Plywood is an engineered wood product, this wood panel made by pressing and binding sheets of wood veneer together into one solid piece. Plywood comes not only in different thicknesses but also in different grades, so you can choose the right one for your project.

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Advantages of plywood

• Made from multiple layers of wood veneer, plywood is a very strong material to work with.

• It won’t soak up water and liquids as quickly or easily as MDF does so it’s less susceptible to water damage.

• Because it carries a grain, plywood is stainable. Which makes it perfect for kitchen cabinets, table tops and other projects where you want a large stained wood surface.

• It holds screws very tightly since the varying grains of wood on each layer give the screws something to hold onto.

Disadvantages of plywood

• Plywood is more expensive than MDF and of course, the higher the grade and depending on the species of wood, it can increase in price.

• Because of the layers that show on the edge, plywood needs finishing with iron-on edge banding, pieces of timber or decorative mouldings.

• It’s harder to get a perfectly smooth cut with plywood than it is with MDF.

• It’s more difficult to cut detailed designs into plywood (scrolled, scalloped, etc.) because the edges will splinter and the edges that show layers may have voids in some places.

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