Fuzz issues with CARB certified Baltic Birch???

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Has anyone else had issues with CARB certified Baltic Birch?

Not sure if it is the CARB or the tooling but in over 10 years of cutting BB, I have never had our bits wear out so fast and cause fuzz on both top and bottom. Ordered new bits from different supplier and will see on Feb 2nd if they make a difference. Also asked my BB supplier to find out what they changed to make it CARB certified. I heard they use some sort of aluminum sulfate or something close to it as an additive but don't quote me yet. Still waiting for a reply.

We use a 3/8" comp mortise tip solid carbide bit from Whiteside. Ordered the same type from Vortex to see if their geometry and carbide do a better job.

Thanks,

[Will Williamson]

Have you checked the moisture content of the material? High moisture content has always been a problem with baltic birch.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Will,
Never had a problem with it like this before. Not sure what moisture content is but the fuzz is only on the top and bottom of the part, not in the middle and mainly on a crosscut though it does do it on a radius also. The new tools will be in tomorrow, Tuesday, and just unloaded another tuck load of BB so i will test them with the new tools form Vortex and see how they handle this issue and will let you know.
Thanks,

[Joe Dusel]

Is this domestic material or the Chinese crap? If it is domestic you can just call the manufacturer and ask them about the material. I have seen all kinds of weirdness with the Chinese imports, including stringy stuff and overlapping layers.

Joe

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Joe,
Unless the Russians are selling their logs to the Chinese and then buying the plywood back from them and then repacking with Russian writing on it, I think it is still genuine Russian Birch. I have not and do not buy the Chinese birch. I know that when the Russian birch became scarce a few years ago and the price doubled many cabinet shops switched to the Chinese birch. I heard the stories of the "potato chip" looking boards but I did not want an inferior product. I have heard that they are getting better. Supply and demand does that sometimes. New bits should be here soon.

Thanks,

[Neville Bastian]

I don't have much knowledge on the birch but the Chinese flat pack kitchens we have in the past done the masons Miters for the joins on the laminated postformed tops. The cutters only last 4 joins because they use sand as a filler. Won't do them now. As far as the Russian writing I wouldn't put it past them to duplicate this as they are great copiers if its going to make a sale.

A few years ago I was at a Milan Italy woodwork show with a Altendorf service agent who came across a Tilting Arbor panel saw F45? It was a Altendorf clone even down to the cast iron moulds have the same deflections and faults of the original parts. Every detail had been copied.

Hope the new cutters solve the problem.
Regards

Neville

[Joe Dusel]

The easiest way to determine whether it is Russian made or Chinese made Baltic Birch should be to ask your distributor. Just doing a quick search I see Chinese companies that are selling what they call Baltic Birch. Of course, like everyone else, if the Russians can get the Chinese to make Baltic Birch for them at a cheaper cost I would imagine they would do it. And, based on the level of honesty of all the delightful Russian emails I get, I doubt they would label it as "Made in China".

Joe

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Well good news!!!!
The new 3184 Vortex bits are working great. Out of 200 plus sheets we are only on our 2nd set of bits. The first set did 104 sheets which is pretty good for BB. Ordered 6 more to have in stock. Unfortunately Vortex's 3400 series chip-breakers do not have the chip-breaker on the up cut, otherwise I would have tried them. So for now the whiteside bits we were using must have done something (possible cheaper carbide?) to cause them to have poor finish.

Neville,
I hope they are not pulling the old bait and switch. We have had pretty good consistency with this last truck of BB. It mics out at .465 for 80%+ of the load and .455-.460 for the rest. They used to be .485 from another mill but maybe they moved the blades to cut the veneers .004 -.005 less to save material.

Joe,
It has the stamp on each sheet but instead of being a circle with the grade and mill info, it is a line of text on the side. Different mill.
but the protection boards that wrap each bundle have the Russian markings on them and I would think it would be watched by Customs to see where they originate.

Thanks,