Phenolic faced ply

[ian maybury]

Just for info. Today I found a local (Irish) source for a phenolic resin faced plywood which I'm hoping to use for extension tables for my saw, and for sub fence material. It looked promising enough to order a sheet anyway...

There's two versions, both are 18mm thick. One is flat and smooth finished in a brown phenolic resin with some sort of reinforcing fibre in it on both sides, but looked to use a slightly lower quality ply - it's used to make re-usable shuttering/casing moulds for structural concrete.

The second is used for truck beds, trailer floors and the like. It's apparently also used by trailer builders for wall panels and the like. It's a multi layer ply, almost like birch. The coating on one side is as above, while that on the back is embossed with a grid pattern to provide good footing grip.

It looks like it should be very stable, and hopefully it saws without issues too. Not expensive, actually a bit cheaper than birch ply.

It may well be old hat to you guys in the US (I've seen something like it mentioned before), but the fact that it's a generic and probably reasonably widely available material if you know what to ask for may be of assistance.

ian

PS My source don't have a website, but this came up in the UK for a quick search - except as usual for you guys there's probably a gazillion more versions available in the US :): http://www.winwood-products.com/eng/timber-products/mesh-plywood.htm

[Jim Andrew]

I rented forms of that stuff 30 years ago to pour my basement.

[michael case]

I used it for my router table215847

[Myk Rian]

Looks like nice plywood. I'm wondering if it will allow material to slide, if used as an outfeed table.
I use whats called MDO (medium density outdoor) signboard for many projects.

[Rob Fisher]

... I use whats called MDO (medium density outdoor) signboard for many projects.Medium Density Overlay. And yes it is a good product.

[ian maybury]

This if not the same looks identical to the material i found (the picture shows the textured side though), click the link to the top left to open the spec sheet: http://w3.upm-kymmene.com/upm/internet/wisaplywood.nsf/sp?Open&cid=wisawire

It's available patterned on one or both sides, and smooth on one or both sides. I got it patterned on one side because i want to use a sandwich construction for my infeed and rip tables, and expect the rough side will bond better with epoxy. (epoxy and phenolics get on well together)

There's actually numerous manufacturers of similar products, although since it's generically used for concrete shuttering and has been around for ages it seems likely that each variant is to a specific standard. That said there's it seems the usual cheaper Eastern versions, and 'proper' Finnish and US made birch and similar high quality ply based boards about, so maybe care is needed.

Sliding a sample smooth side down on a desk gives the impression that it's a good sliding surface. Smooth, but not slick.

I've a feeling that there's a family of these phenolic plywoods about, and that MDO is one - but that it has a slightly thinner coating than some others. There's also a HDO which is similar and used for concrete shuttering. What I have I don't know.

My main thought is regarding sawing the stuff up - hopefully it won't blunt blades. It should be fine, as best I can tell the fibre is cellulose.

ian