Engineered wood products have been around for several generations, and the manufacturing process of these products has dramatically improved at a rapid clip. Two popular types of engineered wood products (EWPs) are plywood and block boards, and often, many beginners in woodworking confuse block boards with plywood. If you want to dabble in woodworking for the first time and use any of these two engineered wood products, it will be best to know the difference between these two EWPs.
Plywood and block boards are both used for furniture making and home decorations. Besides, many manufacturers often suggest that both EWPs can be all-purpose materials, so homeowners often get confused when choosing between these two EWPs. Yet, plywood and block boards are distinct, and knowing the difference between these two engineered wood products can help you select the most suitable material for your projects.
How Are Plywood and Block Board Manufactured?
To give outsiders an inside look into how plywood and block board get manufactured, let us take a closer look into the manufacturing processes of these two engineered wood products. On the one hand, manufacturers of blockboard make use of veneers and softwood strips to make blockboard. The softwood strips get positioned edge to edge. Then, they get sandwiched between two veneers and glued together under high or intense pressure.
Blockboards get often used for making wardrobe doors partition walls, doors, and paneling. They usually get utilized when there is a need for a lengthy wood piece to make furniture stiffer, preventing it from bending.
On the other hand, the manufacturing process of plywood starts with the selection of logs. Manufacturers carefully identify and segregate logs based on quality and species. The reason is to zero in on the logs that could produce veneers characterized by pleasing aesthetics and physical features.
The commonly used softwoods and hardwoods for this application are Maple, Ash, Mahogany, Pine, Cedar, Douglas Fir, and Spruce. Then, these logs are conditioned, cut, and debarked.
A rotary lathe machine peels the logs, reducing them into thin veneers. Then, they dry the veneers; afterward, they are composed into sheets of 4x8s. At this point, they get segregated into the back, core, and face veneers.
Once properly composed, they bond with adhesives using a mechanical glue spreader. Each veneer sheet gets bonded in an odd-numbered scheme. Afterward, the composed panels get pre-pressed at ambient temperature in a cold press using controlled hydraulic pressure. After that, the pre-pressed panels undergo a hot press process.
Properties of Plywood and Blockboard
Plywood has different properties than blockboards. First, it is less vulnerable to water damage and is more resistant to cracking than blockboard. It got uniform features throughout its breadth and length. You can also lacquer, paint, veneer, or laminate plywood with ease. Nevertheless, long plywood pieces might bend at the center. Besides, it might splinter badly when you cut it with a regular saw blade; you will need specially designed blades with a thin kerf with higher TPI to fine-cut the plywood without splinter.
On the other hand, a blockboard is more susceptible to water damage because it tends to retain moisture. It also has a stiffer feature than plywood. Besides, it is less receptive to bending and more stable dimensionally. Moreover, it will crack with ease or split when you cut it.
It is lighter compared to plywood because it gets made of softwood strips. So, it is easier to work with a blockboard than plywood. It also comes in several finishes, like wood veneers, plastic laminates, and many more. You can also polish or paint it.
Material and Made
Plywood gets wrought in sheet material made of plies or thin layers of glued wood. As mentioned above, the logs are carefully selected and undergo manufacturing processes to produce veneers and plies. The plies might be made of marine plies or commercial plies.
On the other hand, the blockboard has a core made of wooden strips, positioned edge to edge, sandwiched between two plywood layers, and bonded under high pressure by adhesives. Blockboards get generally made of softwood.
Dimensions and Costs
Plywood is heavy and may weigh around 2.5 pounds per square foot. This means the 4’x8’ plywood sheet might weigh approximately 80 pounds. Plywood has several dimensions, but the common sizes are 5’x5’ and 4’x8’. Standard sheets are usually 1/2″ thick, while the non-standard sheets may range from 3/4″ to 1/8″.
Blockboards come in various dimensions, likewise. You will commonly find dimensions of 8ftx 4ft, 7ftx4ft, 7ftx3ft, 6ftx4ft, and 6ftx3ft. They also come in several thicknesses of 50mm, 35mm, 25mm, 19mm, and 16mm.
Weight of Plywood and Block Board
As mentioned above, the blockboard often gets wrought in softwood. As such, it is lighter than plywood. Its weight, however, depends on which wood strips get utilized for its core. However, in general, they have less weight and density than plywood.
The plywood’s weight depends on the wood used to make it. Its plies may be made of softwood or hardwood. So, if it gets made of hardwood, it is heavier. But plywood is generally heavier than blockboard. It weighs around 2.5 pounds per square foot, which means a 4×8 plywood sheet weighs approximately 80 pounds.
Durability and Strength
Plywood gets mostly wrought in hardwood veneers arranged uniformly in a cross-layered pattern, meaning it is more robust than blockboard. Besides, even if plywood has low density, it can still handle moderate loads. Plus, the layers of plywood are uniform in the same direction with no gaps, making them more durable and stronger than blockboards.
On the other hand, blockboards are often made of softwood core with low density and strength. Thus, they are less durable than plywood. Besides, they may look solid outside, but you will find minor gaps within their cores, which can compromise their integrity and strength. As such, they are less durable and robust than plywood.
Applications and Uses
Plywood and blockboards come with varying applications. Plywood (MR grade) gets used for interior design works like making cabinets, TV stands, wardrobes, chairs, and sofas. You can also use marine plywood for areas exposed to moisture, like the kitchen and bathroom.
On the other hand, you can use a blockboard for making lengthy bookshelves, tables, wall panels, and doors. It gets preferred for applications requiring long wood pieces like furniture, benches, long tables, partitions, and panels.
Plywood, however, is often used for making the home and office furniture pieces. But they are susceptible to sagging if used for long-spanning components. So, a blockboard is often preferred for long-spanning parts because it is stiffer and less susceptible to bending. It is also lightweight and is more often utilized extensively for making exterior and interior doors.
Resistance to Moisture
Plywood comes in various grades. Exterior grade plywood and Marine plywood can resist water more than the other plywood grades. As such, they get often used in areas exposed to moisture. Marine ply (710 grade) and BWR (303 grade) are far better than blockboards in resisting water.
Blockboard tends to retain moisture more; thus, it is prone to damage due to water. You can use blockboards that make use of BWP Grade resin because these blockboards are more resistant to moisture.
Maintenance Required
Blockboard and plywood are durable, and you can clean them with ease. However, it will help if you do not expose them to water, for water and moisture may damage them unless they are Marine grade plywood. Hence, both engineered woods are relatively easy to maintain.
Levels of Workability of Block Board Vs Plywood
Given a choice between blockboard and plywood, you must know the levels of workability of both engineered wood to decide wisely between these two engineered wood types:
Bending and Sagging
As mentioned above, the blockboard is stiffer and is not susceptible to bending when utilized for long-spanning applications. Thus, it gets preferred over plywood for furniture and panels with long-spanning parts.
Screw Holding Capacity
Blockboards can hold screws well compared to MDF and particle boards. Thus, they get often used for making custom-made home and office furniture. Besides, they often get utilized in flush doors as cores that necessitate excellent holding capacity of screws.
Thus, the blockboard’s screw-holding strength is weaker than the plywood. Yet, blockboards also have gaps in their cores. You might not notice these gaps if you’re not a skilled woodworker. But if you’re an experienced woodworker, you can readily identify and minimize issues related to these gaps.
Plywood also has excellent holding capacity for screws. The reason is that it is cross-layered, enabling better screw-holding ability.
Finishing and Sealing
You can paint the blockboard. You can also laminate or veneer it. You can also purchase it in laminated or veneered form. On the other hand, you can also paint the plywood. Besides, you can laminate or veneer it. Moreover, you can purchase plywood in laminated form, likewise.
In summary, both plywood and blockboard can be painted, sealed, veneered and laminated easily.
Conclusion
If you are dabbling in woodworking for the first time, you might need to become more familiar with the difference between blockboard and plywood. In fact, you might fail to distinguish between these two engineered woods. Yet, it will help if you are mindful of the differences between these two EWPs, enabling you to select the best option for your project.
Reading through this post, of course, will enable you to understand that these two engineered woods have distinct properties and characteristics. Besides, each has its specific best applications. Knowing their properties and best applications can help you select the best one for your projects.