Welcome, I'm Dustin from Ohio. Glad to have you with us. When I started, I bought Baltic Birch Ply from Lowes and made bowls. Since you can buy it in thicknesses of 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 there, I found it was great to practice and learn with it without breaking the wallet. I still use 1/4 for portraits because all you see it the top, not edge where the plys are. Good luck with it and enjoy!