In order to better meet the demands of our clients, J. Gibson McIlvain has ventured in the past decade into new areas in addition to its long history of obtaining high-quality hardwood lumber. Along with softwoods, we have dabbled in millwork and decking. Perhaps many people are unaware that we also sell plywood. Although there are many places to buy standard plywood, we discovered that many of our prominent customers were having problems finding high-quality plywood sheets. And the core accounts for a large portion of what makes up a high-quality sheet of plywood.
MDF Plywood & Particle Board Plywood
Both MDF and particle board are composite materials, meaning that they are formed of small pieces of wood that are glued together to make a smooth, uniform substrate with consistent dimensions. As a result, they will be heavier and more sturdy than plywood with a solid wood core. The main component of MDF is sawdust, which results in a very sturdy but also heavy, millable substrate with exceedingly strong edges. In contrast, particle board is produced using larger wood fragments, which makes it lighter in weight and more prone to splintering than MDF.
If you’re seeking for premium screw-holding capabilities, neither choice would be the ideal. However, some fastener designs can assist in making up for that shortcoming. You won’t need to worry about screw-holding capacity as long as you use wide-thread screws made for use with particle board or MDF. Note that particle board goods are not currently available at J. Gibson McIlvain, however we do carry plywood with an MDF core.
Lumber Core Plywood
In order to produce a plywood panel with a lumber core, thick strips of Basswood or another species of hardwood are bonded together, and two face veneers – one cross grain – are then applied. When you look at the face, the result is a well-supported core and the overall visual blending of individual boards in the core. Each individual batten in the core is thick compared to the traditionally thin surface veneers which much plywood offers; normally, the battens of lumber core plywood make up around 66 percent of the panel’s thickness. Lumber core plywood provides rigidity that is needed for longer lengths when compared to other forms of plywood. This option enables for routed edges when they can’t be concealed, and is frequently used for bookshelves and other types of shelving as well as for various sorts of furniture.
Check out Part 2 to discover more about how the various plywood cores compare to one another.
