Baltic Birch Plywood, available in 1/8″ to 3/4″ thickness. Stock sizes for your convenience. Custom cuts also available. 3mm / 1/8″ panels are perfect for laser cutting and engraving.

Baltic birch plywood is sometimes called Russian birch or European plywood. It’s typically from northern Europe and uses hardwood veneers for the faces and the core. The most distinctive feature of Baltic birch is that the edges are attractive, uniform stripes of hardwood veneer, usually alternating light and dark bands. It is B/BB grade.

That edge is largely free of voids. So, you can typically just sand the edge and allow the edge to be seen. You’ll see a lot of Baltic birch used in European furniture, cabinets, and store fixtures. Odds are that any nice cabinet drawers (e.g., in custom kitchens) are made from Baltic birch – take a look around and you’ll notice it in lots of applications.

Laser cutting Baltic birch works beautifully, with most lab cutters cutting thicknesses up to 6mm and many cutting up to 12mm or more. The laser does leave a dark charred edge. You can leave it as is, or if you prefer, you can easily sand the edges to remove the charring. Remarkably, Baltic birch is quite affordable, and a lot less expensive than so-called furniture-grade hardwood plywood, which you might be able to find at the lumberyard. Baltic birch is definitely our go-to material for most wood applications. If we had to choose just one wood for the laser it would be Baltic birch.