Plywood for Beginners – How and Why to Use It

Oct 162024
 
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Working with plywood throughout my career has shown me how versatile of a material it is, how sturdy it is, and how stunning it looks in any space. I think plywood is an incredibly efficient use of natural material that has been engineered to reduce some of the limitations of solid wood, and is now used in almost every facet of our living environments including buildings, cabinetry, furniture – the list goes on. I’m Joel, a plywood geek, and I’m going to take you on a journey and show you why you should be using plywood for your projects too. So pull up a stool (made from plywood, of course) and let’s delve into this world.

Why Listen to Me?

I’ve been working professionally as a cabinet maker and furniture designer for most of my life. I was born and raised on a Mississippi cattle farm but spent most of my professional life in Atlanta, Georgia. After earning my degree in Industrial Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, I went on to earn my qualification as a cabinet maker. I spent over ten years honing my craft using plywood, and nowadays I work on a freelance basis for various furniture manufacturers. Here’s some examples of my work.

Photo Credit: Joel Anderson
Photo Credit: Joel Anderson
Photo Credit: Joel Anderson

Why Use Plywood?

Let’s get into the nitty gritty – why should you bother with plywood compared to solid woods, fiberboard, particleboard, or any non-wood materials? Let’s start with plywood’s unique composition – Plywood is made up of cross-laminated layers of wood veneer, and because each layer is in tension with the next it creates a dimensional stability not found in solid wood, while still being a lightweight material. Another unique feature comes from plywood veneers being shaved off the raw timber – a bit like an old-fashioned apple peeling contraption. This makes it possible to have large lengths and widths relative to the thickness of material and still be strong across both dimensions. If you’re building something with a large surface area, plywood is a great choice for uninterrupted wood grain.

Plywood is also very versatile, and this makes it useful for a variety of projects that require curved shapes. Thinner sheets can be formed around a frame, or using another technique called kerf bending, that allows thicker sheets of plywood to be bent. Even compound curves are possible by forming your own plywood in a mold.

Perhaps most important when thinking about furniture – plywood is beautiful. A sanded down sheet of ply used to build a table, chair, or kitchen cabinet creates a look that is both subtle yet striking. Depending on the species of tree used, the natural grains can create a light and airy appearance, or a darker and more contrasted look, which will give your space a natural vibe.

Types of Plywood

There are more types of plywood than I can list here, but these will get you started:

Birch Plywood
A hardwood plywood that has good strength, beautiful visible grain texture, and is easy to finish. It is also known for having nearly no voids, so when you cut into it, no nasty surprises are waiting to be found. This is why birch is the most common plywood used in furniture making.

Photo Credit: Joel Anderson

Maple Plywood
Another great furniture-grade plywood found in North America is maple plywood. It has superior strength to birch but comes at a higher price. For the majority of projects, birch will get the job done but maple is always an option if you want to check it out.

Photo Credit: Joel Anderson

Veneers
Many other species are not great for making plywood or would be prohibitively expensive. This is where veneers come in. Plywood veneers are a common way to apply different species to birch or maple cores so you can get the best of both worlds. This keeps the cost within reason while maintaining the durability and aesthetic strengths of birch and maple. Here are some of my favorites:


Walnut – The dark rich tones make this an excellent choice for anyone who wants to create a cozy atmosphere with their furniture.

Photo Credit: Joel Anderson

Ash – A cooler and more neutral grain pattern means that this veneer is able to fit into whatever space you want, and adds a refreshing natural vibe whether in your kitchen, living room, or bedroom.

Photo Credit: Joel Anderson

White Oak – I’m sure you’ve heard of white oak, as it’s a popular choice among furniture makers. Beautiful warm tones, but is still fairly light in color.

Photo Credit: Joel Anderson

Grades

It can be a daunting experience to go to a lumber store for the first time and be confronted with the different grades of plywood. What do they mean and how do they apply to the project you’re working on? Let’s break it down:

The rule of thumb is – use Grades ‘A’ and ‘B’ for furniture and features that are outward facing, and ‘BB’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ for anything that isn’t going to be seen by many people such as subflooring or interior walls.
• Grade ‘A’ is the highest quality, with very few to no imperfections, and often comes pre-sanded or pre-finished.
• Grade ‘B’ is still good, but may have some small knots and may not come pre-sanded.
• Grade ‘BB’ is often nearly as good as ‘B’ but may have a handful of patched knots.
• Grade ‘C’ will have some noticeable knots and other issues in the wood.
• Grade ‘D’ will have larger knots and voids and won’t look presentable. It’s not pretty.

Sheathing, ACX, and CDX – What Are These?

If you see a plywood with multiple grades, that means it will have one side of each – so ACX will have a clean looking side but also a back with more knots and voids. The ‘X’ stands for the exterior grade adhesive which has glued the A and C sides together. These types of plywood are construction plys and can be a great choice for lining a garage, but aren’t really suitable for furniture making.

Plywood Cores

Veneer Cores

These are typically made using 3 or 5 layers for a 3⁄4” sheet of plywood. The layers are made up of thin strips of wood, or really thick veneers. They are made from a combination of a center and crossband veneers that are alternatively layered. This core has great strength and flexibility, but depending on the board the edge is not always the best looking, and can be prone to warping.

Multiply Cores

Multiply cores are usually made using 13 thin veneer layers for a 3⁄4” sheet of plywood. These thin layers create a beautiful edge pattern. The higher number of layers helps reduce warping of the material which makes it a great choice for furniture making.

Plywood Alternatives

Here are some of the other sheet materials you might come across when looking for material for your project.

Medium-Density Fibreboard (MDF)

This material is known for being consistently thick and smooth, and this makes it a great choice for projects where you’ll be painting and doing detailed work. However, it is heavier than plywood while being less rigid and more brittle. This makes it perfectly fine for panel projects like cabinets, but not great for furniture.

Photo Credit: Elke Wetzig, via Wikimedia Commons

Particleboard

Similar to MDF, this material is made up of small bits of wood that have been glued together and is often covered with a veneer or a laminate on its face. This material is commonly used in flat pack furniture (think IKEA). While it is light and generally quite cheap, it’s not good at taking heavy weight – we’ve all had that one IKEA shelf that finally cracked under the pressure, right?

Photo Credit: Elke Wetzig, via Wikimedia Commons

Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

OSB is commonly used as an alternative to plywood, particularly in structural applications like subflooring or sheathing, as it is durable while also being cheaper. The main drawback is that it is more susceptible to moisture damage. It can also look good as a wall covering for a more industrial look. You can definitely use it for shop projects but the fit and finish leave something to be desired.

Photo Credit: Elke Wetzig, via Wikimedia Commons

What’s the Verdict?

While these alternatives definitely provide their own advantages, and are oftentimes cheaper than plywood, I think it’s clear that plywood is stronger, more durable, and has a better appearance. When you’re building furniture or redoing your home interior, consider whether you’d rather spend a bit more now to have something long lasting and beautiful, or need to spend more money in a couple of years when the material starts to wear down.

What to Consider When Buying Plywood

As well as checking the grade, also take the time to think about what species of wood you want your plywood to come from – this can affect the aesthetics of your furniture. Something important to take note of is your budget. How much are you willing to spend overall? Don’t forget, mistakes happen, and material can be wasted. If you spend all of your budget on the finest ‘A’ grade plywood but then lose half of it to a poorly placed saw cut, will you have enough to start over? You can always contact Highland Woodworking to see if they have a board stretcher in stock.

Where to Buy

The classics of home improvement in the USA are stores such as Home Depot and Lowes, but they tend to focus on construction grade plywood and the alternatives mentioned above. This can be good for prototyping, but is generally not suited for furniture projects. I recommend asking your local woodworking store or a local cabinet maker where they source furniture-grade plywood. If the big box store is your only option I recommend going with Purebond Plywood – found at Home Depot.

The Non-Plywood Stuff

Highland Woodworking has got you covered for all of your other needs, whether you want to cut, sand, or stain your plywood furniture you can find it all here.

A professional cabinet maker and furniture designer – Joel was raised on a cattle farm in Mississippi and has spent the majority of his professional life in Atlanta, Georgia. After obtaining a degree in Industrial Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, he pursued further qualifications in cabinet making. For over ten years, Joel has specialized in working with plywood, and now operates as a freelance designer for various furniture manufacturers. Find more of Joel’s writing about plywood design and project ideas at Sheet Good.

Gary Rogowski’s Free Seminar

Sep 282024
 
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Highland Woodworking and Gary Rogowski’s Northwest Woodworking Studio have partnered together to help make woodworking education more available for everyone.

Gary is offering a FREE 2-hour online seminar on Saturday, Sept. 28 at noon ET that will discuss his Online Mastery Program, give a quick tour of the curriculum, show images of design work from graduate students and he will answer any and all questions about the program.

Email Gary at studio@Northwestwoodworking.com to receive the Zoom link for the seminar.

You can read Gary’s latest newsletter at:
https://northwestwoodworking.com/newsletter/i-get-it/

#rustlife

Jun 182024
 
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Buying a new tool is a lovely day. If you’re like me, you’ve spent hours researching and making sure you’re making the right choice. I spend hours reading forums, watching videos, and trying out demonstration examples when possible. I consummate the relationship with a handful of numbers on a piece of plastic. 

Once home, I take every precaution that my new tool suffers no damage while unpacking. I cut the box open with the care used by surgeons upon making an initial incision. With the guts of the box exposed, I gingerly pull out the pieces, one by one, and lay them before me. With a scene reminiscent of an airplane crash investigation sprawled across an unused hangar, I take the manual and begin going over all of the parts. Do I have enough? How do they fit together? Do I need help with this? 

Over the next several hours, I start by cleansing every part of what can best be described as Cosmoline (shipping goop). Sometimes it’s really easy (likely it isn’t Cosmoline) and other times it’s an absolute pain in the ass. However, I’ve traded a portion of my life to purchase this tool, so I am not skipping steps now. Once all parts are clean, I play a game of slow-motion Tetris. Part A goes into Part B.  Part B connects to Part C… Once everything is assembled, I then spend several more hours applying coats of rust prevention product and making sure angles are what they should be.

Six months later, I start to notice something. That tool I purchased and spent so much time getting set up is starting to rust. I regularly strip and replace the rust prevention coating, so what’s going on? Unfortunately, my shop isn’t climate controlled. It’s a 2-car garage attached to my house. Temperatures jump up in the summer and sink down in the winter. In the summers, humidity is my enemy. In the winters, condensation is my enemy. In between those extremes, my own stupidity is the enemy. 

For instance, it was recently raining outside, and I needed to open the garage door to move something from my car into my house. It never crossed my mind that the weather stripping on the base of the garage door would drip water on to my table saw. To my surprise, when I went to start woodworking that weekend, my table saw was covered in polka dots of rust. Even though I religiously rust protect the surface, I discovered it doesn’t matter what prevention I’ve done when it’s just too much water to evaporate before that barrier is broken. 

Since my garage is not climate controlled, and I imagine a lot of us don’t have climate controlled shops, the one thing I have found really works well is a dehumidifier. If you can run a hose from it to drip outside of your shop, even better.  Manually dumping the bucket becomes an every third day task for me during the summer. However, it has substantially cut down on idle rust in my shop. Idle rust is what happens when temperatures fluctuate throughout the seasons, and aren’t from a specific cause like leaving a dripping wet cold Coke can on your cast iron table. 

For direct rust accidents, like that Coke can or a sweaty glove, the one thing I have learned is that it’s perfectly okay to resurface my cast iron. It won’t look as great as it did on day one when I spent so many hours setting it up,  but it will function. The key here is to re-surface the entire surface as evenly as possible. Simply scrubbing out the rust with a Scotchbrite pad will only leave a divot where that Coke can sat.  If it’s on the periphery of your table, and unlikely ever need to be square, fine.  If it’s somewhere wood will regularly come in contact with, you’re likely better off making sure that entire surface matches what you are taking off to get rid of that rust.

Here’s where things may get frustrating, and you may ask yourself if you are helping or damaging your cast iron top. Removing rust will make your cast iron top look different. The grit of the Scotchbrite pad you used will make the top look different than when you first set it up. Most often, the clean lines will turn into what can best be described as cloudy swirls. If this really bothers you, by all means go for higher grits to bring the sexy back. However, functionally, so long as the rust is gone, and the treatment/re-finishing was consistent, it will be fine. 

Finally, outside of goofy stuff like opening my garage door on a rainy day, the best way I’ve found to prevent rust build up is to clean my tools after using them. It won’t help as much as the seasons change, thus the dehumidifier recommendation, but it generally keeps the shop rust free. If you spent all night turning a bowl, wipe down your lathe with a dry cloth. If you cut some pickets out of 2×4’s from your local big box, wipe down all surfaces on your table saw when you’re done. While rust prevention options like Boeshield, Renaissance Wax, blah, blah, blah can help, ultimately, keeping your woodworking space clean will serve you much better when trying to prevent rust. That and a dehumidifier. 

Turning the Corner: Unexpected Porch Post

May 092024
 
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With an historic preservation grant and vision for a return to the past elegance, the new owners of the Pentagöet Inn in Castine, Maine asked me to create and turn the four new newel posts they needed for the renovated main entrance from the street.

Their contractors did an impressive job, and the newel posts were smoothly incorporated.

The work progressed smoothly until they began to tie the new balustrade to the existing 8′ porch post which they discovered was totally rotten …

… base … middle section … and top.

Knowing they were feeling the pressure of time and weather (we had enjoyed an unusual string of December/January warm and dry days), I was able to acquire the 8′ long 2″X6″ Alaskan Yellow Cedar boards 

and glue them up (actual measure of 5 ½” X 6 ¼” in preparation for sawing to rough size on the bandsaw

to then joint two adjacent sides before surface planing to the final dimension of 4 ¾” X 4 ¾” that matches the existing posts and the newel posts.

Once the blank is mounted on the lathe (note an 8′ long laminated ~5X5 blank does not require a mid-blank steady rest.  The lathe runs well at about 400 – 500 RPM with no whip) 

and the 24″ tool rest is in place; the first cuts are to measure carefully for the square pommel-to-round transition points and cut them in using the long point of the skew. The transition at bottom and top are straight angled cuts; the transitions in the middle section are lamb’s tongue which is made using a middle size Sorby 12mm gouge.  When making restoration copies, the small details matter enormously.  While most people will not notice directly, the dissimilarity will register on at least an unconscious level.

The next step is to round and taper the full column length. I find that it helps me to have the source profile post in my sightline to help me keep my attention focused and the details registered.  In this case, I carefully placed the rotten post sections on a long board just on the far side of the new blank.

I worked with story-sticks to identify the various specific profile points of taper, bead, cove, (shoulder).

As with most turning, the best practice is to work on the larger diameters on the right (by the tailstock) before moving left (toward the headstock and power source).

Once the turning is completed, applying the primer coat is most efficiently done while the post is still between centers on the lathe.  I typically also prime the ends of outdoor posts with either primer or West System epoxy to help preserve the life of the post.

Delivering the post a week after they discovered they needed it was particularly satisfying, and the contractors put it in place that day, one day before we had an onset of cold and snow.

Doing a job like this is particularly rewarding as well as great publicity being so prominently a display of the work being done so visibly in the middle of our town. I look forward to the owner’s next phase in a year, when we will continue the restoration to the lower and upper balustrade, posts, and rails up Main Street to the right.

“Turning the Corner,” focuses on using woodturning on the lathe as a way of enhancing cabinetry, furniture designs, gallery products, and architectural installations.  We hope to inspire woodworkers to extend their skills into basic, novice, and advanced woodturning while discovering for themselves this particularly sensual and spiritually rewarding dimension of working with wood. Located in Castine, Maine, Highlands Woodturning gallery and shop offers woodturning classes and shop time, a gallery of woodturned art, custom woodturning for repairs, renovations, and architectural installations. You can email Temple at temple@highlandswoodturning.com. Take a look at Temple’s Website at http://www.highlandswoodturning.com/

Turning the Corner: Pentagöet Inn Newel Posts

May 082024
 
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Fresh from New York City, the new, young owners of the Pentagöet Inn in Castine, Maine arrived two summers ago to embrace the long history of the Town and especially their beautiful building in a way that is both impressive and sustainable.  Their vision and energy as owner/operators/hosts of this magnificent old-time, 130 year old wooden building, radiates an air of excitement, success, and intrinsic reward, and they have been honored properly by Hospitality Maine for their work..  At each phase of creative renovation effort, the interior and exterior are being transformed to preserve the history while thoughtfully and confidently moving into the next century.

One evening last summer while I dined there with family, I was invited to a sidebar discussion with the owners, introduced to their plan to restore the original but missing main entrance staircase funded by a significant grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They asked if I would consider turning the four new newel posts they needed for the renovation later in the fall after they had received the necessary permits.  In early December, they received them, and they asked me to return for further discussion and a more specific look at what they wanted to accomplish. Their contractor had already begun replacing the rotted floor joists and flooring for the porch, and they hoped he could complete the new staircase by Christmas, the Maine weather having been unexpectedly cooperative.

The 38″ lower section of one of the original 8′ porch posts was the profile they wanted, and they had an architect’s drawing of what they would need for the new 42″ balustrade. They felt the drawing was not as close to the profile they wanted but would more closely represent what is required by the much newer codes.  While I was there, I pointed out to them the significant “repairs” to the lower section of porch post that were an attempt to disguise considerable rot with caulk and paint (not a good choice for a structural element).  I carefully measured the lower post and created a story-stick of what I thought the original profile would be working from that and the adjacent posts.   

The owners were fairly sure their architect had surveyed the porch and that while I needed to adapt the real profile (4 ¾” X 4 ¾”) to the taller design required to meet for code, the existing posts and rails would not be changed.  The architectural drawing called for a 5″ X 5″ blank which they did not want me to use, preferring to stick to the original 4 ¾” square profile.  All they needed from me was to create the four new newel posts for the new staircase balustrade that could be worked in smoothly with the existing posts and rails that framed the porch.

We discussed materials and pricing and together made the decision to have me glue up Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC) to make the turning blanks, the best readily-available, cost-effective choice for a long life outdoors.  I also understood initially that the newel posts should be two parts pinned through the new horizontal railing. 

AYC is readily available to us, is less expensive than Great Western Red Cedar, takes the water-resistant Titebond III glue well, and at 2″ X 6″ creates a blank (1 5/8″ X 5 ½”) that can be bandsawn, edge jointed, and surface planed to the desired 4 ¾” square blanks.

Working from both my story-stick of the lower post section as well as the architect’s drawing, I roughed the first blank, smoothed it, marked it, and finished the profile elements for the lower section using the Sorby continental 30mm roughing gouge, 32mm skew chisel, 10mm beading & parting tool.

With the first one complete, I reproduced it on the additional three lower blanks.

After I had cut and glued the eight blanks, I learned from the staircase contractor that they did not plan to pin through the horizontal rails after all.  This meant to me that I simply needed to adjust the length of the upper section and pin the two sections in the shop before delivering. Working with the additional blanks for the top section now adjusted to meet the overall height requirement, I turned the profile that I understood would be mounted above the horizonal rails and pinned through.

The most efficient way to get the new posts square and true was to glue the top and bottoms together as a unit at the bench using bench dogs and the end vice.

Fortunately, it all worked out well.  As is my custom, I primed the finished newel posts before delivering them on schedule – and understanding that with the cold weather they might not be painted very soon.

The contractors soon had them in place at the four corners of the emerging staircase, and very shortly thereafter they completed the remaining work on that portion of the job.

Unfortunately, when they began to tie the new staircase to the existing porch railing, they discovered that the first 8′ post had rotted beyond repair.  The caulk and paint “repairs””had masked an even larger problem that was beyond the scope of me replacing just the bottom section.  The rot went well up into the upper portion of the post.

Undeterred, the new owners asked me to turn a replacement post as soon as I could and to keep my story-stick handy for that anticipating their next restoration project on the other side of the new staircase next year.

“Turning the Corner,” focuses on using woodturning on the lathe as a way of enhancing cabinetry, furniture designs, gallery products, and architectural installations.  We hope to inspire woodworkers to extend their skills into basic, novice, and advanced woodturning while discovering for themselves this particularly sensual and spiritually rewarding dimension of working with wood. Located in Castine, Maine, Highlands Woodturning gallery and shop offers woodturning classes and shop time, a gallery of woodturned art, custom woodturning for repairs, renovations, and architectural installations. You can email Temple at temple@highlandswoodturning.com. Take a look at Temple’s Website at http://www.highlandswoodturning.com/

Turning the Corner: Refining Turning Skills

May 112023
 
Turning the Corner: Refining Turning Skills
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In the lull between the frenzy of December/January holidays and the activities of the anticipated winter, the shop is relatively quiet. The backlog of architectural copy/multiple orders have all been completed and shipped; I have almost caught up with the several Christmas gift certificate lessons of 2022; and my grandson helped me give the shop […]

Turning the Corner: a follow-up

Dec 212022
 
Turning the Corner: a follow-up
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In a recent Turning the Corner column, writer and woodturner Temple Blackwood detailed the turning process for creating a mouthpiece for a Hardy Tinfoil Phonograph. The process Temple used for turning the replicas was interesting enough to stand alone as its own article, but we had even more questions when we were done about the […]