poplar vs birch

[eggjelly]

Hello all. I'm curious about the differences between birch and poplar plywood. I'm making a set of 'apple boxes' for use in the film business. These boxes will see a lot of abuse and weather. They are usually made from birch but in an effort to save money I'm hoping I can make them out of 1/2 poplar ply instead of 1/2 birch ply and not regret it. Will 1/2 poplar ply not hold up as well as birch? I'm willing to slap a coat of poly on the poplar boxes...

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
steve

 

[oldnamvet]

The determining factor in ruggedness won't be the face veneer but the plys underneath. Generally the best plywood has many more plys than the less expensive stuff. Sheet goods such as baltic birch and appleply have lots of layers rather than the 3 to 5 of common plywood. Just looking at the edge of both types of plywood should tell the story. If you have the same number of plys and no obvious voids, it will probably last as long. If you have fewer plys in the poplar plywood, it will not be as rugged as the birch. Just my $0.02 -- and worth what you paid for it.

 

[anotherbrick]

poplar ply is less strength than birch ply.the density of poplar is 0.4-0.45g/cm3,the density of birch is 0.6-0.65kg/cm3. but you can use some poplar lvl stripe to enhance the boxes.lvl is a kind of plywood,all veneers grain are length direction.the strength of lvl is more than noral plywood. i think if you use this method you can save some money.