Master the use of this convenient and versatile material Working with solid wood is a joy in so many ways. When you see a minor defect, you have material thickness to sand, scrape and plane. But for larger case goods, such as cabinetry and bookcases, solid wood isn't always practical. Covering large expanses with solid lumber that has to be milled, edge-glued and planed can be very time-consuming and cumbersome. Sometimes quality, veneered sheet goods are the best option.
Choosing Plywood Sheet goods come in a wide variety of grades and surface types. Particleboard-core stock is less expensive, but has a number of disadvantages, such as excessive weight, less holding power for screws and higher glue content, which dulls tools faster. MDF-core stock is sometimes available, which is even heavier but very flat. My preference is veneer-core stock, which is made of alternating layers of less expensive wood, such as poplar. It holds screws well for hinges or other hardware, and it is much lighter than particleboard- and MDF-core stock. Ripping Plywood Some special techniques are necessary to rip plywood. While I normally use a rip blade for solid wood, it doesn't cut veneer-core plywood quite as well. Because every other layer in the core is actually a cross cut, a rip blade makes a ragged cut in those layers, preventing edging from adhering as tightly. A combination blade does the best job; it is the best compromise when you need to both rip and cross cut simultaneously. Remember that you can't use your jointer and planer with plywood, and that includes straightening edges before applying edging. MDF and particleboard cores will ruin your jointer knives in a hurry. Veneer-core stock will chip the knives on every end-grain layer, leaving a striped knife pattern on all your solid-wood stock afterward. Jointer and planer knives do not like end-grain. Having to get a near-perfect edge straight off a tablesaw is a tall order. But your best approach is to use a long auxiliary fence. Then choose an already straight or slightly concave edge to place against the fence to true up the opposite edge. As long as the fence is long enough, two points of a concave edge will make contact with the fence and still provide a straight travel path. Travel at a reasonable speed without stopping or any hesitation, and an accurate edge is possible. Don't forget the importance of a properly set splitter, both for accuracy and safety. Create even pressure on the board and edging using cauls Solid-Wood Edging Iron-on edging is certainly an option, but nothing beats solid-wood edging for longevity, wear resistance and beauty. Solid-wood edging allows me to rout a decorative edge on the panels without exposing the plywood core. It is vital to decide on routed profiles before choosing the size of the solid-wood edging material to ensure it will be wide enough to handle the profile. For example, if you plan to use a Roman ogee profile with a 3/8" distance from the router-bit bearing to the outside of the profile, make the edging at least 7/16" wide, but 1/2" is better. Your edging will, therefore, be 1/2" wide x 13/16" thick. For 3/4"-thick plywood, solid-wood edging should be 13/16" thick to give you something to trim on both sides of the plywood. Most 3/4"-thick plywood you buy is about 1/32" undersized, so that gives you an even wider margin for error. Glue the edging onto the straight, ripped front edges of all your panels, making sure that the edging stands proud of the panel on both sides. A clamping caul across the front of the narrow edging helps distribute the clamping pressure more evenly. I like to use my Pony #50 pipe clamps for this job, although this is a light-duty job that parallel jaw clamps can handle. Even other medium-strength clamps will do nicely. For edging that is the same thickness as the plywood panels, glue is sufficient, without any dowels, biscuits or other reinforcements. But for edging that is thicker (top to bottom) than the plywood, more reinforcement helps counteract increased leverage should someone bump into the bottom of the edging. Dowels and biscuits will do, although I find that a continuous spline is quick and easy. You can easily rout a 1/4"-wide x 1/2"-deep spline groove into the front edges of your panels with a slot cutter in a handheld router. The same groove can be routed in the rear side of the edging material, but don't forget to increase the distance of the groove from the top of the edging so that there is something to trim along the top later. The groove in the edging, which might be something like 11/2" wide at the glue-up stage, can be routed on a router table if you prefer. But the groove in the plywood edge should be routed with a handheld router so that the base follows the mild curves of the plywood faces. It's important to remember that plywood is rarely flat. Many a woodworker has come to realize this problem with sheet goods. However, placing a curved panel on a flat router table is a sure way to rout a spline groove that rises and falls relative to the top of the panel. TOP GRADE Plywood surface materials can vary from high-grade wood veneers to melamine. I use A-1 grade, which is readily available, for fine furniture. The front has A-grade veneers arranged in a flat-sawn, book-matched pattern. The 1-grade back is also high-quality, but will usually have rift-sawn veneers or something just a little less visually appealing. For less important projects, an A-2 grade might be available, which has a slightly lower-quality back. B-2, which has a lower-quality front as well, could still be adequate for many of your projects. A-4 grade is common for drawer bottoms and cabinet backs, for which only one side is visible. ********************************************************************** This message and its attachments may contain legally privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the e-mail. 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