Making Furniture? You Need CARB Plywood!
When you normally think of plywood, the thing that usually comes to mind is a piece of what appears to be stuck together wood confetti. It may be curved and soaked and, in short, rather gross.
Maybe you only use it to cover holes in the floor that you can't attend to right that second or something of that nature
But what you may not realize is that plywood actually has a lot more depth to itliterally! Plywood isn't always as flimsy as you may think. It also isn't nearly as unusable. In fact, there is quite a bit to plywood that you may have never fathomed!
In fact, CARB plywood is a type of plywood that is actually considered furniture grade. But what does this mean for you?
First of all, you need to understand how furniture grade or CARB plywood is made. It doesn't start with pieces of wood confettinot by any means. In fact, it starts with a regular old log.
CARB plywood is generally hardwood, so the log that you would be starting with would most likely be oak or maple or another hardwood. However, there are also a few kinds of tropical hardwood, such as Lauan or Philippine mahogany.
That aside, the log that is used in the making of plywood of all kinds is not your regular log. It is normally a log that is too big to be run through the sawmillmeaning that you have two choices. One is to leave it where it is to rot and potentially become a hazardor you can use it in plywood.
When turning a log from, well, log to plywood, you first need to understand that it isn't just randomly cut into layers, or run through a wood chipper and then thrown together with glue. It actually is peeled, sort of like an orange, layer by layer.
Once you have enough layers, they are laid flat and glued together. Each piece is placed so that its grain is perpendicular to the pieces that it is beside.
After that, it is baked for a length of time in monstrously hot ovens. Then, you have plywood!
Keep in mind that just because plywood is CARB certified and furniture grade doesn't mean that you just have to use it in furniture. As a matter of fact, you may find that you are able to use it in a great number of other projects.
Keep in mind that if you choose to finish your plywood that you do not use something that will compromise the integrity of the glue and cause it to fail. By doing this, you risk the structure of whatever you made with the plywood collapsing.
Also, you can find plywood of better grades a lot easier online. The access to better quality plywood is only a click away in many cases.
Remember that furniture grade plywood is not marine grade. This means that it should not be submerged (and neither should marine grade) and cannot withstand high moisture levels.
Patriot Timber Products International, Inc. is committed to finding a wide range of wood products that meet the varied needs of our customers. Wholesalers, architects, specialty manufacturers and furniture companies know we offer consistent quality and availability of the world's most beautiful Imported Hardwoods, plywood underlayment and panel products.
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