What is plywood

Minimalistyczny stolik kawowy ze sklejki brzozowej, styl japoński, meble ze sklejki, olejowany
Minimalistyczna komoda rtv ze sklejki brzozowej, styl japoński, meble ze sklejki
Minimalistyczna komoda rtv ze sklejki brzozowej, styl japoński, meble ze sklejki, kot
Minimalistyczna stolik ze sklejki brzozowej, styl japoński, meble ze sklejki
czym jest sklejka
Minimalistyczna stolik ze sklejki brzozowej, styl japoński, meble ze sklejki
Minimalistyczna stolik ze sklejki brzozowej, styl japoński, meble ze sklejki

What is plywood

Plywood without secrets

Many people mistakenly attribute plywood with wood-based materials such as OSB or chipboard. In this post you will see and learn what is plywood, what it is made from and where it can be used.

Plywood – what is it?

Plywood is a plate-shaped wood-based material composed from several thin layers of wood (veneers) glued crosswise along the grain. This normalises the properties of the material such as shrinkage and swelling. The finished board resembles solid wood with a unique grain thanks to machining around the edges. The cross-section of plywood is layered, and so an 18 mm thick board has approx. 13 layers. The most popular raw materials used for production are pine and birch. Our business activity is based on birch plywood, which performs well for the production of furniture for your homes. Plywood is graded according to the appearance of the surface on the basis of PN-EN 635-2. This standard sets out the general principles for classifying surfaces according to the number and size of the natural characteristics of wood as well as manufacturing defects. The class of plywood is determined based on the surface appearance, first the class of the right plane, then the left plane, e.g. I/II. According to the above standard, there are four classes. Of course, the higher the class, the worse the quality of the material. At OTOTO furniture, you can rest assured that we offer the highest quality with our class I/II plywood.

Already known in ancient times…

Plywood has a very long tradition, stretching back to ancient Egypt. Its remains were discovered by archaeologists in a sarcophagus under the Djoser pyramid. After that, this type of woodworking was unfortunately forgotten, and it was not used again until the mid-19th century when it saw a revival and found a wide application in the industry. In this way it was possible to quickly create large quantities of material. This allowed for an application in the automotive industry as well as in aircraft construction.

Plywood furniture is on-trend, yet timeless

The aspect of ‘solid wood’ gives plywood a tremendous advantage when it comes to making furniture or decorations. Each board is different and unique, just like the tree from which it is made. The incredibly rich grain of the boards, obtained from a single piece of veneer (slices), gives the furniture an ultra-natural look. Plywood furniture is characterised by robustness, stability, natural appearance and uniqueness – thanks to the characteristic structure of wood, there cannot be two pieces of furniture like that in the world.

Unlike MDF furniture, furniture made from plywood can be renewed and sanded with a thick layer of veneer on the outer surfaces. This solution guarantees a brand new look despite the passage of time. The outer plywood layer is about 1.5 mm thick, while classic veneered furniture has an outer layer thickness of only about 0.8 mm, which limits the possibilities of grinding and renovation.

Plywood is ECO!

Thanks to a special production process, plywood is considered eco-friendly. The energy process that takes place here is extremely efficient. Wood processing requires energy from the combustion of wood waste. Just 1m³ of wood, which is used to make plywood, can store more than one ton of CO2. In this way, we store carbon, which reduces the amount emitted into the atmosphere.

The design features of plywood make it a universal material used in many branches of industry, including very successfully in furnishing. There are some who think that the fashion for plywood began with the fascination with industrial interiors. Others say that it was promoted by Scandinavian design. In whatever way, it was promoted from construction to decoration, and it won our hearts by storm. And yet there’s nothing to be surprised at: plywood is effective (thanks to an interesting pattern of grains), practical and universal (suitable for walls, floors and furniture). It matches – in smaller or larger quantities – almost any style and room, adding extra cosiness and character to the interior.