Oak plywood question

[Richard Holub]

Does anyone know what the layers inside a pannel of oak plywood are made off. I purchased 3/4" and 1/4" plywood and just curious about the strength of the material. The 1/4" oak ply had one smooth finished side with a somewhat dull back-face and the inside looked like luan.

[Frank Pellow]

Does anyone know what the layers inside a pannel of oak plywood are made off. I purchased 3/4" and 1/4" plywood and just curious about the strength of the material. The 1/4" oak ply had one smooth finished side with a somewhat dull back-face and the inside looked like luan.
I am quite sure that the inner layers on oak plywood vary. I just went out to my shop to check the various oak plywood scraps that I have on hand (from more than one supplier). There are deffinate differences. I can't tell you what wood was used for the interior layers, but in some the plywood the layers appear to softwood and in others they appear to be hardwood.

[tod evans]

most of what i get is a hodge podge like frank says.....when i don`t veneer baltic i`ve gone to veneered mdf at least it`s flat and consistant..02 tod

[Jeff Singleton]

I have seen the cores made of poplar, fir, luan, and jellutong ( white, soft, mahogany whatabe). The cheap plywood coming form China is about $30 per sheet at the big box stores but the problem is that the face veneer come delaminated and there are voids out the gazoo in the plys themselves. Stay with A-2 for any plywood that shows. Around NE Ohio some of the best stuff is coming out of Canada, it also cost about 25 bucks more a sheet.

Jeff Singleton
Singleton's Woodworking & Pattern Works:)

[Jim Becker]

It depends upon the type of plywood it is. With a "real" sheet goods distributor, you can even specify what you want in the core. At retail, such as with the 'borg...you get what was "economically available" to them when they made their wholesale purchase. Same goes for the faces. Much of the stuff in the 'borg is rotary cut (although I've seen other formats on occasion) and the B/C side may or may not be of the same species. Oak could be matched with luan as you observe. Maple with poplar. Etc.

[Steve Clardy]

As above, its about everything they have laying around that won't grade out for a face skin.
I stay with A-2, and a shop grade.

[John Keane]

Jim, what is a "rotary cut"?

[Steve Clardy]

Log is mounted on a huge lathe, then one big long sheet is cut off.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, what is a "rotary cut"?
It when they put a veneer log on what is somewhat like a lathe and just peel it from the outside until there is just a little stick left. The grain pattern is, umm...very different from boards with a pronounced cathederal figure in many species including oak. It's the least expensive way to harvest veneer and gives the greatest yield. Softwood plywood for construction is nearly always made this way and a good percentage of the hardwood plywood you'll find at the mass-marketers also uses rotary cut veneers. (Some exceptions...I had some maple ply from the HD awhile back...actually cheap stuff...that used sliced veneers. But the material was clearly factory rejects...resulting in a very low price)

Sliced veneers are preferable from an asthetics standpoint in most cases as they look like boards when pieced together to make the skin. In this case, the veneer is shaved off the log the same way you might resaw a thick board...just a lot thinner than you or I could likely do it. (A machine with a very sharp and long knife is used) Sliced veneers can also be made via quarter sawing to give you that "effect" without using solid stock.

Plywood made with sliced veneers is more expensive and special cuts, such as quarter-sawn veneers are pricier still. The good news is that you can buy just about anything you want in sheet goods if you deal with a plywood specific supplier (or one of their customers, such as a local cabinetmaker if you are a non-pro). Many thicknesses, species, veneer formats, core types, etc...