FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Main Menu
Subscribe

In every issue you'll find...

  • Expert insights on techniques and principles
  • Unbiased tool reviews
  • Step-by-step details to master the job
  • Field-tested advice and know-how
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
  • Join
  • Log In
Main Menu Subscribe
How-To

Understanding Cabinet Plywood

Back in the old days, veneer-core plywood was your only choice. Not any longer.

By Scott Gibson Issue 120
Article Image

It’s no wonder that hardwood plywood long ago supplanted solid lumber as the material of choice for built-ins, cabinets and many kinds of furniture. More stable than solid wood and available in many grades and species, plywood is relatively economical. But if one sheet of rotary-cut plywood looks like another, what’s beneath the face veneer can be as different as maple and marzipan.

Most lumberyards stock veneer-core plywood, a cabinet staple for years. These panels are made by laying up layers, or plies, of wood so that the grain direction in each ply runs at right angles to the one next to it. Cross-grain construction is what gives plywood its strength and dimensional stability. Standard veneer-core plywood 3/4 in. thick consists of seven plies: two outer veneers, plus five hardwood or softwood plies between them.

A) MDF core is heavy and flat. Plywood with a core of medium-density fiberboard offers a smooth outer surface. It is about 25% heavier than veneer-core plywood.
B) Veneer-core plywood is strong and light. This 3/4-in. veneer-core plywood is made from five internal plies laid at right angles to each other plus two thin outer veneers.
C) Particleboard is another choice for an engineered core. A particleboard-core panel weighs roughly the same as MDF core, but it is slightly less expensive.
D) Combined-core plywood is a happy compromise. Two layers of MDF and a center of wood plies make for a smooth surface and a strong, flat panel.

Both face and back veneers are available in a variety of species, grades and cuts. A 4-ft. by 8-ft. sheet of veneer-core plywood typically weighs between 60 lb. and 70 lb. Rotary-cut face veneers in U.S.-made sheets are usually between 1/32 in. and 1/38 in. thick. In plywood that was made overseas, some face veneers may be 1/64 in. thick, sometimes less, a trend that makes the most of rare hardwoods but does not encourage a great deal of sanding.

As common as it might be, veneer-core plywood is only one option for cabinet work. Manufacturers also turn out a variety of panels with engineered-wood cores: medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, oriented strand board and even panels that combine engineered wood with solid-wood plies. What do you get with an engineered-wood core that you don’t get with veneer-core plywood? More weight, lower cost and a flatter panel, says Charles J. Dionisio of Connecticut Plywood Corporation, a distributor.

A 3/4-in. sheet of MDF-core plywood, for example, weighs about 100 lb., a big drawback if you’re hefting panels over a table saw by yourself. A particleboard-core panel is roughly the same. According to the Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association (www.hpva.org), an industry trade group, both MDF- and medium-density particleboard-core plywood show “excellent” flatness and surface uniformity, compared with only “fair” or “good” ratings for veneer-core panels. Dimensional stability, screw-holding and bending strength of MDF or particleboard panels, however, are rated as “good” or “fair,” compared with the “excellent” marks that veneer-core panels get. Plywood made with engineered-wood cores should cost somewhat less than comparable veneer-core panels.
One potential downside to using panels made with engineered-wood cores, according to Dionisio, is customer reaction. Even though engineered-core plywoods have some advantages over veneer-core panels, some people just don’t like the idea that the panels are not made from all natural wood. Among them may be chemically sensitive folks who react badly to the urea for-maldehyde adhesives used in plywood; the adhesives emit small amounts of formaldehyde as they cure. Rob Simonsen, a manager at Tumac Lumber (425-258-2217), a forest-products distributor in Everett, Washington, says this phenomenon is much less severe than it was a few years ago because of improved glues. However slight, formaldehyde levels are greater in engineered-wood core plywoods than in veneer-core panels, and higher in MDF than in particleboard.

A middle ground between veneer-core and MDF-core or particleboard-core panels is plywood that combines engineered materials with ordinary wood plies. These panels cost about the same as veneer-core plywood, and they are only slightly heavier. And, explains Steve King, vice president of marketing and sales at Washington-based Mt. Baker Plywood (800-822-5211), combination-core panels are helping to solve some pesky manufacturing problems. It’s hard to lay down a flat, uniform face veneer when interior plies have any surface defects in them. In some parts of the country, manufacturers are having an increasingly difficult time producing high-quality veneers for core plies (or, as King put it, getting a “smooth peel”). Veneer plies at the center of the panel give it strength; layers of MDF or particleboard just below the face and back veneers make it smooth and flat.

Doug Knight, customer-service manager at Columbia Forest Products (800-237-2428), a major plywood manufacturer, says the combined-core panels finish better than veneer-core plywood because there are no voids below the face veneer and no defects to telegraph to the top. At the same time, Knight says, plywood with particleboard or MDF cross-banding retains screw-holding advantages of veneer-core plywood.

Some shops have had trouble adjusting to combined-core panels, King says. Because edges are part MDF and part wood, they have a different porosity than straight veneer-core panels. That can disrupt established procedures for gluing on edgebands, for example. Combined-core panels, such as plywood with a straight MDF core, also can bulge slightly where screws are installed. But the real roadblock to wider use of combined-core plywood, King says, is simply a reluctance to try something new.

Former Fine Homebuilding senior editor Scott Gibson is now a freelance writer. Plywood courtesy of Mt. Baker Plywood

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers.

Sign Up

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

×
X
X

New Feature

Fine Homebuilding Forums

Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Up Next

Featured Story

Myron stands in a room under construction with text on screen saying Drywall Hanging the Ceiling Recap

Hang Drywall on the Ceiling the Right Way

Follow along as Myron explains how to make straight seams and accurate holes for electrical boxes when hanging ceilings.

Featured Video

Micro-Adjust Deck-Baluster Spacing for an Eye-Deceiving Layout

No math, no measuring—just a simple jig made from an elastic band is all you need to lay out a good-looking deck railing.

Related Stories

  • Webinar: Designing Outdoor Spaces

  • Airy and Bright Skylights

  • XPS Insulation With a Lower Climate Impact

  • Framing for Superinsulation

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Highlights

  • Fine Homebuilding All Access
  • Fine Homebuilding Podcast
  • Tool Tech

    Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

  • "I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

    Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

    Sign Up See all newsletters

Video

View All
  • Ben Bogie stands on a job site in front of a stick frame

    Framing for Superinsulation

  • Wall assembly student contest

    2nd Annual Wall-Assembly Contest Finals

  • Podcast 339: PRO TALK With Sandra Hyde of the ICC

    Podcast 339: PRO TALK With Sandra Hyde of the ICC

  • View of home under construction with hip roof

    Widow's Walk: An Inside Look at an Uncommon Roof Feature

View All

Lumber and Sheet Goods

View All
  • Hollow Reclaimed Pine

  • Weatherproof Laminated Lumber

  • Deliberately Repurposed Boards

  • types of decking

    Decking Options

View All

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • 2020 Fine Homebuilding Archive

    Buy Now
  • Code Check Building 4th Edition

    Buy Now
  • Musings of an Energy Nerd

    Buy Now
  • Fine Homebuilding Magazine Slipcase

    Buy Now
  • Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 298 - April/May 2021

    • Butt Boards for Smooth Ceilings
    • Help Installing Gutters
    • Safety Bucket
  • Issue 297 - Feb/Mar 2021

    • Foundations for Success
    • Staircase Renovation
    • Ditch the Hose
  • Issue 296 - Dec 2020/Jan 2021

    • Insulating Glass Keeps Getting Better
    • Simple Way to Make Old Walls Straight and Plumb
    • Making Sense of Minisplits
  • Issue 295 - Kitchens & Baths

    • Condo Kitchen Reimagined
    • Row-House Remodel
    • Rise of the IAQ Monitor
  • Issue 294 - Oct/Nov 2020

    • Schoolhouse Reimagined
    • Tool Test: Folding Sawhorses
    • A Better Way to Build Tall Walls

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Manage Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Account

  • Log In
  • Join

    Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

    Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

    All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

    Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

    More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • Customer Support

    Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Follow

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 52%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in