If you are planning to build something out of plywood, you need to choose the right kind. Of course, there are many different types of plywood out there. Today, we want to compare poplar plywood and birch plywood.
Let’s figure out what makes the two different from each other, and which is ideal for your next project.
Poplar vs. Birch Plywood: What Are the Differences?
Needless to say, today we are comparing two types of plywood that are made out of different trees. One of these is the poplar tree and the other is the birch tree. Now, these two types of plywood are fairly similar, but there are some differences to consider. Let’s figure out what exactly makes these two types of plywood different from each other.
1. Hardness and Strength
One main difference between the two is how much weight they can bear and how strong they are. For the record, birch is a hardwood, whereas poplar is known as a soft hardwood. Poplar is a bit softer than birch. This difference relates directly to the strength and durability of the plywood made out of these two types of wood.
Poplar plywood is fairly hard and durable, there is no doubt about it. However, birch plywood is harder and even more durable. Birch is also more structurally sound. Birch plywood also has better weight bearing capabilities, and is more structurally sound than poplar plywood. Poplar plywood does also tend to dent fairly easily.
2. Knots
Another main difference to consider here is that poplar plywood usually has much smaller knots than birch plywood. Knots can of course be an issue when it comes to workability and cutting these types of plywood. Moreover, it does also affect the aesthetics. Now, some people like the appearance of knots, as it looks very natural, whereas others do not like these variances.
3. Overall Appearance
These two types of plywood do also differ in terms of their overall appearance. Poplar plywood tends to be very light in color and has a grain pattern that is barely visible. Some people do really like this uniformity.
On the other hand, birch plywood tends to have more of a visible grain pattern, and it also tends to have a bit of a darker color. That said, both poplar plywood and birch plywood have a high quality veneer finish.
Generally speaking, both do look quite nice.
4. Cutting
Poplar plywood doesn’t really have many plug patches, which means that you can easily cut sheets without any kind of splintering. This is especially the case with laser cutting. This type of plywood is also very fast to cut.
On the other hand, although birch plywood is very easy to cut without splintering across the grain, it does have many plug patches, and this can make the cutting process a little slower.
5. Density and Weight
Not only is birch plywood stronger than poplar plywood, but it is also denser. Because it is denser, it does have more strength, but this does also make it heavier. If you have two pieces of plywood, one poplar and one birch, and both are the same size, then the birch plywood is going to be much heavier.
However, if you are looking for the same strength and structural properties, then poplar plywood is going to be a lot thicker than birch plywood.
It takes a lot more poplar plywood in terms of thickness to achieve the same strength as with a piece of birch plywood. Some people do like poplar plywood because it’s much lighter, and therefore also easier to work with.
6. Cost
Yet another difference to consider here is the prices of both of these types of plywood. Poplar plywood tends to be very high in quality, and it can therefore be quite expensive. In fact, it tends to be one of the more expensive types of plywood out there in general.
Now, birch plywood does tend to be cheaper to purchase. However, there is often a lot of waste and inefficiency when working with it, which can easily make up for this price difference.
7. Sustainability
Another point to keep in mind here is that the poplar tree grows much faster than the birch tree. In general, it takes just seven years for a poplar tree to get big enough to use it for plywood. This therefore means that poplar plywood is much more sustainable than much slower growing birch plywood.
8. Painting
Poplar plywood takes on finishes really well. Birch can also be stained and painted, although birch plywood doesn’t take these finishes quite as well as poplar plywood. However, birch tends to look better unpainted than poplar plywood. On a side note, because poplar is somewhat soft, it is easy to engrave.
When to Use Poplar Plywood?
Due to the limited strength and durability of poplar plywood, it is best used for lightweight furniture that doesn’t need to bear much weight. This type of plywood is also more than suitable for small construction projects, models, jewelry boxes, and other such small things. It is also ideal for anything that requires engraving.
However, you generally don’t want to use poplar plywood for anything structural in nature.
When to Use Birch Plywood?
Durability is the key aspect you are looking for, then birch plywood is definitely the way to go. Birch plywood can be used for a number of weight bearing and structural applications. Moreover, a variety of toys, furniture, and other high end constructions that are meant to look very nice should also be made out of birch plywood.
Alternatives to Poplar and Birch Plywood
In case neither of the two works for you, here are some alternatives:
- If you would rather go with a softwood plywood, then pine plywood is a great way to go. Pine plywood is not all that expensive and it looks very nice, although it’s not overly structural in nature.
- If you need plywood meant for sub flooring, roofing, and sheathing, then you definitely want to go for a structural plywood.
- If your plywood is going to be exposed to moisture on a regular basis, or even touch water, then it is marine plywood that you need.
Summary
Now that you know what the main differences are, you can make an informed decision between poplar and birch plywood.