Formaldehyde Emission from Plywood Products

formaldehyde, chemistry, element

Formaldehyde is a naturally-occurring, pungent, colorless, small organic compound. It is produced by natural metabolic processes in humans and animals alike, free-standing timber, natural decay and decomposition via combustion. Formaldehyde has received additional attention recently as the World Health Organization (WHO) has reclassified this material as a carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer). That reclassification … Read more

Cutting Curved Pieces in Plywood

curve, whacky wood, birch, bending face

There are myriad reasons that require the cutting of a curve for the home do-it-yourselfer in a piece of wood, plywood or drywall. The prospect of cutting such a curve can pose a daunting challenge to novice and expert DIY’ers alike. However, with the right tools and knowhow, cutting curves needn’t cause a panic attack. … Read more

Categories DIY

Dealing with Wet and Warped Plywood

bent, warped, bowed, wood, sheets, brown

One of the many advantages of working with plywood comes from its inherent dimensional stability. Since the composition of plywood consists of layers of alternating grain direction, any negative effects of wet plywood tend to cancel each other and the board remains, for the most part, straight and level. However, extreme cases of saturation or … Read more

Making Long Cuts in Plywood: Straight and Angled

plywood, wood, cut

One of the benefits with using plywood sheets is their size—dimensions of plywood in the US normally come in 4’ x 8’ sheets (125 x 250 cm metric). For larger-scale projects with significant surface area to cover such as roofs and subflooring, plywood sheets make quick work of covering these large areas. The size of … Read more

Categories DIY