Buy plywood

1. Scope of application

The area of use of plywood depends on the thickness, type, and grade of the sheets. In construction and any repair work, it is difficult to replace it when installing formwork, for wall, floor, and ceiling cladding, construction of various structures, overlaps, and partitions. The material is so versatile that it is widely used in mechanical engineering.

Plywood sheets are used for both base and finishing work. Furniture, interior decor, toys, packing boxes, cladding, various structures, design, construction – these are the areas where plywood is actively used.

2. Types

Thickness, wear resistance, and moisture resistance are the main criteria for different types of plywood sheets. When choosing the material, these characteristics are decisive since plywood of different types and grades is intended for different purposes.

FC plywood is glued wooden boards, mainly from hardwoods (alder, peeled birch, or a combination of heterogeneous veneer not more than 40 mm). The internal part of FC is exposed to moisture, which can cause the material to deform, delaminate, or curl when wet. This should be taken into account when using this type of plywood.

FC plywood is a suitable and affordable building material for repair work in dry rooms – floor installation (as a substrate under laminate and other coatings), walls, partitions, decor elements, packaging, etc. Thanks to the beautiful wood texture, sanded FC is successfully used in furniture production.

FSF plywood is the connection of several layers of veneer, which makes it thicker and significantly increases its strength. This makes the material more wear-resistant and less prone to mechanical damage. The product is made from birch or coniferous wood. During the manufacturing process, the sheets are treated with water-repellent and fire-resistant compounds. The material is actively used in external construction work, in conditions of high humidity, mechanical engineering, and production.

3. Environmental friendliness

The plywood sheet itself is environmentally friendly, as it is made from natural wood. Mainly these are hardwoods – birch, oak, alder, beech, linden, ash, poplar. The toxicity of the product depends on how toxic the glue used to bond the veneer is.

The most natural glue, which does not cause allergic reactions, is albumin-casein glue. If you need to buy plywood for making children’s toys, furniture for a nursery, or interior decoration, FBA is better. However, it should be noted that the material has low moisture resistance.

If carbamide resins are used to impregnate the layers, the environmental friendliness is slightly reduced, but the indicators of harmful substances remain within the norm. Silicate glue, which is non-toxic, is used in FC production. The environmental friendliness, as well as the moisture resistance and strength indicators of such plywood, are higher, which expands its scope of application.

FSF is a building material that uses phenol-formaldehyde glue. It is better to use this plywood for outdoor construction (finishing, roofing). The same applies to FOF, which is produced using formaldehyde resins. The least environmentally friendly product is FB, which contains phenol. Therefore, bakelite plywood is not recommended for residential premises.

4. Manufacturing technology

The production of plywood is quite a labor-intensive process. The manufacturing process goes through several stages. Carefully selected wood is pre-processed, and bark is removed from the logs. A sawing machine is used to cut the log. A rotary lathe is used to make the veneer. Then comes the drying stage, followed by veneer repair. After that, the raw material is checked with a scanner and a moisture meter. Only after the rejection of substandard sheets, gluing is carried out.

A finger joint is used for strong bonding – a groove and a protrusion are made on each sheet. The veneer layers are stacked perpendicular to each other, which increases the material’s strength.

Gluing is carried out in a special press under the action of high temperature and pressure. After drying, the sheets are cut on a machine.

To increase wear resistance, plywood can be laminated with a protective decorative film on one or both sides. If the material is to be used in areas with high humidity, it is better to buy plywood with double-sided lamination.