A review of hardwood plywood

f.l nnOWOOD plywood is both I I the beauty queen and the workhorse of the wood products manufacturer and home construction markets. For every beautiful pre-finished wall panel or lovely cabinef on display, there is an unseen utilitarian fan-el providing strengrh and durability.

veneers and plywood date back to early Egypt. Overlaid and inlaid furniture removed from the sealed tombs revealed plywood. The Greeks and Romans alsb'used plywood. The first industry to utili2e plywood, according to _historians, was the piano industry in 1830.

Story at a glance

Hardwood plywood panets fill needs of manufacturing and home construction industries . beauty, strength, durability panels, cunres, cut-to-size . over 100 commercial species.

With the patent in 1840 of the veneer cutting lathe and the veneer slicer in the second hatf of the lgth century, plywood became important in the manufacture of sewing machines, chairs, organs, desk tofis and furniture. Plywood paneled'doors were first made in 1890. The standardized stock_ panel came into being in the earlv 1900s.

Today irobably over gOVo of all wood household and office furniture is made from hardwood plywood. In home construction, exteiior sidine. interior wall panels, kitchen aid bathroom cabinets, laminated block flooring, and flush doors all use hardwood plywood. More than 33Zo of the decorative wall coverings applied today are pre-finished hard-wood panels.

. Ttte transportation industry uses hardwood plywood in mobile'homes and travel trailers as well as boats and aircraft. Store fixtures, millwork. and cabinets also are principle uses. Consumer goods such as spois equipment, musical instruments, luggage, and.toys-, consume a good percentage of the plywood in thEir components. The casket industry also is a major user.

-Hardwood plywood derives much ot its strength from its construction or composition of inner plies or layers-._ The layers of wood, always an odd number, are ioined tosether with an adhesive under preisure. Usually the grain directiori of each layer or ply is at right angles to the grain of the adjacent ply or plies.

Although there are a number of core constructions available faced with hardwood veneers, the most common are the veneer core, the (Please turn to page 76)