When Was Plywood Invented? A Brief History

Plywood has been around for centuries, but the way its constructed has changed significantly over the years. The earliest records of plywood being used/invented was in 2600 BC by the ancient Egyptians. The manufacturing process of this type of plywood was similar to the material we use today. But, as expected, significant advancements have been made within the global plywood industry to invent the wooden wonder we know today.

Keep reading to learn when was plywood invented, how it was used, and who invented it in this brief history of plywood.

When Was Plywood Invented?

Plywood was originally invented by the ancient Egyptians back in 2600 BC. The construction process is also depicted on carvings, murals, and pictorials in Thebes, Greece. The scribing’s describe wood being stripped into thin veneer sheets and glued together tightly to form strong, durable building materials.

Despite the technique being used in ancient Egypt, plywood wasn’t widely recognized until 1797, when British mechanical engineer, Samuel Bentham, made an application to patent the wood product. His patent outlined the process of gluing laminate wood panels together to create a thick plank, mostly intended for shipbuilding.

After this, plywood wasn’t used industrially or at scale until the 1850s, when Swedish engineer and architect, Immanuel Nobel, found that bonding the layers provided even more strength and durability. By the 1900s, this type of plywood had fully established itself in the US and became widely available in 1928 as a general building material.

From this point onwards, plywood was one of the most common wood products found in the construction of furniture (like chairs, tables, chests, and cabinets), and other construction projects (like tunnels and buildings).

Was Plywood Used in Antique Furniture?

For centuries, plywood was not used in antique furniture. Originally, it was used for general construction, boat building, and the development of London’s first underground railway. During this time, antique furniture was mostly made from mahogany, walnut, and oak. It wasn’t until the 1800s that plywood started being used for antique furniture. But, even then, entire pieces were not made from plywood, merely sections of it.

The first recorded entry of plywood being used for antique furniture was in the original design of the Belter Chair, designed and manufactured by John Henry Belter in 1850. These chairs were made using molded plywood and other materials. 

Belter pioneered the use of plywood in his furniture. Because the material was produced as a flat board with a smooth surface, it was cheap and easy to fit onto the backs of chairs. This enabled faster and cheaper production, which grew the chair’s popularity.

Centuries later, in 1932, the Paimio armchair, a curved, slanted chair design, came to fruition, made entirely of plywood. This came at a time when plywood manufacturing progressed to creating curved, flexible sheets. The antique design grew increasingly popular, particularly in the US and UK, as a symbol of modern construction and the new machine age.

What Did They Use Before Plywood?

Before plywood was used for the construction of antique furniture, subfloors, houses, and ships, a variety of other solid wood materials were used. Generally, these woods were more costly to source, manufacture, and construct into the designs of household products. So, when plywood was invented, it became the norm to use these wood veneer sheets instead.

Here’s a summary of what items were made of before plywood panels were invented.

Item	What Did They Use Before Plywood?
Furniture Designs	Oak, Mahogany, Walnut
Ships/Boat Building	Ash, Elm, Pine, Oak
Subfloors	Concrete, Stone, Clay, Timber Strips
Residential Construction	Lumber

Who Invented Plywood?

Technically, the Egyptians invented plywood back in 2600 BC, when they started using the technique of gluing thin layers of veneer wood together to form strong, sturdy sheets. Early reports of plywood manufacturing also appear on scribing’s in Thebes, Greece, by the ancient Greeks.

However, the plywood we know and use today is significantly different from that found in early woodwork. The process of manufacturing plywood wasn’t patented until the late 1700s in Britain by Samuel Bentham. A mere 50 years later, Immanuel Nobel in Sweden progressed construction from gluing sheets to bonding them for added strength. 

By the 1800s, plywood manufacturing had begun at scale. The modern material spread across the US, UK, and the rest of the globe, with adjustments being made until the late 1900s by engineers in Russia, the US, Germany, and Finland.

By 1933, the American Plywood Association (APA) was formed, which led to improvements in adhesives and technology. Eventually, the APA opened supply lines of different types of plywood, including softwood species, oriented strand board (OSB), marine plywood, exterior plywood, and panels made from Southern pine and other wood species.

How is Plywood Made?

Today, plywood is a highly versatile wood product constructed in a factory setting at an industrial scale. As a standard, plywood is made from gluing thin laminated wood ply (stripped wood) and compressing the materials tightly together. Its construction varies slightly depending on the type of wood used, the grade (quality) of the wood, and the bonding adhesive. 

The construction of plywood step-by-step includes the following 15 stages:

1. Sourcing wood sustainably from forests
2. Transporting logs from the forest to the mill
3. Storing logs in a “log pond” to retain moisture
4. Debarking the wood in mill machines
5. Cutting the logs to size
6. Peeling the logs in a rotary lathe to create thin sheets
7. Cutting the sheets to size
8. Drying the veneer sheets in industrial dryers
9. Repairing defects created by the mill machines, as required
10. Layering and gluing of sheets using an automatic glue spreader
11. Cold pressing the sheets tightly together
12. Hot pressing the sheets together
13. Trimming and sanding the boards and edges
14. Assessing the sheets against the required standards
15. Packing the sheets ready for delivery

Most US and European plywood manufacturers follow the steps outlined to make general building plywood materials. The only differences in the construction process will be the cutting of sheets to varying sizes, the use of glue (like a fully waterproof adhesive or general glue), and the number of plywood sheets used to create varying plywood thickness and weight.