WOODSENSE Composite Wood Products Have Many Practical and Cost-Saving Applications, Particularly in Cabinetry

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WOODSENSE Composite wood products have many practical and cost-saving applications, particularly in cabinetry. We’ll help you decide which materials are suitable for your projects. By Udo Schmidt Products

Most sheet stock is sold as a 4' x 8' panel, in ¼", ½" and ¾" thicknesses. Many retailers have a panel saw to cut the sheet to a more manageable size, but they do not necessarily sell partial sheets. Before you start any project with sheet stock, check the exact dimensions, especially thickness. Even though the material is sold as ¾" thickness, its actual thickness may only be 11/16" or less. This is because many composite wood products are imported and might have been manufacturedactured undunderer the metric system. MAN-MADE A number of adhesives are WOODWORKING MATERIALS used in the manufacture of sheet stock: protein, phenol- Composite wood products, also called sheet stock, are formaldehyde and urea formal- wood materials adhesive-bonded together. The three main dehyde. Protein glue is extracted from plants and animals; typical groups of these man-made materials are plywood, particle- ingredients include water, dried board and fi ber composites. Each of these products has its blood, soya fl our, lime, sodium advantages and disadvantages and is used for different appli- silicate, caustic soda and a formaldehyde donor for thickening. cations. Hardwood plywood is used for fi ne woodworking, Urea-formaldehyde glues are while less-expensive particleboard is used for commercial synthetic thermosetting glues; casework. In general, plywood is stronger than particleboard typical ingredients are water, defoamers, extenders (wheat and fi berboard, but not as stable. Like solid wood, plywood fl our) and urea formaldehyde can warp with changing temperatures and relative humidity, resin. Phenol-formaldehyde though not as severely. resins are also synthetic thermosetting glues; typical ingredients UDO SCHMIDT

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include additives of caustic soda and soda ash. With their weaker resistance to water, both protein and urea-formaldehyde are interior glues, while phenol-formaldehyde is an exterior glue with good water resistance. Baltic Birch Plywood Baltic birch plywood is a good choice for all applications where a composite material is called for. A high-density plywood because of its many layers it is used by the cabinet making industry primary for drawer sides. Compared to Plywood domestic birch plywood, baltic birch plywood is heavier, because the inner plies are birch too. For decades, plywood has been the One of the drawbacks of this plywood is its standard size of 5' x 5'. It is difﬁ - staple of cabinet shops. Plywood is cult to handle and creates a problem if you need a cabinet size longer than 60". a panel built up of sheets of veneer BeingBeing iimportedmported aalsolso mmeanseans iitt iiss mmanufacturedanufactured uusingsing tthehe mmetricetric ssystemystem eevenven called plies, bonded together with though it is retailed in fractional measurements. That should not create any big grain direction perpendicular to problems unless you use dado and rabbet joints in your construction. the adjoining layers. The number of layers in a sheet is always Traded thickness Actual thickness Plies uneven. They range from three 1 /8" 3 mm 3 layers in ¼" sheets to as many as 13 5 layers in ¾" Baltic birch plywood. /32" 4 mm 3 Because of the crossbanding of the ¼" 5 mm 5

plies, each layer is mechanically re- 15 /64" 6 mm 5 stricted from swelling and shrink- 3 9 mm 7 ing, making plywood dimension- /8" ally stable and uniformly strong. ½" 12 mm 9 19 Plywood is also relatively light- /32" 15 mm 11 ¾" 18 mm 13

weight because most manufactur- is peeled off the logs on a gigantic ers use lighter softwood for the lathe. core layers and hardwood for the A popular plywood often face veneer. mentioned on TV woodworking Plywood comes in many grades shows is “apple plywood.” The core and species for the face veneer, from low-cost poplar to expensive exotics. Whenever a large area of The Invention of Plywood wood is called for, plywood is a Egyptian carpenters are credited for preferred material. It is cheaper inventing plywood. A cofﬁ n dated and easier to work than solid wood, 2750 B.C. from the Egyptian Saqqara more stable and more uniform in Pyramid was made out of plywood. texture and color. Its sides were constructed of six lay- The face veneer of plywood can ers of 4-mm veneer, glued and dow- be put in two categories. Straight eled, with each layer in alternating vertical slicing is the more expen- grain direction like today’s plywood. sive way of producing the face PLYWOOD IS MADE UP of several Industrial production of veneer started veneer. This type of veneer is most layers of ply, with the grain direction about 1850, and the production of often bookmatched. If a less expen- glued perpendicular to each layer.

plywood panels in 1893. sive rotary cut is taken, the veneer ETTER BOB ETTER

74 WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE | 05.06 WOODSENSE veneer is alder and the face veneer Melamine is hard maple. A ¾"-thick sheet is made up of 13 layers of ply, mak- The term melamine is commonly ing it very stable and strong. It is used for a sheet product coated probably the best plywood money with melamine-impregnated paper. can buy, but it is 50 to 80 percent The coating is applied to plywood more expensive than imports. or, more commonly, particleboard. Manufactured in the U.S., this Melamine is used in most Eu- product’s nickname came from ropean-style cabinet cases and by the expression “as American as most of the large cabinet manufac- apple pie.” turers in various colors on tradi- tional face frame cabinets. This is a very economical prod- Particleboard uct, about half the price of pre- fi nished plywood, with the same The least expensive sheet material PARTICLEBOARD IS AN EXCEL- outcome: a pre-fi nished cabinet forfor cabinetcabinet cases is parparticleboard.ticleboard. LENTLENT ssubstrateubstrate fforor vveneereneer or pplasticlastic case. Most melamine products are Particleboard is a recycled product laminate.laminate. This bbathath vvanityanity is bbuiltuilt manufactured in the U.S., which outout ooff pparticleboardarticleboard and ccoveredovered wwithith from the waste of various wood plastic laminate. means that if you buy a ¾" sheet it manufacturing products. Made is ¾" thick, not 18 mm. Even though using melamine- in threethree lalayers,yers, the fafacece lalayersyers araree coated particleboard will give you smallersmaller wwoodood parparticlesticles than the an inexpensive case that needs no corecore layer,layer, fforor a smosmootherother ssurface.urface. fi nishing,nishing, itit hashas thethe samesame drawbacksdrawbacks WithWith the loloww ccostost ooff these pprod-rod- uctsucts ccomeome seseveralveral drdrawbacks.awbacks. ParticleboardsParticleboards araree wweakeak in strengthstrength aacrosscross bbothoth dirdirectionsections PARTICLEBOARD IS BASICALLY comparedcompared ttoo plplywood.ywood. ScrScrewew and glued up from wood chips. Because of nail holding abilityability is vveryery loloww the coarseness and irregular shape of and anyany eexposurexposure ttoo momoistureisture the wood chips, this composite material has the highest amount of glue, willwill swswellell the panepanell drdrastically.astically. which limits its capacity for holding ParticleboardParticleboard is ccommerciallyommercially nails and glue. Even though it is usedused as a ssubstituteubstitute fforor laminatlaminate,e, ITS LOW COST and finished look make widelywidely ususeded in the indindustry,ustry, pparticle-article- thin solid surface countertops or Melamine particleboard a practical boardboard shoshoulduld nonott bbee the firfirstst cchoicehoice choice in commercial cabinet shops. forfor cascasee cconstruction.onstruction. European-style cabinets.

Choosing a saw blade PlywoodPlywood aandnd mmelamineelamine alternate top bevel triple chip grind boardsboards aarere bbestest ccutut withwith a ttriple-chip-riple-chip- groundground ssawaw bblade,lade, wwithith 8080 oorr mmoreore tteeth,eeth, ttoo preventprevent ttearout.earout. TThishis bladeblade sshouldhould nnotot bbee confusedconfused wwithith aann 880-0- toothtooth ﬁ nnee ccut-offut-off bblade,lade, whichwhich hhasas aann aalternatelternate toptop bbevelevel ggrind.rind.

05.06 | WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE 75 WOODSENSE

as plain particleboard: low strength storesstores ccloselose bbyy and the nearnearestest and poor screw- and nail-holding wholesalerwholesaler is 100 miles aaway,way, use capacity. The melamine coating is commoncommon sensesense and ggetet yyourour ssupplyupply scratch resistant, but brittle at the aroundaround the ccorner.orner. IIff yyouou hahaveve aac-c- edges. The industry uses special ma- cesscess toto alalll ooff the diffdifferenterent ccompos-ompos- chines for a chip-free cut. A triple- iteite matmaterials,erials, mmyy rrecommendationecommendation chip laminate blade gives a satisfac- is pre-ﬁpre-ﬁ nishednished birchbirch plywood.plywood. IfIf tory cut with standard table saws. MEDIUM- OR HIGH-DENSITY fiber- youyou want ttoo sasaveve momoney,ney, ggoo wwithith board can be used for the same appli- The paper-coated surface does cations as particleboard. Because of BalticBaltic birchbirch plywood.plywood. CabinetsCabinets builtbuilt not bond well with glue. Any the higher density of the fibers, this outout ofof these matmaterialserials araree ststrong,rong, glue joint needs to be rabbeted or materialmaterial hoholdslds sscrewscrews and nails bbetteretter lightweightlightweight and hahaveve a solid wwoodood dadoed. than particleboard, but is heavier. look.

plates and jigs. MDF/HDF is also MDF the preferred choice for painted Veneer cabinet parts such as doors or MDF and HDF (medium- or high- drawer sides. The major drawback Besides solid wood, wood veneer is density fi berboard) are made out of MDF is its sheer weight. A ¾", the material most commonly used of wood fi bers, not particles like 4' x 8' sheet can weigh in excess of by woodworkers. Wood veneer has particleboard. This material is very 90 lbs. stable and consistent. MDF is sold as paint-grade stock or veneered with popular veneers. Because of What’s the Best? the dense core material, chipping is not a problem — the veneer has If you ask fi ve professional cabinet- a solid contact with the substrate makers, you probably will get fi ve without voids. Screw- and nail- different answers. holding capacities are better than As I pointed out, each sheet particleboard, but not as good as stock has its advantages and disad- plywood. MDF gives the cleanest vantages. Another factor is the machined edges and surfaces due to availability of the material. Most the consistent density of the wood home improvement stores carry fi bers in all directions. This makes some sort of cabinet-grade ply- it an excellent material for tem- wood, so if you have one of these

WOOD VENEER is perfect for giving irregular shapes of material a solid- wood look.

many advantages over solid wood. Per square feet of coverage, it is a lot cheaper, especially in rare wood species or grain patterns like birds- eye maple or burled walnut. Wood veneer is very thin, glued to a paper backing. It is almost always used by gluing it to a MDF AND HDF are excellent materials for templates. Very dense but not hard, these substrate, which can be any of the fiberboards can easily be shaped into any form with basic tools. materials mentioned above. Like UDO SCHMIDT

76 WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE | 05.06 WOODSENSE

Hardwood Plywood Grades Hardwood plywood grades are a voluntary standard of the industry. Manufacturers can choose whether to grade their products ac- cording to ANSI* (American National Standards Institute) hardwood plywood standards. Hardwood plywood is graded with a letter for the face of the panel and a number for the back of the panel. The best panel grade is A-1. Face grades range from A to E and back grades from 1 to 4. In ½" to ¾" thicknesses, a typical cabinet plywood grade is A-1 or B-2. In ¼" plywood a typical cabinet plywood grade is A-4.

Face Veneer: Back Veneer: “A” Grade “1” Back: • Bookmatched • Up to 16 sound tight knots; no knotholes; sound tight burls; • Slight mineral streaks and vine marks mineral streaks, and up to six repaired splits or joints • No sound or repaired knots “2” Back: • Conspicuous burls maximum size: 3/8 in. • Up to 16 sound tight knots; repaired knot holes; sound tight • Two 1/16" x 6" blended repaired tapering hairline splits burls and mineral streaks; up to six repaired splits or joints “B” Grade “3” Back: • May be bookmatched • larger tight knots; larger repaired knots and larger repaired • Slight mineral streaks splits or joints • Vine marks, small repaired knots, conspicuous burls • Two 1/8" x 6" blended repaired tapering hairline splits “4” Back: • Any species of hardwood; unlimited knot holes, tight knots “C” Grade and burls; can have open defects • Not bookmatched • Mineral streaks and vine marks are acceptable *ANSI is a private, non-proﬁ t organization that administers and • No limit to pin knots and small burls coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity • Up to eight sound and repaired knots assessment system. • Up to four 3/16" x 8" blended repaired tapering hairline splits

composite material, veneer is sold as 4’ x 8' sheets, but many retailers specializing for novices may sell smaller sheets. Unlike solid wood, a large coverage area of veneer can be mail-ordered without excessive shipping and handling charges. Veneer is used to cover large surfaces where solid wood would be inappropriate because of its move- ment. Also because of its ﬂ exibility, veneer is used for irregular shapes or bent surfaces. Even though there are special tools for cutting veneer, it is easily cut with a razor blade knife. For large, ﬂ at surfaces, contact cement is usually used to glue the veneer to the substrate. For irregular shapes, a vacuum press will do the best job with yellow wood glue and if al- lowed to cure for several hours.

— Udo Schmidt is a contributing editor to Woodcraft Magazine.

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