7 Common Practical Uses for Plywood

Author Chigwell Building & Joinery

Date 13/03/17

What is plywood and how is it made?

Plywood is an engineered timber product made from layers (or plies) of thin sheets of
wood veneers, which are glued together under pressure at high temperature to form a
thicker, stronger and more flexible flat sheet. The logs used to make each sheet are
prepared by steaming or dipping into hot water and are then fed into a lathe, which
peels the log into the thin plies of around 1mm - 4mm thick, which are used to form
each layer of each sheet.
It’s a widely used building material due to its many useful properties as well as its
economical cost. High quality plywood tends to be very strong and does not warp or
crack under changes in atmospheric moisture, thus making it a reliable material for a
wide variety of applications.

How this versatile timber material can be used for various applications
Plywood is widely manufactured as a softwood and hardwood, and come available in
various grades of finish, depending on its intended use. Here’s just a few examples of
how plywood is used and why it is such an excellent choice of material for such uses:

1. Exterior Wall Sheathing

Common wall construction on new homes, especially in North America consist of a 2
foot x 4 foot or 2 foot by 6 foot frame skinned in exterior-grade plywood sheathing.
Plywood panels are used to fastened to each stud together to add strength and prevent
vertical or horizontal shifting, keeping the frames structure intact and square. This
technique forms a structure that performs well under high wind and during earthquakes
due to its flexible properties.

2. Interior Walls
Certain types of plywood are good for wood paneling or framing interior stud walls. In
most cases, the plywood will not be visible for the final finish however, some highly
finished A-graded plywoods are very good for facing inwards and can painted or stained
to give a stunning natural wood finish.

3. Roofing and Flooring

Plywood is commonly used to sheath roofs and as a subfloor on many internal flooring
projects.
On floors, plywood panels may include tongue-and-groove edges that slot together to
allow them to carry the required load without shifting or movement whilst on roofs, they
can act as a very durable and suitable skin prior to laying tiles, metal or a membrane.
Plywood is excellent for both applications.

4. Other Construction
It’s not uncommon to find eaves and soffits covered with a plywood skin or made
completely from ply. Some plywoods are made specifically for use as a siding product to
appear similar to reverse board and batten siding. Builder contractors also commonly
use plywood for constructing detached garages and sheds, for temporary floors and
concrete forms.

5. Furniture
Plywood can be a very practical and cost effective material for building furniture. In
situations where one side needs to to look nice, a high grade plywood can be used
whilst for the rest of the structure, a lower grade finish is fine. Plywood is suitable for
almost any furniture project imaginable within reason, so it’s not uncommon to find it
used in custom built dressers, wardrobes, built in media centres, shelves, bookcases,
console tables… in fact, the list is practically endless!

6. Cabinets
Plywood is great for making cabinet carcasses for kitchens, bedrooms and more. A
good quality plywood is more than suitable for use on backs and sides of cabinets in
most cases and is a far superior material to traditional chipboard or MDF as it lasts
longer, doesn’t split and is far more durable.

7. General Projects
Due to its versatility, plywood is great for many other home projects from building
skateboard ramps, to rabbit hutches to doghouses.
Home DIYers love plywood as it is ideal for building useful items including
workbenches, sawhorses, simple step-stools and storage bins. In fact, we’ve published
a few easy DIY projects of our own using plywood sheets. Why not check some of them
out and see just a handful of the many practical ways you can use plywood in and
around the home?
It’s a great product and is available in a wide range of thicknesses and grades, ranging
from exterior with exposure to moisture to interior dry application. It always produces an
excellent, strong finish and doesn’t cost the earth.
https://www.cbjltd.co.uk/news/7-common-practical-uses-for-plywood
What Are The Major Uses Of Plywood?
April 26, 2017
share
 share

share
tweet

Plywood remains
one of the most versatile construction materials available.

This cheap and durable construction material is created by glueing together wood
veneers.

There are many uses of plywood, just take a good look around from where you are
sitting and chances are there will be a whole lot of plywood around you.

Walk around every part of your house and there is bound to be more plywood. From
floorings, walls, kitchen cabinets, to furniture; the world of construction is dominated by
this wonderful material.

Plywood has varying degrees of strength and properties depending on what the user
intends it to. Truly, this remarkable material is the Swiss knife of construction projects.

Structural Plywood
 There are a total of four
plywood groupings. The first is structural plywood which is used for permanent
structural applications.

Structural plywood is a material that should be able to withstand full weather exposure
and a lot of stress.

Here are some of the most notable uses of structural plywood:

 Beams
 Internal Structures
 Subfloors
 Shipping Crates
 Wall bracing
 Roof bracing

Click the following link to find out more about our structural plywood range.

Exterior Plywood
 The next one is exterior plywood. This type of
plywood is bound together by a water-resistant glue and is typically for outdoor use.

While exterior plywood is water-resistant, it is still recommended to finish the surface of

with paint to help it be more durable against elements like the sun.

Suitable applications for exterior plywood are:

 Walls
 Outdoor floorings
 Roof linings
 Stables

We are of course a premier supplier of exterior plywood for Sydney and beyond.

Interior Plywood

The third is interior

plywood and its purpose is more aesthetic than durability.

Interior plywood is mainly used indoors and should not be exposed to the outdoor
elements as it will degrade quickly.
Here are some suitable uses for interior plywood:

 Indoor furniture
 Ceilings
 Interior cladding

Marine Plywood

The last type in our list is

marine plywood and it is used for a very specific purpose – areas needing some major
waterproofing.

Marine plywood has a high-stress grade and is resistant to rot in high moisture places.

Following are some of the major uses of marine plywood:

 Docks
 Boats

Click the following link for our range of marine plywood for Sydney and NSW.

These are just a few examples of why plywood is one of the most important materials
when it comes to construction. However, the examples above represent the common
uses of plywood. You may not know this, but plywood has a myriad of other uses and
some of them are quite surprising. For example:
1. Skateboard ramps – Pressure treated plywood is a great choice if you are planning
to build an outdoor skateboarding ramp. Plywood has an amazing smooth finish
and it is extremely flexible. This why this is one of the best materials around if you
are planning to do a lot of 180s.

2. Film Sets – Most film and theatrical sets use plywood to construct their elaborate
settings. These sets need to be assembled and disassembled fast and in the case
of stage play – moved in and out quickly. Plywood is cheap, light, and easily
formed, that is why most film set construction use this amazing material. We
actually supply a substantial portion of our plywood to movie sets.

Those are just two of the more unusual uses of Plywood. With something as versatile as
this material, what would you not build with it if you need easy handling and sturdiness?

Defects and solutions in process of production - hot press plywood

 Published on December 6, 2015

 Like
3
 Comment
1
 ShareShare
1

Key Song (Plywood)

FollowKey Song (Plywood)
RuiLin Timber Plywood Manager

Defects and solutions in process of production - hot press Problem 1. Bubble and
crack Reason:
(1)Moisture content of veneer is too high, or non-uniform dried veneer.

(2)Too much glue-spread.

(3)Reduce pressure in too quickly speed; temperature of hot-press is too high.

(4)Resin is in not enough condensation.

(5) The time of hot press is not enough.

Solution:

(1) Strictly control moisture content of veneer.

(2) Control glue-spread according to production technology.

(3) Reduce pressure in low speed; reduce temperature of hot-press.

(4) Check quality of resin.

(5) Properly extend time of hot-press.

Problem 2. Low bonding strength or glue degumming.

Reason:

(1) Glue liquor is in poor quality.

(2) Not enough glue-spread,non-uniform glue-spread.

(3) If aging time is too long, glue liquor will dry. If aging time is too short,glue liquor even not
yet form adhesive film.

(4) Not enough pressure,or too low temperature,or too short time pressure.

(5) Veneer burr groove is too deep,and bad quality rotary-cut.

(6) Moisture content of veneer is too high.

Solution:

(1) Check quality of glue liquor.

(2) Pay attention to uniform glue-spread.

(3) Payment attention to control aging time.

(4) Improve pressure and temperature properly; Or extend time of hot-press.

(5) Improve quality of rotary-cut veneer.

(7) Control moisture content of veneer not exceed specified range.

Problem 3. Glue penetration

Reason:

1. Too bad quality veneer,and too deep crack on back of veneer.

2. Too dilute glue liquor,or too much glue-spread,and too long aging time.
3. Too high temperature and too big pressure in process of hot-press.

Solution:

1. Improve quality of veneer, and reduce depth of crack on back of veneer.

2. Improve density of glue liquor,and reduce glue-spread, extend aging time.

3. Reduce temperature of hot-press,or reduce unit pressure.

Problem 4. Overlap and gap of core layers.

Reason:

1.The veneer is not whole,and inaccurate space in process of manual laminate veneer.

2. Displacement of veneer.

3. Sides of veneer is not regular.

4. Corrugated edges or crack of veneer.

Solution:

1. Use whole veneer,or start to laminate veneer after glue-spread and aging time.

2. Prevent displacement of veneer.

3. Make sure regular sides of veneer.

4. Improve quality of rotary-cut, and dry veneer; Prevent corrugated edges or crack of veneer.
 Problem 5. Warping.

Reason:

1. Not to match the symmetry principle for plywood structure and processing technology.

2. Nonuniform moisture content.

3. Too high temperature; Too high pressure.

Solution:

1. Pay attention to symmetry principle ( for plywood structure and processing technology ).

2. Improve quality of drying quality of veneers.

3. Reduce temperature and pressure.

Problem 6. Non-uniform thickness of plywood or exceed range of thickness tolerance.

Reason:

1. Too many quantity of plywood in process of hot-press at same time.

2. Use non-uniform thickness veneer.

3. Inclined pressing plate.

4. Incorrect calculate thickness of veneer; or too high hot-press and too high temperature.

Solution:

1. Try to press plywood one by one sheet as much as possible.

2. Improve quality of veneer.

3. Correct installation of hot-press machine to level.

4. Adjust thickness of veneer collocation; adjust pressure and temperature.

Problem 7. Indentation on surface of plywood.

Reason:

1. Rough and uneven on surface of underboarding.

2. Glue block or other things on surface of underboarding.

3. Fragments of veneer or other things into layers of plywood.

Solution:

1. Check and change underboarding.

2. Check underboarding and clean up it.

3. Pay attention to matching laminate veneers.

Summary:

About low bonding strength,bubble and crack and other defects,our factory summarize three

point: 1. Use good quality veneer,and control moisture content; 2. Properly hot-press technology;
3. Good quality adhesive and in correct way use.
But some factories who produce glue use behindhand glue formula and technology; and many

factories especially some factories is not in plywood base,use less or not use poval,melamine and

other expensive organic modifier, with the purpose of reduce production cost and get higher

profit. This results in the quality of urea-formaldehyde glue is very bad, that is dilute glue,

slowly form adhesive film; long time cold-press, bad bonding strength, low heat-resisting, low

wear-resisting,too high formaldehyde emission. Plywood factories eliminate above

disadvantages just by use a lot flour to instead. This lead to bad quality and high cost.

For factories who have high advanced technology,how to improve glue quality? Some choose

modifier or additive to improve glue quality in factory. As to modification, have two ways of

modification - organic and inorganic. Organic modification is very common,but its cost is too

high, so it can’t be widespread used by most of factories. Now most of factories use inorganic

modification. Inorganic modification has some threshold and restrictions,but potentially to be

widespread used because of low prices. Of course, it is better to use organic modification if you

produce high quality plywood. Regard organic modification as main, inorganic modification as
auxiliary, that will improve grade of plywood and reduce cost of plywood at the same time.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/defects-solutions-process-production-hot-press-film-faced-
plywood

Disadvantages of Plywood

Plywood resists warps, splits or cracks. It's available in large sheets that are consistent and
square. It comes in almost any variety, and is easy to work with. Plywood is a major component
in almost all building applications. But plywood is not an all-purpose material. Even though
plywood is cheaper than solid wood, there are times when plywood might not be appropriate.

Layers and Quality

Plywood is made from real wood, with thin layers glued perpendicular to each other under
hydraulic pressure and heat. The number of layers is directly related to the quality of the
plywood. For example, Baltic birch plywood, one of the strongest types of plywood, typically
has nine or more layers. Economy, or shop grade, birch plywood may only have four layers.

Veneer Faces
Plywood has a thin -- typically no thicker than about 1/32 inch -- veneer layer on both sides.
Inner layers are typically made from fir or pine, but can be almost any type of scrap wood, but
the veneer is peeled from a specific tree, to denote the type of plywood. For example, fir
plywood has an outer layer of fir. Oak plywood has an outer veneer layer of oak.

Soft Plywood
Plywood is available in softwood or hardwood, just like solid wood. Softwood plywood, such as
fir, is typically used structurally for sheathing, forms, roofing, shelving or anywhere large, strong
pieces of wood are needed. Softwood plywood, because it's rough and considered somewhat
bland, is not suitable for cabinets or interior woodworking in general.

Hardwood Plywood
Hardwood plywood is also used structurally, but typically only when aesthetics are
involved such as in cabinets, furniture, paneling and woodworking. Hardwood plywood is more
expensive than softwood, and used more sparingly than softwood.

Unattractive Edges
Plywood is engineered to have an attractive face, as indicated by the veneer. However, the edges
of all plywood types are rough, and somewhat ugly. It's typically not sufficient to sand them
smooth, but instead, the edges must be covered with wood strips to beautify them. The ugly
edge issue is typically confined to hardwood plywood, furniture and cabinetry, when aesthetics
are a concern.

Veneer Peeling
The thin plywood veneer on the face and back is typically glued on tight, but when cut, veneer
can loosen. Loose veneer can also be a problem during sanding or when other procedures pull
the thin veneer loose on finished projects, such as tabletops and furniture. If not glued back
down, the veneer can pull loose in strips.

Working With Plywood

Guarded assembly techniques are needed when sanding or working with plywood. Amateur or
inexperienced woodworkers often sand through the veneer, ruining the aesthetics of the
plywood by exposing the raw core. The thin veneer can make plywood difficult to work with.

Bad Joints
Plywood doesn't have the structural strength of natural wood. Screws strip plywood easily. Nails
and other fasteners can bury too deep. Butt joints simply won't suffice in plywood. Only joints
with splines, biscuits or other wood inserts are sufficient to join plywood.

Voids and Blows

Even high-dollar plywood can have defects such as voids and blows, which are hollow spots
inside the plywood. Voids and blows are caused during manufacturing and typically go
unnoticed until you cut the plywood. Voids may also take shape as a separation between layers,
caused by bad or insufficient glue. If you cut into a void or separation, it's best to discard it, cut
around it, or optionally plug it with putty or a wood splice.

Cutting Issues
Plywood is somewhat porous, and can shatter or splinter when cut. The thin veneer layer can be
brittle -- particularly when the wrong saw blade is used -- and can shatter or splinter, and this
often causes the veneer to lift. Always use high-quality cabinetmaker's or hollow-ground blades
to cut plywood, and even then, there's no guarantee you won't get splintering.

Expansion and Swelling

Swelling can be a problem with plywood, particularly when fir plywood is used for sheathing
and flooring in the presence of moisture. The failure to provide at least a 1/8-inch gap between
sheets can result in buckling or warping of the plywood. The swelling of plywood, even when
properly installed, is directly related to how much moisture the plywood is exposed to, and the
duration of exposure.

Exterior Grades
The majority of plywood is not moisture-resistant. CDX plywood is an exception to the rule.
CDX -- the letter "X," stands for exposure-grade -- is a structural, exterior plywood with water-
resistant glue, and is typically used for exterior sheathing, flooring and anywhere moisture is
present.

Face Grades, Veneer

Plywood veneer has a letter grading system. The letter "A' is premium-grade, "B," has a few
defects, the letter "C," has more defects than B, and the "C" and "D" grades have more allowable
defects. CDX exterior plywood has one "C" side, and one "D" side, making it somewhat rough
and typically unsuitable for aesthetic purposes, unless you're going for a rustic look.

Appearance Issues
Plywood, more particularly hardwood plywood, can contain splicingerrors. It won't show up
until it's stained, but when veneer splices are not done correctly, a definite dark over light
transition shows up in the finished product. It's typically too late when this happens, but the issue
can be avoided by purchasing one-piece-face plywood that hasn't been spliced. It's more
expensive, but is also more uniform and consistent.

Imported Plywood
Imported plywood is in a category all by itself, and there's a reason why it's so cheap. Also
known as Chinese or Asian plywood, blondwood and whitewood, imported plywood may have
foreign objects inside the core, thickness variations, peeling veneer, separations, voids and out-
of-square continuity. Always check with the dealer before purchasing imported plywood. If
you're not sure inspect the stamp on the plywood. It should have stamps from the American
Plywood Association, Western Wood Products Association, or other United States-based
inspection stamps if it's domestic plywood.
https://www.hunker.com/13401615/disadvantages-of-plywood