Building Shelves with Plywood
Posted by Shelf Plans on
January 22, 2010
Hardwood plywood is very similar to the ordinary softwood plywood that most people use. Both of them are made from layers of wood veneer that are bonded together. The layering is done so that each layer lies with the grain running in the opposite of perpendicular direction to the last.
Because of this cross grain construction hard plywood is very strong and durable. Probably the only noticable different between hardwood and softwood plywood is in the two outer layers or vaneers.
In softwood plywood the outer layer will paint well and is used for construction and structural purposes while hardwood plywood is usually finished of naturally allowing the wood to show through and is used more for decorative purposes.
There are different vaneers that are used and the most popular are oak, birch and maple. Hardwood plywood lends itself well to varnishing and this kind of treatment will actually produce a wonderful effect.
Some of the best reasons to use hardwood plywood is that is easily machines, doesn’t split easily and can also be scored or bent for specific projects much easier than real wood would be.
