HARDWOOD PLYWOOD BUYING GUIDE

As you plan out the materials for your next BIG project, one of the options you should consider is hardwood plywood. This versatile material can be used to construct a variety of objects, including furniture, cabinets, and much more. Keep reading to find out more about the different types and grades of hardwood plywood Menards® carries.
Why Hardwood Plywood?
There are various benefits to using hardwood plywood, including the following:

• It’s an efficient and environmentally friendly material. Hardwood plywood is a natural product, and the manufacturing process makes better use of the material than the lumber manufacturing process.
• It has a beautiful grain and overall appearance. Like other types of wood, hardwood plywood has a natural beauty that’s sure to complement your existing décor.
• It’s strong and durable. Because of its construction, hardwood plywood is an incredibly strong material that’s sure to last for years.
  Face Cut

The face of a hardwood plywood panel is the higher-quality side that’s meant to be seen. In contrast, the back of the panel is typically lower quality. Some of the most common face cuts offered at Menards® are plain sliced, quarter sawn, and rotary cut.

• Plain Sliced (Flat Cut): This cut is characterized by its consistent cathedral grain pattern of numerous arches and upside-down Vs. This is the most popular type of face cut, as well as the most inexpensive cutting method.
• Rotary Cut: This type of cut is achieved by using a lathe (a machine that cuts the veneer from the log as it is rotated). Rotary cuts have a broad and wild grain pattern.
• Quarter Sawn (Cut): Quarter sawn cuts are made by striking a log at its growth rings, which are wood layers that accumulate at the bottom of a tree over a certain period of time. This cut simulates the appearance of quarter sawn solid lumber.
  Species
  There are various species of hardwood plywood. Here are a few of the most popular species offered at Menards®:
  Alder
  Birch
  Cherry
  Hickory
  Maple
  Poplar
  Red Oak
  Walnut
  Grades
  The grade of a panel represents the quality of the veneer on the face and back. Below is a basic rundown of the various grades of hardwood plywood veneers.

A: This grade of wood is in outstanding condition. It may have some knots and burls, but they don’t take away from the wood’s beauty.

B: This face grade allows more (and larger) burls and knots than A-grade wood, but it’s still in good condition. Some color variation is allowed.

C: This wood is smooth and sound, but it allows even more variations, knots, and burls than B-grade wood.

D: This face grade is free of open defects, but it may have some repaired defects. Despite this, it’s still considered to be in sound condition.
In summary, the lower the face grade, the more knots and defects are allowed in the wood grain.

You’ll likely come across some grades that are followed by a number. For example, you may notice that a panel is rated A1. While the letter A represents the face grade, the number 1 represents the back grade.
1: This is the highest back grade possible for hardwood plywood. It won’t have any large knots, but there may be some color variation and/or small, tight knots. Any and all worm holes are filled.
2: Use this grade when color isn’t a concern. Larger knots are allowed, but they do not exceed a diameter of 3/4″.
3: This back grade allows knot holes with a diameter of 1″, but it’s still considered to be in sound condition.
4: This back grade is not considered sound. It allows a vast amount of defects.

Core Types
The core is any substrate that has a wood veneer ply (face or back) applied to it with an adhesive. There are different types of cores, including medium-density fiberboard (MDF), veneer core, and pro-core.

Good: Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF): This is a stable engineered wood product made from wood fibers. MDF has a smooth, dense, and flat surface that’s free of voids, grain patterns, and knots. MDF cores are the best to use for thin applications, and they also work very well when the panels will be machined.

Better: Veneer Core (VC): Veneer cores are made by pressing the layers of core veneers into panel sheets in such a way that the layers are adjacent and the grain directions are sloping at a right angle to each other. Veneer cores are fairly light compared to other cores, but they’re incredibly strong. They also exhibit more variation in thickness.

Best: Pro-Core: Pro-core is made of a veneer core interior and MDF cross bands (plies in the panel that have a grain orientation at a right angle to the face and back of the veneer core). The lightweight veneer core interior offers versatility, and the MDF inner plies work well as a laminating surface because they are smooth, stable, and strong.