheet. That’s far better than any online/woodcraft/rockler source that I’ve seen.

If I’d decided to just cut it all down to GF size (12x20), it would have yielded 90 sheets.

So yeah, that’s why I always say try to find a local supplier. Now, if only they had a panel saw and could do the cutting for me, it’d be much faster.

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Yesterday, I finally visited a place with a promising name (Woodworker’s Source) that I very occasionally drive past. I was pretty exited to find that they carry all sorts of wonderful hardwoods and plywoods. They also have Baltic birch for 1/3rd of what I paid for my last batch online.

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So what was the source??

Rugby. They have lots of locations, check to see if there is one near you:

Preeeeviously:

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Oh, hai! Not only do they have a Phoenix location, it’s just a few miles down the road from me (in a direction/area I never drive through to have noticed it). Cool beans.

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There are two of those Rugby locations “near” me; i.e. both a bit over an hour away. I may have to check them out.

They have 1/8 MDF too, which is even cheaper.

And these guys operate at scale. Like I asked how much 1/8 BB ply they had, they said “in B/B or B/BB grade?”

“Either. Both.”

“Uh just over 800 in the B/BB, similar amount on the B/B”.

So… yeah my six sheets wasn’t even a blip to them and will last me months. 90 sheets of baltic is a lot.

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Pout for me - the closest is ~6.5 hours away…hmmm, maybe the next time I drive to Vegas!

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What’s your nearest city?

I’m in the South Bay - so LA is technically closest, but I go to LV more often :slight_smile:

Location in Denver close to downtown. Cha Ching!

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