Hardwood Plywood Panel Construction

Plywood is layers of veneer, or plies, glued together, with the grain of the plies alternating in direction. The number of plies varies according to the thickness required from 3-ply to multi-ply. Various core materials are available including veneer core, lumber core, particleboard core and fiberboard core.

Panel Construction
Veneer Core: Based almost entirely on a 48” x 96” sheet. Occasional 120” material is available. This is a standard veneer crossbanding technique where 3, 5, 7 or 9 veneer plies are used.

Lumber Core: This is a 5 ply construction made up of two face veneers, two crossband veneers and a solid lumber core. The core is usually made up of edge-glued strips of lumber 1-1/2” to 2” wide. The core is basically solid and free of void which gives unusual strength and high resistance
to twisting or warping. Usually 3/4” thick.

Particle Core: This is a carefully engineered product. Particleboard is available in thicknesses of 1/4” to 1-1/8” and in various widths.

Fiberboard Core: Similar to particleboard with the additional advantage of uniform density throughout. Available in thicknesses from 1/4” to 1-1/8” and in various widths. Edges can be machined and easily finished. Fiberboard is the most stable of composition core material.

Veneer Cutting
The two principal methods of cutting veneer are rotary cutting on a veneer lathe where the log centered on a lathe and turned against the knife like peeling an apple; and slicing on a veneer slicer, where parallel slices through the log produce a variegated figure in the wood.
The method selected depends on the species, characteristics of the logs and grain