Hardwood Plywood

Hardwood plywood is made out of wood from angiosperm trees and used for demanding end uses. Hardwood plywood is characterized by its excellent strength, stiffness and resistance to creep. It has a high planar shear strength and impact resistance, which make it especially suitable for heavy-duty floor and wall structures. Oriented plywood construction has a high wheel-carrying capacity. Hardwood plywood has excellent surface hardness, and damage- and wear-resistance.

Most Popular Types of Hardwood Plywood

1) MDF (Medium Density Fiber Core) has a core made of wood dust mixed with a binding agent then heat pressed. The end result is a sturdy, resilient, and workable material. The upsides of MDF is it never splinters, maintains a smooth surface, resists warping and holds screws in place well. The downside of MDF is that a sheet of it weighs 70 to 100 pounds.

2) PBC (Particleboard Core) is similar to MDF as it is made the same by binding wood pieces with glue instead of wood dust as does MDF. It also is heat pressed for a smooth, solid material. Its uses are almost exactly the same as MDF such as uses for cabinet making and carpentry work. The only difference between the two is the components the two are made of makes the PBC more lightweight. This makes PBC more favorable among most contractors.

3) HDP (High Density Plywood) has many positive attributes but the main reason it is chosen over the others is its strength due to its many layers. It contains up to nine layers of directional hardwood veneer. HDP is used for building high quality, sound cabinetry that may contain very heavy contents.

4) VC (Veneer Core ) consists of three layers of veneer with staggered grain at right angles for a structure that otherwise would break easily if grain were running with each other. To provide more strength, these layers are glued together. VC is used to build cabinets, furniture, as well as counter tops and tabletops.

5) Calibrated Core/Platform is used when precision is a must. It's inner ply will only vary .005 inch, which dictates its measured perfection at any location across the board. Calibrated core is used on the most upscale cabinetry and furniture that cannot tolerate differences in thickness.