I am interested in making a new fence for my router table. When I went to my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in Montreal) I found that Birch was roughly half the price of maple. Is there any downside to making jigs, fences etc. out of birch?
Best Regards, Jack Fearnley
I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as long as the grain is reasonably straight and the piece is square and flat. Birch isn't quite as hard as maple, but that shouldn't matter on most jigs and such. Birch cabinet-grade plywood has long been touted as the best material for jigs and fences, too.
Tim Douglass
This from a guy who joints whatever scrap is on hand and uses it for a fence, but no difference it the world what you bump another piece of wood up against.
birch has a reputation for being a bit unstable- tending to warp-tist etc with the seasons.
MDO is also an option, especially if you'd like to make markings on the jig.
Thanks to all who replied. Could someone please explain to this novice what is MDO and how it differs from MDF. I also saw Medex mentioned on another post and I don't know what that is either.
Best Regards, Jack Fearnley
Tim Douglass wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Where do you buy that straight grain MDF? ;-)
Patriarch
MDO stands for Medium Density Overlay. It has a paper like covering on it. Sign makers use it for painted signs. MDO is more of a specialty product and usually not sold in DIY type big box stores. MDF is Medium Density Fiberboard, no covering just compressed fibers and binder. MDF is sold at most places that sell any type of sheet good. It is very stable but only suitable for interior applications- when exposed to water it will soak it up like a sponge. I use it for fences, jigs, sleds, bending forms, etc. and occasionally for a painted project. It machines well but is a dusty SOB and will soak up paint like crazy. I usually prime it with a pigment shellac if I'm going to paint it. Heavy too. Heaving around 3/4" 49" X 97" sheets is no fun. I try to have it cut down into more manageable pieces at the store if I can. DAGS for Medex and you should be able to find info on it.
Dale
Since nobody answered you, I didn't know, and I was curious, I went googling.
"The Medium Density Overlay is a fiber sheet which has been treated with a resin formula for optimal paint adhesion."
You ever seen any with a figured grain?
Tim Douglass
Not necessarily... but you may find there's a downside to making jigs, fences, etc. out of *any* plywood that comes from a big box home center. IME such plywood is rarely, if ever, flat, and unlikely to remain that way long even if you're lucky enough to find a sheet that is.
Look for Baltic birch plywood; I'm sure a city the size of Montreal *must* have a few specialty woodworking supply shops that carry it, or can order it for you. Hardwood lumber dealers usually have it, too, or can get it. Or you could call a few local cabinet shops and ask where they get theirs.
-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
As best I can _figure_ it, it's end-grain on all 6 faces.
I think the OP wasn't talking about birch *plywood* but about solid birch.
The best lumberyard in Montréal is on Pie IX in the east side of town.
Langevin et Forest ltée 9995, boul. Pie IX Montréal (Québec) tél. (514) 322-9330
They have a lot so it can be intimidating at first. But they are generally helpful and speak English as well for us anglophones.
Maybe... I guess I assumed he was talking about plywood, because the big box stores around here don't sell solid birch, but they do sell birch ply.
My advice to look for Baltic birch plywood still stands, though. That's probably a better choice than solid maple *or* solid birch.
-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
I want to see one of those trees.
Tim Douglass
Tom
Fearnley
my
I'm getting corn-fused here. Both big box orange and blue stores sell birch veneer plywood. The core is, well I don't know what it is, but its certainly not birch or even another hardwood for that matter. Since the prices for the birch-oak-maple veneer plywoods at the borgs are pretty close together, and the original post said that the maple ply cost twice as much as the birch ply, are we talking about the exact same plywood here? I mean, are they selling solid birch plywood and solid maple plywood in CAN?
d.com>, mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.>> >Doug Miller wrote:
Just a word from the originator of this thread:
I was talking about solid birch 1X6 stock compared to solid maple 1X6 stock. I agree with everything you say about big box plywood versus baltic birch plywood but that was not what I was asking about. Neverless it's all very informative and I appreciate all your responses.
Best Regards, Jack Fearnley
MDF trees are grown right on the equator, thus the forces of gravity don't affect the grain like other woods. (sort of like the water down the drain thing) In order to make a linear grain, you can run a few coils of wire along the board and with electrical indcution, make it a straight grain.
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