Plywood for furniture

[tsb]

Hi, I've seen in mags and showrooms, furniture made out of ply, where the manufacturer, have used the different layers of wood (in the ply) as a design feature. I'd like to make a kitchen using this ply but have no idea which ply it is. Its definitely not the normal everyday ply you find in all the wood yards for flooring or roofing etc. as it has a very distinctive layering of pale wood, dark wood,pale wood, dark wood etc. all evenly spaced. Does anyone know what I'm looking for and what it might be called?

 

[Symptoms]

tsb - it's usually birch ply. The grading is based on the condition of the surface faces. Grade A being almost perfect surfaces; B - very few defects; BB - slight defects to both faces; CC - just down from BB; WG - colour streaks, etc. usually used as the balancing veneer.

Remember that you can also get veneered boards; oak, ash, pine, steamed beech, white beech, cherry, maple, as well as the Far East & Brazilian hardwood ply.

 

[big-all]

could also be be laminated layers if its curved furniture where unlike ply the layers are all in line
unlike ply where the layers are rotated throught 90% for equal strength in all directions

http://www.cabinetmaking.co.uk/laminating.htm

 

[Jasonb]

As Symptoms says if you are making it yourself then you need a good quality birch throughout ply not (birch faced). You will also need something decent to cut it with if you are to avoid splintering the edge or cut oversize and trim with a router

A lot of the lower priced stuff that you have seen is likely to be a birch veneered board or birch grain MFC with a decorative edge banding that makes it look like the edge grain of ply which is available in widths upto 50mm.

Jason

 

[tsb]

Thanks for the replys. My next question is does any one know where I can go and buy 'A' quality ply or veneered sheets of 8x4 , of the shelf, in the lancashire area.

 

[Symptoms]

tsb - don't know about decent timber merchants 'Up North' but you're unlikely to get this stuff in you're local builder's merchant or wood shop. It really needs to be a proper timber merchant; if you're near a port look for a timber importer with a wharf and give them a ring. Buying a lot and they may supply you or give you the number of their locals.

The stuff big-all was refering to is:
"1.5mm ply stapled/glued onto frame (you'd have to order this stuff) - really flexy
5mm or 8mm cross grained ply - curves along the short dimension of a sheet
5mm or 8mm long grain ply - curves along the longer dimension of a sheet"

this is a cut & paste from part of a reply of mine to an earlier poster