Plywood and laminated wood are both made from layers (laminae) of wood glued together the essential difference is that in plywood the grain of alternate layers is crossed generally at right angles whereas in laminated wood it’s parallel the event of those products (as well as particle board described within the next section) was made possible by the assembly of improved adhesives—especially synthetic resins—in the 1930s and ’40s
Plywood
Plywood may be a panel product manufactured by gluing one or more veneers to each side of a central veneer layer or a lumber-strip core. Most plywood is all-veneer; lumber-core plywood is produced only in small quantities. Lumber cores are made by the lateral gluing of strips of woodIn both plywood products the species and grain direction of every layer are matched with those of its counterpart on the opposite side of the central layer. Consequently the entire number of layers is typically odd (three the exception being when the central veneer layer consists of two sheets glued along side their grains parallel.
Phenol-formaldehyde resin can produce joints more durable than the natural wood itself—highly immune to weather microorganisms cold water boiling water seawater (“marine” plywood) and dry heat.
Plywood has many advantages over natural wood; among them are dimensional stability (the primary advantage) uniformity of strength resistance to splitting panel form and ornamental value. Plywood (and the panel products particleboard and fibreboard) serve in building construction including walls and doors; exterior siding and interior finishing (e wall panelling); furniture; shelving; shipbuilding;automobile manufacture; refrigeration cars; toys; concrete formwork; and lots of other applications.
Molded plywood is formed by bending and gluing veneer sheets in one operation; the method employs curved forms during a press or fluid pressure applied with a versatile “bag”. Some panels of special construction are overlaid with aluminum or reinforced plastics; others are made with hollow cores (parallel or crossed wooden strips planer shavings undulating veneer honeycomb paperboard. Many of those products aren’t plywood by definition because they lack the characteristic crossing of wood grain in alternate layers. The main products are load-carrying members like beams and arches. The individual boards utilized in laminated wood due to their relative thinness are often properly dried on faith (cracking) and defects like knots are often removed. Sources of particles include residues from sawmills (including sawdust) and other wood-using industries small-diameter roundwood defective logs and harvesting residues. Particle production or delivery to the factory is followed by screening classification of particles mixing with resin adhesive and such additives as water repellents and preservatives board formation there’s a gradual symmetrical reduction of particle size from the centre of a board to its surface layers. Perpendicular arrangement of particle grain exists only in so-called extruded boards, made up of endless supply of particles and simultaneous pressing; the continual product is sectioned to desired lengths because it exits a special press. Variation in such characteristics as particle morphology and arrangement, method of production, board thickness (2–40 mm [about 0.08–1.6 inches]), presence of perforations, and sort and amount of adhesive allow the assembly of particleboards with different properties. they’re classified as low-density (used for insulation), medium-density, and high-density. Low- and high-density boards are rare.
Particleboard is formed for interior use (for example, for furniture, paneling, and doors) or for structural purposes (to support loads). Interior-type boards are usually overlaid with veneer or laminate (such as melamine). Waferboard is formed with large, nearly square flakes, whereas OSB may be a three-layer product during which the particles (strands) of surface layers are parallel to the direction of panel production and people of the center layer are crosswise. Both products are used as non veneered panels.
Strands also are employed in ensuring structural, lumber-type products—parallel structural lumber (PSL), laminated strand lumber (LSL), and oriented strand lumber (OSL). PSL, or paralam, is produced from oriented long strands of veneer, LSL from shorter strands, and OSL from strands almost like those in OSB. Another structural product, made from thin lumber and veneer and called lumber-veneer-lumber (LVL), is employed to supply a spread of I-beam products together with OSB.
In addition to being produced in its flat-board form, particleboard is usually molded under high and temperature to varied shapes. Some sorts of particleboard are consolidated with mineral binders, like cement or gypsum, instead of synthetic resins; the wood during this product is typically within the sort of excelsior (long, thin ribbons), although particles can also be used.
Fibreboard
The panel product fibreboard is formed of wood fibres. (In the pulp, paper, and fibreboard industry fibre refers to all or any cells of wood and isn’t limited to the precise cell type found in hardwoods. A resin adhesive isn’t always utilized in fibreboard manufacture; in some cases the boards are held together by physical forces (hydrogen bonding), the flow of the natural lignin present among the fibres, or interweaving of the fibres. As within the case of particleboard, residues and wood of inferiority are often used, and bark is typically tolerated.