Apitong vs Birch

[Barnacle Bob]

Building a deck with 3/8" marine grade plywood... I can get Apitong or Finn White Birch for the same price in 4x8 sheets... which should I use.

[cyclops]

I suggest you look at both in person . That will answer all your doubts. Mfg. quality is more important than any type of wood.

[Barnacle Bob]

Originally Posted by cyclops

I suggest you look at both in person . That will answer all your doubts. Mfg. quality is more important than any type of wood.

I have samples and have seen full size sheets. They are both nice... no voids, so it just boils down to which wood is more durable in a marine environment... The info I posted seems to point to Apitong... being somewhat like oak... There are different species of Birch... American yellow Birch... white Birch... but this birch is from Finnland, so, its different.

[FAST FRED]

Take the samples and boil them for 8 to 24 hours. Then decide which to chose.

FAST FRED

[cyclops]

What boat floats in boiling water ?---------------I build all my boats with ONLY Tite Bond II and NO glue joint has ever failed. Yes, the surfaces are varnished for protection.

[FAST FRED]

The boiling test is a really cheap way to fid out how good the glue in any plywood is.

What YOU use is fine , boiling tests what the ply mfg used.

FAST FRED

[jfblouin]

I tried to boil a sample of birch plywood and after 1 hour, I found 5 small birch vener.

[cyclops]

JF. You gave me a great laugh. Many thanks.

[DGreenwood]

Finn Birch is lovely stuff really, for a light strong structure it is tough to beat. It is usefull for aircraft construction. But I'm afraid that it is prone to almost immediate fungus growth upon the its introduction to humidity. It would require a barrier to be useful in the marine environment. I have used it on decks, however, and it was great with epoxy encapsulation.
The Apitong I have used was actually the cradle wood used to ship large boats from the Orient. My impression was it was very resistant. Not "Teak" kind of resistant, but quite reliable in the marine envioronment. As I recall it was tough and held fastenings well but tended to rough up my cutting tools.

Hope that helps