Wood Wednesday Fun Facts about Plywood! Plywood is manufactured board composed of an odd number of thin sheets of wood glued together under pressure with grains of the successive layers at right angles. Laminated wood differs from plywood in that the grains of its sheets are parallel. Plywood is noted for its strength, durability, lightness, rigidity, and resistance to splitting and warping. It can be molded into curved or irregular forms for use in truck, airplane, and boat bodies, luggage, furniture, and tubing, or it can be made into large panels suitable for structural use. Plywood was made in ancient Egypt and China, and it was first introduced in the United States in 1865. The two types commonly in use today are those made of softwood (fir) or hardwood (birch, mahogany, walnut, or white ash). The layers in inexpensive plywood are glued together with starch pastes, animal glues, or casein, but those of the strongest plywood are glued with waterproof synthetic resins. Other material, such as metal or fabric, may be substituted for the usual wood core. Plywood is another manufactured board that it is made from layers of solid timber veneer that are usually about 3 millimeters thick. Because it is made in layers it is incredibly strong but also light in weight. The interior layers of these boards are usually made from an inexpensive wood while the outer veneer layers are made from more expensive timber to give the board a nice wood grain appearance. This type of board is manufactured from layers of veneer that are glued together and compressed under heat, they are then cut into appropriate sizes. With each new layer of veneer added the grain is rotated at 90 degrees each time, this is done to maximise the boards strength and to prevent warping and twisting. This manufactured board is used as a more affordably option to solid timber or as an alternate to other manufactured boards. You are most likely to see this wood used in places such as school desks, furniture, wood paneling and some flooring although usually only the faces are shown due to the unattractive look of the edges. Advantages: • Very strong • Light • Resists cracking, bending, warping, and shrinkage • Can be made from most timbers to increase aesthetics • Good for wood panelling Disadvantages: • Edges of board are unattractive and cant be covered • Not suitable for many joints • Still may contain natural defects such as knots due to the sheets of veneer Hope you enjoyed these Fun Facts about PlyWood!
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 20:15:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015