Hardwood plywood is one of the most widely used products for interior cabinet making and architectural millwork. Yet many in the industry dont know much about how hardwood plywood is manufactured.

And far too many are not aware of the proper handling techniques, or the best ways to stain and finish hardwood plywood. Other common misconception about hardwood plywood pertain to sheet size, veneer, the core and the grading of the panels.

We will go thru these issues one by one and try to clear up some of these once and for all.

How hardwood plywood is manufactured-
First a core is laid up to be ready for the hardwood face veneer. This core is usually Veneer core (VC) but can also be Medium Density Fiber Board (MDF) or Particle board (PBC) or even a solid Lumber Core (LC). nce the mill has the core they have to have face veneers ready to apply to the core. Usually thes eface veneers are not wide enough to cover the entire face of a 4' wide sheet so they use multiple pieces of narrow veneer and seam them so they will cover the entire face.
After the veneer is glued and pressed onto the core it goes ito a hot press that makes it flat and smooth, then the panel is sanded, graded and bundles into units. These hot preses are so hot that I have seen bundles of plywood arrive at our wharehouse in the winter that, when opened upa and handles we see that sheets in the middle of the unit are still warm from the press. Even after a 5-10 hrs truck ride in winter weather.

Handling Hardwod Plywood- One of the biggest mistakes I see with hardwood plywood is sanding through the face veneer. Domestic manufactured hardwood plywood has a very thin layer of hardwood veneer. So thin that is its very easy to sand right through it by accident. The Import hardwood plywood is even thinner yet. Some times the face veneer on Import Oak is so thin that the glue used to hold the veneer to the core actually seep through the veneer and makes the panel virtually un stainable.

Ideally plywood should be stored flat, not standing up leaning against a wall. To prevent the face venner from getting dirty and the sheets themselves from warping you should always keep a cover sheet on the top of the stack of hardwood plywood. This is especailly important with thin hardwood plywood like 1/8" and 1/4" thick sheets.

When building cabinets with hardwood plywood one common mistake is to use the factory edge as a straight edge. You should always trim the factory edge off the sheet to ensure that it is perfectly square and flat.

Many woodworkers complain that when using a DA sander (dual action) that it leaves swirls in the face veneer. This is usually more noticeable if you are using a coarse grit sandpaper. I would reccommend sanding hardwood plywood with the grain using 220 grit paper by hand. Most hardwood plywood face veneers do not need to be sanded with a DA sander with 80 grit paper.