The actual playfields, and the mechanical parts on (and under) them aren't substantially different than a game from the 50s/60s. The circuitry, of course, is vastly different, but the heart of the beast is pretty much the same electro-mechanics, whether it's a 60s game, a 90s game, or a brand new Guns 'n' Roses
As a Scotsman living in Scotland, hearing oor Adam pronounce "shite" in the best possible way brings me much joy on this very wet and gloomy Tuesday morning.
A bit of a tangent and partially in Adam's defense (though not addressing plywood), arctic birch is a thing. It comes up in firearms collecting, ex. arctic birch stocks for Finnish Mosin-Nagant rifle
You can get high quality Baltic Birch Ply pre-cut from Rockler and it's really close to the same price as you'd get from the lumberyard. They sell it online too, so you can have it delivered. 👍
The 24" x 30" sheets from Rockler are 35% more expensive per square inch than 60" x 60" sheets from my local place. With shipping, it's almost twice the price. Edit to add: This is comparing Rockler's BB/BB grade to the better B/BB I buy locally.
I'm sorry to tell you this Michael, I think your lumberyard might be expensive ;) I was just curious after reading cwell's comment so I did the math and rockler is about 2.57x the cost of what I usually pay at my yard. And to anyone else reading this, it's still not horribly expensive. If you don't have a good lumber yard near you or you don't have the ability to buy full sheets of plywood, rockler is a great resource. Definitely defer to michael's knowledge. He buys a lot more baltic than I do.
Its funny how me in Finland this situation is reversed and it makes me happy. I have almost never seen that kind of crappy plywood. For me plywood is this beautiful and strong material.
What he is referring to as "finish ply" is just plywood that has finished faces, not plywood from Finland. It is most commonly called "cabinet grade" and is indeed usually crap.
@@EliasArcher yeah I know finish ply is not Finnish ply. Finnish ply is what he is referring as arctic ply. We use "arctic ply" in grade school crafts, which I teach.
Depending on your region, the same product had different names. I've gota friend in New Zealand and there he buys "Russian Birch". Baltic/Russian/Arctic birch product names define a specific manufacturing process and type of plywood, not necessarily the specific country, region, or content of the plywood. Generally speaking, it comes from the Baltic states, thus the moniker.
It's also called Baltic Birch (sometimes Russian Birch or Finnish Birch) down here in the US. We have a local supplier (Dunn Lumber for anyone in Western WA) who stocks it for a pretty reasonable price, especially compared to the garbage plywood available at the big box stores.
And for the love of all that is holy in this world, if you live in a high humidity (or any humidity) environment don't build anything with MDF, just don't, please, I beg you.....
@@tested In the Bay Area I’ve had luck with MacBeath in Berkeley. They carry Baltic Birch and have always been happy to make a few cuts. Not sure about delivery though...
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Sorry for putting you on the spot. My favorite of your creations was the hellboy sword from the comics. Where you used a temple run minion and made it a little demon
My favorite chapter in Every Tool’s A Hammer was the one about adhesives. Something about the way Adam talks about materials and tools makes it really fun to listen to.
Regional naming differences. It appears that arctic birch is an American thing (or at least the part of America where ILM is based - San Francisco), and baltic birch is what it's called in Canada.
@@bobdole4916 It's called Baltic Birch in Oklahoma too. And it's not all that hard to find here. Where we get it, it is sold in square sheets of about 5 feet which is 1.5 meters.
I love how excited he gets over things that others would find boring. He has so much passion and excitement for the world and it's always fun to watch!
One of the good things about living in canada, that plywood is available the the big box stores for a reasonable price and they have a track saw, dollar a cut.
REALLY not sure why you can't handle sheets with that nice Powermatic in the background and a few really good blades. Oh and also outfeed rollers. That is a BIG and fancy table saw built to handle sheet goods AND act as an extra shop table when needed (HA!). You appear to have both the equipment and the room unless somehow?? appearances are deceiving. 😁
Plywood: I would check out local woodworking stores (Rockler and Woodcraft are the two national chains) they sell Baltic Birch in 5x5 sheets And in terms of a Track saw: Festool or bust!
If you ask/look for "marine ply" it's a much better grade, better actual timber in terms of having far fewer voids or knots. Plus a stronger and water resistant glue. Whenever I build anything I want to last, I use marine ply.
In Germany, that thin-layered plywood is usually sold as "Multiplex". What hardware stores sell as "plywood" is the thick-layered stuff - and there I've had ones with holes big enough to slide a match through them.
@@rolfs2165 After some Google searching, it looks like what's called "plywood" here isn't even plywood. It's "oriented strand board" or OSB. It seems that OSB more or less displaced plywood on the market here and people just called it by the name they were used to. They do seem to still label it properly on their website, so it's probably just local verbal usage rather than stores calling it by the wrong term. I've honestly only bought either "scrap wood" (small pieces left over from cuttings or warped pieces that they sell at a discount) or specific use wood like dowel rods, poplar boards, or 4x4 fenceposts. I've never had a use I would trust to OSB "plywood".
Cabinet makers buy a lot of pre-finished plywood, mostly maple veneer with a sprayed lacquer finish for casework. that may be what Adam is talking about. Some of that is lumber core or MDF core. Good for its intended purpose.
@@Merennulli OSB aka "waferboard" in the USA is used mostly for exterior wall sheathing in new house construction, good for that use and cheaper than plywood. Wrap it up in Tyvek and it works for that use.
Thanks Adam for the awesome content. Not sure if it is the same but you can get baltic birch at most Rockler and Woodcraft stores. Not sure if you have one near you but it may be a bit cheaper and they sell 30" X 48" panels in 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" thick. You can also order it online at their websites. Hope this helps.
Baltic Birch is also made in 3/8" and 5/8" thicknesses (9mm and 15mm actual). Super useful for those cases where the next size down is a little too thin and the next size up is too thick. I like to keep a couple sheets of all the sizes in stock. B/BB is the most common grade and yes, the B side is very nice. Even the BB side is nice if you're okay with an occasional football plug.
Don't buy plywood from their amazon link above. I understand they are trying to earn a buck, but google "plywood dealer in my city" and find a good hardwood/plywood dealer. You can get a 5'x5' sheet of baltic birch plywood 1/2" or 3/4" for $50 - $65 dollars. It's a shame Tested even links to that crap but I understand they are trying to get compensated for their efforts.
I use Baltic birch for making longboards, and have been for about 11 years now. Awesome stuff. I usually see it in 5'X5' sheets, but I can also find it pre-finished, which I can't use for making boards but is awesome for many other applications
I've never been a maker of any sort and I go into all of Adam's videos thinking I'll just watch a few minutes of it and then suddenly I watched an hour of Adam making a watering can for his wife. For the tool tips I have resigned myself to pretty much watching the entire thing because I love how enthusiastic Adam always is and how honest he seems to be. I do own a saw though, I bought one recently to use exactly one time so I bought as cheap of a hand saw as I possibly could!
Any time I go into a shop that sells lumber I always lust over the nice birch plywood. I don't even need to have a project that needs it at the time, it's just the best!
Baltic Birch comes in 5’x5’ sheets. Also there is europly, and Apple ply which are nicer grades of material. I sense a revision in the next video. Great video none the less! 👍
I wonder if I can get a response to further this... I've been working on figuring out how I want to go about building some shelves and desks of my own and I want to pair it with some welding. What would you, Adam, recommend as far as metal goes? Just pick some angle iron and tube steel from my local Harbor Freight/Tractor Supply? I would *greatly* appreciate any advice you can give.
Buy your steel at the local steel yard. It will be better quality for a fraction of the price. Metal Supermarket will have what you want but it will be expensive. Just look for Steel or the like. They will also have cut offs or ‘drops’ that you can buy by the pound to practice your welding on.
I completely relate to his love of that plywood! It is nice to know I am not alone in having a favorite. I avoid veneer whenever can. It often rips and frays when being cut and bubbles upon contact with glue or paint. I can't stand it.
I made a pretty cool guitar stand out of birch plywood. The tall bit that supports the neck is like 3" wide, but I cut most of it out to put a gothic arch design in it, so it's actually only two long bits of 1/2"x1/2", still super sturdy. It's great stuff. Sadly I have not had much access to it since I left cabinetmaking school.
Absolutely fantastic material. Also called Baltic Birch. Maybe connecting with custom cabinet shop in the area. They’re likely to have a track saw until the shop is upgraded.
When searching, also include "russian birch" and "latvian birch". I'm not sure why, but whenever I have custom office furniture designed by any of the large custom millwork shops in the area, they always quote it as one of those instead of "baltic birch", and in almost 10 years, I've only seen 1 void on a cut edge from thousands of desk tops from them.
I get such a lovely vibe all the time from this content, making me want to make so many things. If I only had the time and effort to make 10% of the things I imagine. One day I'll finish a project
I kicked myself for not buying these 8 pieces of 1/2” solid birch plywood from a auction last month for $80. I needed it, but didnt have room for it at the time.
Hey Adam, I'm from Brazil and I love woodworking... And plywood aside, the only wood I worked with and never attacked my allergies is a Brazilian wood called Garapeira. I don't really know if they sell it there. It's really weird. I worked with some pine a while ago and got really bad because of the allergies. Go figure. 😬
I'm so happy that I can get birch ply everywhere. Each hardware store with a wood section has this stuff in germany. Only the thin 3 and 4 mm stuff for lasercutting is not to get there.
Most highply birch plywood is marine grade and more stable. While all wood expands and contracts with heat and humidity changes Baltic birch will be minimal.
Ugh. I'm also in the bay area (bouncing back and forth between hayward/piedmont) and reaaallly can't find Baltic Birch ply anywhere. I'm also dumb and have a car that can't transport 4x8 sheetgoods, so I have to get them cut :( I need a good Baltic Birch resource here.
Aurora Hardwood? Try getting ahold of the maker themselves? RPL International makes Baltic Birch and they’re in Nevada. I’m sure their sales department would love to hear from the Adam Savage!
Home Depot used to have a rather nice 3/4" "poplar" plywood-- sanded on one side for cabinets. I found it very soft but it did okay. Not sure if it's still out there. It was also 2/3--3/5 the cost of similar one-smooth-face ply.
Good video. It hit on some memories for me. I've built glow powered RC airplanes for many years and used plywood very sparingly, but If had to use plywood it was always aircraft birch plywood. My father worked in a cedar shake mill for 35 years and says he can't stand the smell of cedar, but I love it.
I like high-ply for anything fancy, but considering how cheap the basic 3-ply is, I use it for a TONNE of crap. But that Baltic Birch does look super nice
Adam, Do you and Mrs. DON'TTRYTHISATHOME ever work on projects together? My wife, Lauren, and I have successfully completed a number of projects together this year and we will complete a few more this week.
Had all our kitchen and bathroom cabinet boxes made from Baltic birch plywood instead of crappy MDF; can’t stand that stuff and the bbp wasn’t that much more $
2 key points to add to selection of plywood: a) is the glue waterproof (& to a lesser extent, heat-resistant); b) how many ply layers are used in the makeup (even layers of same thickness are structurally better but more expensive ofc. The former indicates how weatherproof the ply may be (hence cheap 'shuttering ply' used for eg concrete/cement formers & general outdoor enclosures such as bird boxes, dog houses, temp hording of broken shop windows or construction sites etc); the latter indicates its internal strength & rigidity (as well as usually being of a nicer raw finish). NOT ALL MULTI-LAYER PLY USES WATERPROOF BONDING, so despite being nice to look at when first built, an outdoor structure may quickly delaminate over time due to weather effects if no attn is paid to its construction material's bonding details :(
Adam, check out Woodworkers Source (www.woodworkerssource.com) in Phoenix, AZ for Baltic Birch plywood. Here is a link to a recent video of theirs on the subject of Baltic Birch Plywood: th-cam.com/video/nDe9czl_W7c/w-d-xo.html. Not sure how they compare to what you buy on Amazon but I think they are worth a look. I live near one of their locations and regularly purchase 3/4" and 1/2" from them. I've been very pleased with their product. From their website it looks as though they sell it in 20" x 30" sections for shipment. Their Baltic Birch ply actually is sold in 60" x 60" sheets versus the traditional plywood dimension of 4' x 8'. This should help to explain why 20" x 30" sections rather than a 24" x 48" sections.
Baltic/Russian/Arctic birch plywood is actually made differently than most of the garbage stuff we get here in the US. Most of it's made by submerging the plies in weather-resistant adhesive before slapping a sheet together, vs. just spraying crappy adhesive on sheets. That, plus the high layer count, makes Baltic/Russian/Arctic birch the plywood of choice for building great speaker cabs. You find it in 60"x60" sheets cause that's the common size they use for cabinet construction in Europe. If you find it in 4x8 sheets, you're probably not finding the right stuff.
I've always been a "maker", since I was old enough to learn to use a hand saw and a hand-cranked drill. My Christmas gift wishes have always been tools, since I was 7-8 years old. I worked creating things and repairing things as my career for 45 years. I only mention this because I feel like I'm all thumbs compared to guys Like Adam Savage and Jeremy Fielding, among others. Awesome TH-cam channels, all. I don't even "watch TV" on my 56" TV. I Bluetooth TH-cam to the TV when the wife is not watching her fluff shows.
Pallets! FREE, easily obtained, often contain hardwood, great for shelving, easily sanded, or run through planer, jointer, thicknesser and OBVIOUSLY strong! Hate seeing pallets turned into firewood! What a waste! Downside of course is time to dismantle and thoroughly de-nail, but for time rich and cash poor folk or those.like myself who just detest seeing them go to waste - IDEAL!
Sorry you don't live in the midwest Adam, we have hobbyist supply arctic birch at like, every Menards, with the nice thin plys, maybe 1-1.5mm each. I used it for making a 3d d&d wooden ship with 4 levels, including a hanging, unsupported forecastle platform and aftdeck, with little mini-stairs, for both the platforms themselves AND the runner for the whole keel out of some of the thicker maybe 1/2" ply. Man you're not wrong. that stuff laser cuts AND cuts on a scroll saw like an absolute DREAM.
Track saws are great to have. I got the Makita, which uses the same size track as the Festool, but at a far better price point for what also amounts to an excellent result.
It's definitely interesting hearing adam refer to baltic birch plywood as spendy. Maybe it's just my wood supplier but I can get 4'x8' (1/2") for $48. That is cheap compared to the $96 per sheet I just spent on walnut veneered plywood. Granted I don't think you can really compare the look you get out of walnut furniture to birch and really what I'm using it for is completely different than Adam's needs.
![ผัวเถื่อน - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P08ORRVDGl8/mqdefault.jpg)
9-ply birch is used for pinball machine playfields.
That's how strong, flat, and smooth it is.
thats real cool
probably not anymore. pinball machines today seem like they are designed to wear out within a year.
Modern pin ball machines are designed so I can't stand in front of them.
The actual playfields, and the mechanical parts on (and under) them aren't substantially different than a game from the 50s/60s.
The circuitry, of course, is vastly different, but the heart of the beast is pretty much the same electro-mechanics, whether it's a 60s game, a 90s game, or a brand new Guns 'n' Roses
That’s really cool thank you so much
As a Scotsman living in Scotland, hearing oor Adam pronounce "shite" in the best possible way brings me much joy on this very wet and gloomy Tuesday morning.
BALTIC Birch, not ARCTIC Birch. This made me mildly nuts.
Is called "Baltic" not "Arctic" everywhere I've seen on the East Coast.
I was wondering if they were different, but the link in the description was for "baltic" not "arctic", so maybe Adam just had a brain fart?
Yep. Never heard it called “Arctic”.
A bit of a tangent and partially in Adam's defense (though not addressing plywood), arctic birch is a thing.
It comes up in firearms collecting, ex. arctic birch stocks for Finnish Mosin-Nagant rifle
europe marine grade plywood
It's sometimes refered to as "russian birch plywood" around here.
The man loves his plywood.
Arctic burch plywood.
A man who doesn't love his wood is no man.
Great sentences of our time "aid your laser cutter in catching on fire."
Can't begin to explain how much watching this videos have help me to become a creator myself
Poor Grogu sitting in the background wondering why he's so cold and why Old Man Luke Skywalker took his coat from him. :(
And gee, that saw looks awful sharp...
You can get high quality Baltic Birch Ply pre-cut from Rockler and it's really close to the same price as you'd get from the lumberyard. They sell it online too, so you can have it delivered. 👍
The 24" x 30" sheets from Rockler are 35% more expensive per square inch than 60" x 60" sheets from my local place. With shipping, it's almost twice the price.
Edit to add: This is comparing Rockler's BB/BB grade to the better B/BB I buy locally.
I'm sorry to tell you this Michael, I think your lumberyard might be expensive ;) I was just curious after reading cwell's comment so I did the math and rockler is about 2.57x the cost of what I usually pay at my yard. And to anyone else reading this, it's still not horribly expensive. If you don't have a good lumber yard near you or you don't have the ability to buy full sheets of plywood, rockler is a great resource. Definitely defer to michael's knowledge. He buys a lot more baltic than I do.
Baltic birch at my lumber yard is $20 for half inch 60x60”
instablaster
Waiter, I'll have what he's having.
ㅤ
Its funny how me in Finland this situation is reversed and it makes me happy. I have almost never seen that kind of crappy plywood. For me plywood is this beautiful and strong material.
What he is referring to as "finish ply" is just plywood that has finished faces, not plywood from Finland. It is most commonly called "cabinet grade" and is indeed usually crap.
@@EliasArcher Baltic birch plywood is really accessible in Finland and really common, because it is being made here in large quantities.
Its awful here due to the big box hardware stores.
@@EliasArcher yeah I know finish ply is not Finnish ply. Finnish ply is what he is referring as arctic ply. We use "arctic ply" in grade school crafts, which I teach.
@@TuomioK Yeah, my brain wasn't working right. It was like 2 a.m.
I googled “Artic birch plywood” but I only saw results for “Baltic birch plywood”.
That’s because he was mis-speaking. He’s definitely talking about Baltic Birch
yeah I had the same problem.
Oh good. Thought there was some new stuff I hadn’t heard of before.
Depending on your region, the same product had different names. I've gota friend in New Zealand and there he buys "Russian Birch". Baltic/Russian/Arctic birch product names define a specific manufacturing process and type of plywood, not necessarily the specific country, region, or content of the plywood. Generally speaking, it comes from the Baltic states, thus the moniker.
Arctic birch ply. delivered to you door by our team of well trained polar bears
Usually called Baltic Birch in Canada and comes in 5' x 5' sheets
It's also called Baltic Birch (sometimes Russian Birch or Finnish Birch) down here in the US. We have a local supplier (Dunn Lumber for anyone in Western WA) who stocks it for a pretty reasonable price, especially compared to the garbage plywood available at the big box stores.
It’s called Baltic birch in the US as well
@@justinherx Im in Vancouver Wa and my local supplier calls it Russian birch. Good stuff.
1.5 meter x 1.5 meter
@@justinherx and they deliver! Love Dunn! They also carry A grade walnut ply (among other hardwood species), that place is amazing.
"I can break this stuff with my hands!"... I'm not convinced Adam.
And for the love of all that is holy in this world, if you live in a high humidity (or any humidity) environment don't build anything with MDF, just don't, please, I beg you.....
Baltic* birch ply?
Yes! Link: amzn.to/39PhXx0
I swear I heard “arctic” and thought I was going crazy lol
if you are in the US project-sized panels are much cheaper from rockler or other companies: www.rockler.com/1-2-baltic-birch-plywood
@@tested In the Bay Area I’ve had luck with MacBeath in Berkeley. They carry Baltic Birch and have always been happy to make a few cuts. Not sure about delivery though...
I love to use Icelandic redwood plywood. It's awesome.
For the love of God give baby Grogu a wrap. 😂 I used to be able to get Baltic plywood at Home Depot 15 years ago 😕
Home Depot for a while was selling multi-ply from China that and their Chinese sheetrock were horrible.
He was so excited about the question he got wood and showed us.
I am quite ashamed that I laughed at the juvenile and crude comment. :)
Where I live, 1/2" good birch ply is like $45 for a 4x8 sheet. I'm about to butt up a bunch of old pallet wood planks to make tool storage shelves.
Haha, it's a lot more where I am! Rural Western Australia is a pisser for getting good, cheap gear!
Adam's preferred wood: amzn.to/39PhXx0
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Ello adam!
Longtime fan here. What would you say are your top creations.
Like top 7
Sorry for putting you on the spot. My favorite of your creations was the hellboy sword from the comics. Where you used a temple run minion and made it a little demon
Have you considered contacting a hard wood mill? there are many! like Murphy Plywood out of Eugene, Oregon.
find you someone who is as passionate about you as Adam is about plywood
What if she tries sawing me in half?
@@snailsaredumb9412 you'll be half the man you used to be.
@@doctortow6244 nice
My favorite chapter in Every Tool’s A Hammer was the one about adhesives. Something about the way Adam talks about materials and tools makes it really fun to listen to.
Is he saying "Arctic Birch" instead of "Baltic Birch"?
Regional naming differences. It appears that arctic birch is an American thing (or at least the part of America where ILM is based - San Francisco), and baltic birch is what it's called in Canada.
@@bobdole4916 It's called Baltic Birch in Oklahoma too. And it's not all that hard to find here. Where we get it, it is sold in square sheets of about 5 feet which is 1.5 meters.
@@bobdole4916 -- it's "Baltic" for most of the US as well.
I'm pretty sure there are no trees in the arctic or antarctic, but I keep hearing Adam say "arctic". He seems to misremember names on occasion.
It's baltic birch here in Southern California.
I love how excited he gets over things that others would find boring. He has so much passion and excitement for the world and it's always fun to watch!
Wait, is Baby Yoda mooning us in the background?
Just think “Baltic” every single time he says “Arctic”
We call "Arctic Birch" by a different name here in BC...we call it "Baltic Birch", and it's great stuff, and readily available.
I’m in southern US and I’ve always called it Baltic birch.
Baltic is what he means
I think it's called "Baltic Birch" in most of the US as well. I'd never heard "Arctic" until this video.
@@RogueA.I. I was wondering about that, it sounded like Adam was saying Artic birch, but the subtitles had Baltic birch.
@@DonChartier I honestly never heard arctic birch either.
One of the good things about living in canada, that plywood is available the the big box stores for a reasonable price and they have a track saw, dollar a cut.
Definitely get a track saw, I wish I had got one earlier. Been a life changer and makes dealing with sheets so much easier
Couple 2ft x 8ft rigid foam insulation underneath your ply with a tracksaw to cut and you can break down any sheet good all day long.
REALLY not sure why you can't handle sheets with that nice Powermatic in the background and a few really good blades.
Oh and also outfeed rollers. That is a BIG and fancy table saw built to handle sheet goods AND act as an extra shop table when needed (HA!).
You appear to have both the equipment and the room unless somehow?? appearances are deceiving. 😁
Naked Baby Yoda watching in the back!
Get you a partner who looks at you like Adam looks at A-grade arctic birch ply on both sides.
Plywood: I would check out local woodworking stores (Rockler and Woodcraft are the two national chains) they sell Baltic Birch in 5x5 sheets
And in terms of a Track saw: Festool or bust!
If you ask/look for "marine ply" it's a much better grade, better actual timber in terms of having far fewer voids or knots. Plus a stronger and water resistant glue.
Whenever I build anything I want to last, I use marine ply.
This explains a lot. I have never even seen "finished plywood", let alone what you use. To me, "plywood" has always meant barely usable crap wood.
In Germany, that thin-layered plywood is usually sold as "Multiplex". What hardware stores sell as "plywood" is the thick-layered stuff - and there I've had ones with holes big enough to slide a match through them.
@@rolfs2165 After some Google searching, it looks like what's called "plywood" here isn't even plywood. It's "oriented strand board" or OSB. It seems that OSB more or less displaced plywood on the market here and people just called it by the name they were used to.
They do seem to still label it properly on their website, so it's probably just local verbal usage rather than stores calling it by the wrong term. I've honestly only bought either "scrap wood" (small pieces left over from cuttings or warped pieces that they sell at a discount) or specific use wood like dowel rods, poplar boards, or 4x4 fenceposts. I've never had a use I would trust to OSB "plywood".
Cabinet makers buy a lot of pre-finished plywood, mostly maple veneer with a sprayed lacquer finish for casework. that may be what Adam is talking about. Some of that is lumber core or MDF core. Good for its intended purpose.
@@Merennulli OSB aka "waferboard" in the USA is used mostly for exterior wall sheathing in new house construction, good for that use and cheaper than plywood. Wrap it up in Tyvek and it works for that use.
Adam, look up woodworker's source. Baltic birch is what you're looking for. It's where I get all of mine.
Wish they posted the grade of that Amazon plywood. Rockler has BB/BB for a third of the price.
Thanks Adam for the awesome content. Not sure if it is the same but you can get baltic birch at most Rockler and Woodcraft stores. Not sure if you have one near you but it may be a bit cheaper and they sell 30" X 48" panels in 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" thick. You can also order it online at their websites. Hope this helps.
Adam, I swear to the spaghetti monster, I can listen to you talk about anything apparently.
Let me write this down... "catching your laser cutter on fire is bad". OK, got it.
Baltic Birch is also made in 3/8" and 5/8" thicknesses (9mm and 15mm actual). Super useful for those cases where the next size down is a little too thin and the next size up is too thick. I like to keep a couple sheets of all the sizes in stock.
B/BB is the most common grade and yes, the B side is very nice. Even the BB side is nice if you're okay with an occasional football plug.
Don't buy plywood from their amazon link above. I understand they are trying to earn a buck, but google "plywood dealer in my city" and find a good hardwood/plywood dealer. You can get a 5'x5' sheet of baltic birch plywood 1/2" or 3/4" for $50 - $65 dollars. It's a shame Tested even links to that crap but I understand they are trying to get compensated for their efforts.
I use Baltic birch for making longboards, and have been for about 11 years now. Awesome stuff.
I usually see it in 5'X5' sheets, but I can also find it pre-finished, which I can't use for making boards but is awesome for many other applications
"i can break this with my hands"
Proceeds to not break it with his hands.
regardless, never change Adam! love from Australia~
You can hear it break
Me: Lives in a one bedroom apartment and doesn't even own a saw.
Also me: Watches Adam Savage talk about the best types of plywood for 8.5 minutes
I've never been a maker of any sort and I go into all of Adam's videos thinking I'll just watch a few minutes of it and then suddenly I watched an hour of Adam making a watering can for his wife. For the tool tips I have resigned myself to pretty much watching the entire thing because I love how enthusiastic Adam always is and how honest he seems to be. I do own a saw though, I bought one recently to use exactly one time so I bought as cheap of a hand saw as I possibly could!
@@elangomattab Lets be honest, we would all build our own maker space if the number came up!
I wonder if Adam asked his bay area supplier for Baltic Birch if he might have an easier time finding it!
Any time I go into a shop that sells lumber I always lust over the nice birch plywood.
I don't even need to have a project that needs it at the time, it's just the best!
1:38 don't Google that!
Please build that track saw. My buddy and I want that so bad and would love to see the Savage Do's and Don'ts on the design.
Baltic Birch comes in 5’x5’ sheets. Also there is europly, and Apple ply which are nicer grades of material. I sense a revision in the next video. Great video none the less! 👍
I’m a residential framer we use OSB which is incredibly strong fastened correctly, I need to get my hands on some of that birch!
It is awesome! Go get some.
I wonder if I can get a response to further this...
I've been working on figuring out how I want to go about building some shelves and desks of my own and I want to pair it with some welding. What would you, Adam, recommend as far as metal goes? Just pick some angle iron and tube steel from my local Harbor Freight/Tractor Supply? I would *greatly* appreciate any advice you can give.
Buy your steel at the local steel yard. It will be better quality for a fraction of the price. Metal Supermarket will have what you want but it will be expensive. Just look for Steel or the like. They will also have cut offs or ‘drops’ that you can buy by the pound to practice your welding on.
Does anyone else now want to see an episode on all the different kinds of tape Adam has on display??
1:36 all the dirty minds around xD
There is no joy that compares to watching a maker geek out about the properties of their materials.
Geek on Adam!
I completely relate to his love of that plywood! It is nice to know I am not alone in having a favorite.
I avoid veneer whenever can. It often rips and frays when being cut and bubbles upon contact with glue or paint. I can't stand it.
*giggles* you said BBC and Long
Plywood. Adams Holy grail and his pet-peeve all in one material!
I made a pretty cool guitar stand out of birch plywood. The tall bit that supports the neck is like 3" wide, but I cut most of it out to put a gothic arch design in it, so it's actually only two long bits of 1/2"x1/2", still super sturdy. It's great stuff. Sadly I have not had much access to it since I left cabinetmaking school.
Never seen a man so happy with his wood
Never?
Obligatory "that's what she said."
Absolutely fantastic material. Also called Baltic Birch. Maybe connecting with custom cabinet shop in the area. They’re likely to have a track saw until the shop is upgraded.
I wonder if there is a question that Adam is so passionate about, that it would take an hour to answer
My bet is yes. We just have to figure out what it is so we can ask.
@@marcireale his favorite Rube Goldberg of a problem or project he has not been able to figure out a solution to?
I know all the things he said in the video, but I still watched it from start to finish without feeling bored...
I just finished the inside of my new tiny house in 7-ply 1/2" birch ply. Lovely stuff. I'm now a fan.
Watching the first 3 seconds of this video made me so happy.
1/5 of a sheet of plywood for $38? That's stupid. Who would pay that?
I'm searching for Artic birch, but only yielding results for Baltic birch?
No, you're correct. Adam's preferred wood: amzn.to/39PhXx0
When searching, also include "russian birch" and "latvian birch". I'm not sure why, but whenever I have custom office furniture designed by any of the large custom millwork shops in the area, they always quote it as one of those instead of "baltic birch", and in almost 10 years, I've only seen 1 void on a cut edge from thousands of desk tops from them.
Adam Savages "What will I force to go out of stock on Amazon immediately' brought to you by Tested
A bit confused. I searched BBC and came up with different results
I never thought I would find plywood to be "sexy", but god damn that's some nice looking ply
I get such a lovely vibe all the time from this content, making me want to make so many things. If I only had the time and effort to make 10% of the things I imagine. One day I'll finish a project
Isn't he meaning to say Baltic not Arctic?
I kicked myself for not buying these 8 pieces of 1/2” solid birch plywood from a auction last month for $80. I needed it, but didnt have room for it at the time.
I am a simple man. It's a true joy watching someone getting excited by wood.
Hey Adam, I'm from Brazil and I love woodworking... And plywood aside, the only wood I worked with and never attacked my allergies is a Brazilian wood called Garapeira. I don't really know if they sell it there.
It's really weird. I worked with some pine a while ago and got really bad because of the allergies. Go figure. 😬
Thanks, this saved me the mistake of buying MDF, when I really needed plywood. cheers..
I'm so happy that I can get birch ply everywhere. Each hardware store with a wood section has this stuff in germany. Only the thin 3 and 4 mm stuff for lasercutting is not to get there.
Most highply birch plywood is marine grade and more stable. While all wood expands and contracts with heat and humidity changes Baltic birch will be minimal.
In Tennessee, You can buy Birch Ply at Home Depot in multiple thickness..........everyday 365/24/7. and not expensive. Love the show!!!
Fun drinking game: Take a shot every time he says "engineering"
Ugh. I'm also in the bay area (bouncing back and forth between hayward/piedmont) and reaaallly can't find Baltic Birch ply anywhere. I'm also dumb and have a car that can't transport 4x8 sheetgoods, so I have to get them cut :( I need a good Baltic Birch resource here.
*struggles* I can...
*struggles* ...yeah...
*struggles* ...break this stuff with my hands...
*fails to break it* Garbage ply! lol
Aurora Hardwood? Try getting ahold of the maker themselves?
RPL International makes Baltic Birch and they’re in Nevada. I’m sure their sales department would love to hear from the Adam Savage!
Home Depot used to have a rather nice 3/4" "poplar" plywood-- sanded on one side for cabinets. I found it very soft but it did okay. Not sure if it's still out there. It was also 2/3--3/5 the cost of similar one-smooth-face ply.
I've been watching Adam for over 20 years :)
Good video. It hit on some memories for me. I've built glow powered RC airplanes for many years and used plywood very sparingly, but If had to use plywood it was always aircraft birch plywood. My father worked in a cedar shake mill for 35 years and says he can't stand the smell of cedar, but I love it.
I like high-ply for anything fancy, but considering how cheap the basic 3-ply is, I use it for a TONNE of crap. But that Baltic Birch does look super nice
Adam, Do you and Mrs. DON'TTRYTHISATHOME ever work on projects together? My wife, Lauren, and I have successfully completed a number of projects together this year and we will complete a few more this week.
Had all our kitchen and bathroom cabinet boxes made from Baltic birch plywood instead of crappy MDF; can’t stand that stuff and the bbp wasn’t that much more $
2 key points to add to selection of plywood: a) is the glue waterproof (& to a lesser extent, heat-resistant); b) how many ply layers are used in the makeup (even layers of same thickness are structurally better but more expensive ofc. The former indicates how weatherproof the ply may be (hence cheap 'shuttering ply' used for eg concrete/cement formers & general outdoor enclosures such as bird boxes, dog houses, temp hording of broken shop windows or construction sites etc); the latter indicates its internal strength & rigidity (as well as usually being of a nicer raw finish). NOT ALL MULTI-LAYER PLY USES WATERPROOF BONDING, so despite being nice to look at when first built, an outdoor structure may quickly delaminate over time due to weather effects if no attn is paid to its construction material's bonding details :(
Adam, check out Woodworkers Source (www.woodworkerssource.com) in Phoenix, AZ for Baltic Birch plywood. Here is a link to a recent video of theirs on the subject of Baltic Birch Plywood: th-cam.com/video/nDe9czl_W7c/w-d-xo.html. Not sure how they compare to what you buy on Amazon but I think they are worth a look. I live near one of their locations and regularly purchase 3/4" and 1/2" from them. I've been very pleased with their product. From their website it looks as though they sell it in 20" x 30" sections for shipment. Their Baltic Birch ply actually is sold in 60" x 60" sheets versus the traditional plywood dimension of 4' x 8'. This should help to explain why 20" x 30" sections rather than a 24" x 48" sections.
I googled "BBC wood 10 inches". It was not plywood.
🤣🤣🤣😂🤣
Baltic/Russian/Arctic birch plywood is actually made differently than most of the garbage stuff we get here in the US. Most of it's made by submerging the plies in weather-resistant adhesive before slapping a sheet together, vs. just spraying crappy adhesive on sheets. That, plus the high layer count, makes Baltic/Russian/Arctic birch the plywood of choice for building great speaker cabs.
You find it in 60"x60" sheets cause that's the common size they use for cabinet construction in Europe. If you find it in 4x8 sheets, you're probably not finding the right stuff.
I wonder what Adam does in 2023, when you can't get Baltic Birch because Russia is being a dick.
I've always been a "maker", since I was old enough to learn to use a hand saw and a hand-cranked drill. My Christmas gift wishes have always been tools, since I was 7-8 years old. I worked creating things and repairing things as my career for 45 years. I only mention this because I feel like I'm all thumbs compared to guys Like Adam Savage and Jeremy Fielding, among others. Awesome TH-cam channels, all. I don't even "watch TV" on my 56" TV. I Bluetooth TH-cam to the TV when the wife is not watching her fluff shows.
Pallets! FREE, easily obtained, often contain hardwood, great for shelving, easily sanded, or run through planer, jointer, thicknesser and OBVIOUSLY strong! Hate seeing pallets turned into firewood! What a waste!
Downside of course is time to dismantle and thoroughly de-nail, but for time rich and cash poor folk or those.like myself who just detest seeing them go to waste - IDEAL!
Sorry you don't live in the midwest Adam, we have hobbyist supply arctic birch at like, every Menards, with the nice thin plys, maybe 1-1.5mm each. I used it for making a 3d d&d wooden ship with 4 levels, including a hanging, unsupported forecastle platform and aftdeck, with little mini-stairs, for both the platforms themselves AND the runner for the whole keel out of some of the thicker maybe 1/2" ply. Man you're not wrong. that stuff laser cuts AND cuts on a scroll saw like an absolute DREAM.
Track saws are great to have. I got the Makita, which uses the same size track as the Festool, but at a far better price point for what also amounts to an excellent result.
It's definitely interesting hearing adam refer to baltic birch plywood as spendy. Maybe it's just my wood supplier but I can get 4'x8' (1/2") for $48. That is cheap compared to the $96 per sheet I just spent on walnut veneered plywood. Granted I don't think you can really compare the look you get out of walnut furniture to birch and really what I'm using it for is completely different than Adam's needs.