Amfab Design - Blogs

If you are planning to renovate your home and to have some furniture to order, then there are some words that you should be well versed with. It is always good that you are acquainted with real interior design technical words so to say your carpenter would not be able to take advantage of you.

You must have seen wood in various forms at the carpenter’s workshop or at your own house when you were renovating your house.

The wood that looked as if some layers were bound together and used to make furniture, especially wardrobe and kitchen cabinets is called ply or plywood. It is your best companion in making interior furniture.

What is ply?

Plywood is the most commonly used option today and it is quite essential to know about plywood before using them.

Let us find out what goes into making a ply. Ply or plywood is a term used for a product that is made by gluing together thin sheets of wood. Thin sheets of wood are stuck together to obtain plywood of uniform thickness.

In simple terms, thin layers of wood of a particular size are bound together to obtain a sheet of wood of good thickness. Each layer is called the veneer.

The veneers are usually made from different woods such as teak, spruce, birch, etc. Usually, veneers are obtained from good quality wood.

The number of veneers selected is usually in odd numbers, like 3, 5, 7, etc. Such kinds of plies balance the sheet and ensure that there is no warping. Plywood is used extensively in the wood industry.

Today, most of the home décor and home furniture are made by using plywood. An advantage of plies is that they are cheap, can be recycled, and are flexible. Thus they can be used to make many products. Also since plies can be locally manufactured, it is easy to get.

Carpenters and interior designers prefer plywood over plain wood because, unlike plain wood, plywood is durable and doesn’t shrink, crack, warp, twist in the long run. Of course, it also lasts for a long time.

The manufacturing process of ply:

If you thought making a ply is easier and that it just needs some layers of wood and a good quality adhesive to stick them together, then you are right in some ways but wrong in many ways. Though the process of making a ply sounds easier, it is not that simple. At least 14 to 15 steps of processes go into making a sturdy ply.

The transformation from an uneven, hard tree wood to smooth looking, even and sturdy piece of ply is a long one. The process of how plywood is manufactured is really interesting.

Here are the steps that transform the ordinary wood to a good looking ply:

Ward blocking:

The logs of wood are removed and cut according to the size required. This process is known as ward blocking.

Cooking:

This process is called so because the woodcut is exposed to a pre-set temperature of about 60-80 degrees.
It might take 12 hours or so for the cooking process to be completed. This is done to remove starch and also to eliminate microscopic organisms present in the wood.
Because if the organisms are not killed, then, they might attack the resultant ply and thus damage it.

Peeling:

It is just what the name suggests. The log after being cooked is peeled as per the thickness required. It is done with the help of a peeling machine.

Reeling:

Now the wood can be called veneer. It is subsequently reeled.

Clipping:

The veneer is clipped as per the dimensions required.

Drying:

The veneer is now dried at a certain temperature. The aim of this step is to remove all moisture content and also to kill any residue microorganisms. This step is very important because any veneer containing moisture is unsuitable to make a ply.

Resin:

This step can also be called the gluing process. This is also an important and most essential part of the manufacturing process because correct gluing is the secret to a strong ply. Most companies prefer to produce resin in-house to ensure maximum quality.

The veneers are glued and perfected so as to ensure strength and dimensional stability.

Testing:

The plywood just made is tested in laboratories for any defects.

Pressing:

There are usually two press methods, one is the pre-press method, and second, the hot press. The pre-press process helps to expand and stabilize each layer to ensure that the product is warp-free. The hot press process is to make certain that the ply is of uniform density at all levels and points.

After undergoing both these steps, the ply is allowed to cool for 24 hours.

Cutting and trimming:

It is essential that the ply has dimensional accuracy. That is why this process is done very carefully.

Sanding:

This step provides an even surface to the ply