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What ply for bins?
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smash-monkY View Drop Down
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    Posted: 03 July 2025 at 12:57pm
Hi all.

What's the best ply to use to build a 21" bin?

I'm a little flummoxed by the price differences... 

On one hand you have this at £40 a sheet inc. VAT...

and on the other hand you have this from £90odd +VAT...

Advise please? Confused 
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the cheap one is pine which has a much softer surface to it. cabs made of that will end up covered in dents and cracked paint. always use B/BB birch for external parts. I use a good quality poplar for internals as it saves about 8kg per box - it's not much cheaper than the birch though.
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Points: 585 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VECTORDJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 July 2025 at 6:41pm
Baltic Birch is the Best by Far...Worth the Extra Cost....VECTORSONICS.
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smash-monkY View Drop Down
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Points: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smash-monkY Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 July 2025 at 8:53am
Thanks for the advice.

Is £90+VAT per sheet the going rate for 18mm baltic birch in the UK?
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Old Croc
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Points: 3443 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote snowflake Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 July 2025 at 10:46am
Originally posted by smash-monkY smash-monkY wrote:

Thanks for the advice.

Is £90+VAT per sheet the going rate for 18mm baltic birch in the UK?

yep
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Just make sure you don't get chinese B/BB, it will delam...
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1ManSoundsystem View Drop Down
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Points: 55 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1ManSoundsystem Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 July 2025 at 10:41pm
heres small hint from me: i got a buddy who works in construction in- and outside and also sometimes does clearing out apartments. 2 months ago i was told, they had a 5room aptm. with lots of stuff to loot. i went there, and discovered what was about 2500Eur in birch plywood sheets. all 18-21 some 24mm, all 60x180/200 some smaller some wider. about....600? kg. for free. some sick brains decided to build wardrobes cupboards beds - everything out of this stuff. excellent building stuff.

so if u know someone, ask them, maybe youre lucky. recent prices for birch plywood are grotesque so even chances r low, who knows. and yeah, good quality birch plywood is best for building cabinets. do urself a favor and avoid mdf and raw chipboard. only reknowned big brands build with this crap like HK audio :) (trashbrand)
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HumbleDeer View Drop Down
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Points: 35 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HumbleDeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 July 2025 at 3:21am
Eh, Pine and poplar plywood panels aren't only softer but they will have different resonance characteristics and that's especially important if your box relies on stiffness of itself to have a predictable cutoff/rolloff, or if your box is meant to resonate partially or as a whole. 
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SamV View Drop Down
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Points: 8783 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SamV Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2025 at 1:27am
Glad to see prices coming back down
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smoore View Drop Down
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Points: 966 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smoore Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2025 at 10:10am
The hardwood plywood from wickes is pretty damn good for the price I think. About 1/3rd the cost of a sheet of Birch at the moment. For sure it won't last as long but you'll get many years out of a cabinet if you don't throw it down the stairs too often.
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smoore View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Points: 966 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smoore Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2025 at 10:12am
*Note i'm talking about the Hardwood plywood (non-structural) - https://www.wickes.co.uk/Non-Structural-Hardwood-Plywood-Sheet---18-x-1220-x-2440mm/p/110037

The structural stuff is softwood faced and from memory is broken more easily.
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Points: 15 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dj-mip Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 November 2025 at 12:37am
you can normally tell if its good ply just by the laminates. If its got 13 laminates  for 18mm ply its likely gonna be good but if it has 5 / 7 or 9 layers its basically shuttering ply and no good for speakers.  If the speakers are not going to be moved about u can use mdf u just got to seal the edges properly. No good for touring stuff tho .  13 is the magic number for 18mm ply ..
a.t.m.
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