Birch plywood now available in India

GeorgeO

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For those who know, this is the plywood of choice for speaker enclosures. For those who don't, this is very high quality void free plywood which is superior to anything made locally, and very commonly used worldwide where it is available-a common variant is called Baltic Birch plywood. It is now available( was not earlier), imported from Russia. I have used it in a recent build and most impressed with the quality and will in future be using it in preference to MDF that I have used for almost all of my past builds.

Suffice it to say that the cross section shows very high quality manufacturing technology-in terms of number and thinness of plies of commercial veneer used as well as uniform pressing presumably done in high quality hydraulic presses. Each sheet that I got was individually wrapped in plastic! The India distributor, based out of Delhi is BK Lunia Mob 98910 10240-I have no connection whatsoever with him, do not know his pricing and business terms.
 
Yes it is available in India, I used it for the shelves in my rack (can be seen here). Though it is costly, but completely worth it. No need to use use any laminate on it, just polish and be done.
 
Birch is only wood used in European countries to make ply wood for packaging. If you can find out vendor who buys packaging material you can get it at cheap rate. In laymen term its called english ply.

In Mumbai and Pune there are many such suppliers who sale this ply at cheap rate.

Regards,
 
Birch is only wood used in European countries to make ply wood for packaging. If you can find out vendor who buys packaging material you can get it at cheap rate. In laymen term its called english ply.

In Mumbai and Pune there are many such suppliers who sale this ply at cheap rate.

Regards,

Where in Mumbai? I am doing renovation of my flat and i have been looking for this ply. I didn't knew it is named birch.
 
Where in Mumbai? I am doing renovation of my flat and i have been looking for this ply. I didn't knew it is named birch.
In chor bazaar there use to be supplier of such ply who use to sale in /kg. It was close to Null Bazar post office(Google it). Not been to that place for many years so can't confirm its existence.

Try your luck in Kurla.

Try calling this number Gupta- 09765615108. He normally buys from companies. He might help you to find contact in Mumbai

Hope this will help.

Regards,




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Packing plywood is typically low grade plywood. For furniture or speaker cabinets, use gap free Baltic birch plywood. Alternately, Baltic beech plywood is less common but even harder than birch.
 
Packing plywood is typically low grade plywood. For furniture or speaker cabinets, use gap free Baltic birch plywood. Alternately, Baltic beech plywood is less common but even harder than birch.

I agree. You need to search for better quality ply with them. Plywood we use for packing our machining is of good quality which has good external and internal finish plus less void.

If lucky he can find that quality material.
 
Sure wish you had pointed this out to me a few years ago!

>Guys, this has been available for long in India at various places. Seek and you shall find!
 
Real marine grade plywood is made from "okhume" tree from Gabon. It is water resistant due to the nature of the wood, and is meant to be used in applications where it may get wet, or atmospheric moisture content is high (like furnitures on ships). Using it for regular home furniture is actually overkill. Locally made plywoods which are gapless is probably good enough for most domestic applications, but for speaker cabinets or turntable plinths or audio racks good quality Baltic birch plywood would be much preferred provided we can source it locally.
 
My birchply open baffle (mono) setup.

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I purchaded this Russian birch ply locally. I used this same ply in my Garrard 401 and Lenco L75 CLD plinths too. Very good one. No need for veener as itself has cool natural grains. Just sand it and apply few coats of wood polish. Job done.

I tried very hard to get this. If you want I will send the contact details.

Regards,
shafic
 
OT, but:

So can someone explain why this Birch plywood is "better" for building speakers?

Is it because it lends it's own character (aka resonance) to the sound?

Is it because it is void free?

It it because it looks good?

Is it because we've read someplace that it is the best plywood to use for speakers?

Caution: I MIGHT go ballistic to a "yes" to any of the above. :D
 
I may be able to give you a better answer once my current build(my first time with this material) is completed and it's up and running. I can say that I have used MDF because it's been the recommended material in the absence of birch. Why birch? For me, having looked at the material closely, I can only repeat what I wrote in my first post-it is very high quality plywood. The veneer also has it's natural grain which looks pleasant to the eye when polished. Many US diyers whom I have interacted with in earlier days indicated this was their material of choice.

Shafic: If your source is confidential/you have commercial ties with the vendor that I should PM you, I don't want to know details since I have already indicated where I can get this material. If you can share it with other forum members who may want to use it please go ahead.
 
George- I don't have any commercial interests nor it is confidential. I already informed the details of the supplier in my Garrard 401 and Lenco L75 CLD plinth buildup thread.
 
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Friends,

Is it available in Chennai?I shall be thankful for any input regarding this.

Thanking you

pksnathan
 
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