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The Home Depot here has some new stuff (to me anyway) with Birch on one side and Maple on the other. My quiz of the kid on the floor as to how to tell the difference left him scratching his head. The ply edge is labelled 'birch up/maple down', so I asked the kid can I assume that that's 'right reading' so when you can read the lettering, it means up for birch and down for maple. This could get confusing once the piece was sliced up. He guessed that was so. I was wondering what sort of a material that would make for alternating tops and sides and what a clear varnish would turn up on the two types of wood. The stuff is on deal for $30/sheet.
I don't know anything about woodworking, but wanted to point at the attractive two-tone finish on Jerrod's speakers. Jerrod, Bill E. and Bill M. have done tons of this kind of stuff, so they can comment further. More pics
Buy some. Its a good deal. It's not the absolute best there is in plywood but it's not 125.00 a sheat either. You wont go wrong and its a great deal to be had at that price. There are differences between maple and birch but I wouldnt think enough to enhance a two tone effect. BIll
The birch side has more grain effect in an oval sort of pattern; the maple is a less distinct grain, more random and has black mineral streaks. Treat the maple as the "good" side when you cut as it is more fragile. More prone to chipping. The AAPA grade is D/D. Like the other Bill says not that big a bargain but "A/B" costs $125!