Solid wood is great to work with, but for some projects, sheet materials are more appropriate. Plywood is an excellent way to reduce costs in both materials and labor. In this article I am going to discuss some pros and cons and uses of the cape.
Plywood is a strong and very stable material, which makes it ideal for use in furniture. The advantage over solid wood is in the speed at which it can be cut into panels for box bottoms, drawer bottoms, and door panels. A task that would take many hours with solid wood can be done in minutes using plywood.
One of the best plywood for furniture making is called Baltic birch. It is made of much thinner veneers than most ply and is made of birch throughout. It does not have large gaps between the layers, which makes for very attractive edges and a stronger board.
Plywood always comes with an odd number of plies and the grain direction faces in alternating directions, which is what makes plywood so strong. The more layers, the stronger the plywood. Plywood is very good at holding screws and fixing hardware, which is something in which it surpasses other laminated products.
Plywood is available with many attractive veneers, allowing it to blend with solid wood. However, due to its stability, plywood is a good surface for applying your own veneers. Plywood does not split due to cross plying and, unlike solid wood, is very strong in any direction.
Indoor plywood is used for most furniture, but outdoor plywood is waterproof and good for kitchens. Marine ply is very high quality waterproof plywood selected to have flawless laminations.
Some disadvantages are that it is more expensive than particle board and can have voids in the core layers. And when making traditional furniture, the general public may find solid wood furniture to be of better quality. However, I consider plywood to be the best man-made board available and have seen birch plywood used as a very attractive feature.
