Field Trip To A Pipe Organ Builder
A good friend of mine works as a pipe organ builder in the Denver area. He knows a lot about wood. I arranged a field trip for myself last week to get a little advice on Russian plywood. They use this high quality plywood for making air-tight ducts, wind chests and air regulators for pipe organs. While I've known of Russian plywood for years, I've never used it. They have a pretty good wood shop, as one might imagine. I took a couple of pictures. They have a vacuum system going to all the machines that can be seen, so very little sawdust comes from the woodwork being done. A nice feature.
(Pipe Organ Wood Shop)
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To help me get the same kind of wood they use, he accompanied me to the specialty lumber yard that they use, where I got a piece of Russian plywood. I got a 5 x 5 foot sheet of 3/4 inch plywood to use for baseboards.
He offered to cut the plywood into smaller pieces for me, using the table saw seen in the left picture above. I now have several blank baseboards that can be ready for use as I need them. The difference between ordinary plywood and Russian plywood may be seen below.
(Plywood Comparison)
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Not only is Birch a better wood, but the greater number of plies, each perpendicular to the last, creates a very strong and stable material.
I first heard a story about Russian plywood many years ago. Many, many years ago. Since then, I have heard it more than once from different sources. My friend at the pipe organ company says that it's true. I've poked around the internet and I can't seem to confirm its truth, but I'll share the story anyway.
Russian Plywood Factory Ships
So the story goes, Birch trees from the Baltic region are loaded onto factory ships in Russia. They set course for the US. As they travel, they fish the ocean to feed the crew. Unused parts of the fish are frozen for later use. Very thin layers of wood are shaved from the trees, with unused wood products being discarded overboard, thereby feeding the ocean. As needed, fish parts are thawed and used to make glue for the wood. These thin layers are laminated together to make plywood. By the time the factory ship reaches its destination port, it is full of high quality plywood, ready for use.
I don't know if the story is true or not. But it's a fun story.
More soon,
John