Is it a thing of the past?

Wood prices and availability are getting better every day. But the quality, not so much.

It’s normal when wood shortages affect availability and price – supply and demand and all that. It’s also not uncommon when things get scarce that what you can manage to find is of lesser quality. But generally, when the cycles come around again and availability improves, prices go down. That’s just Economics 101. But once things recover, the quality doesn’t always come back right away.

The photo above is a weight rack I made last week for my wife. A little afternoon project that’s perfect for using leftovers and scrap. The 1/2" Baltic birch ply used for the front is a small scrap I’ve had for a year or two, while the 1/2" back of the rack is an offcut from some Baltic birch I bought earlier this month. Looking at the two pieces from above really shows off how inferior the new stuff is.

Lots of plies in both, but the old scrap (on the left in the inset above) has uniform plies, perfectly cut and glued. The new piece is filled with voids, overlaps, and clearly different wood qualities among the plies. The face veneers have a similar surface appearance, although the new stuff is slightly darker, and for a project like this it still works fine.

But I’d hate to have gotten that new plywood for a paying customer or a high-end, highly visible application. I’m wondering if it’s even real Baltic birch ply at all, or some supplier’s attempt to make a fast buck. I certainly won’t get it from the same place again in the future.

I suppose I should be grateful that I can at least find Baltic ply again. I also suppose that along with the cycle of price and availability, that the quality will eventually return. But if it doesn’t, I’m sure going to miss good plywood.