Plywood Information

How Veneers Are Sliced

Counter Fronts

Generally, plywood is purchased and sold 4' x 8' panels. In woodworking, the last , dimension given is the grain direction. In a 4' x 8' panel, the grain runs the last or 8' direction.

Panels manufactured with the grain running in the short direction are referred to as 8' x 4~ panels. These panels are called "counter front" panels as their main use is for that purpose.

Hogan Hardwood & Moulding is your
counter front specialist.
Call for pricing and availability

The Tolerances

For Squareness

and Straightness of

Hardwood Panels

American National Standard

for Hardwood and Decorator Plywood (ANSI/HPVA Hp-1-2000) states that 4' x 8' panels shall be square within 3/32 of-an-inch. Squareness shall be determined by measuring the diagonals of the panel.

Concerning straightness, the ANSI-HPVA standard states the edges of 8 feet long panels shall be such that a straight line from one corner to the adjacent corner shall fall within 1/16 inch of the panel edge.

Lumber Industry Terms

Lumber sawn:
1)	1/4" or thinner is termed "veneer"
2)	Thicker than 1/4" through 4" is termed "lumber"
3)	Thicker than 4" is termed "timber"

Spliced Faces

Spliced veneers are composed of several pieces of veneer varying in width that are glued together to form a whole sheet.

Whole Piece Face

Whole piece veneers are just that, un-spliced Continuous pieces of veneer that have been peeled from a log using a rotary process. One piece of veneer is used to make the face or back of plywood.

Plywood Thickness Metric vs. Standard Measure
Millimeter Thickness	Inch Thickness	Metric Decimal Equivalent	Inch Decimal Equivalent
2.6 mm	1/8"	.1024	.125
3.0 mm	1/8"	.1181	.125
5.2 mm	1/4"	.2047	.250
6.0 mm	1/4"	.2362	.250
9.0 mm	3/8"	.3543	.375
12.0 mm	1/2"	.4724	.500
15.0 mm	5/8"	.5906	.625
18.0 mm	3/4"	.7087	.750

All imported hardwood plywood is bought on a metric thickness. Most hardwood plywood distributors refer to the thickness in Standard Inch fractions...i.e., 5.2 mm is sold as 1/4". For years this has caused confusion, because 5.2 mm is not 1/4" in thickness. If you wish to convert a metric number into a Standard Inch fraction you must that 1" equals 25.4 mm. Example: You want to know the decimal equivalent of 12 mm plywood. Divide 12 mm by 25.4 mm. This equals .47244 percent of 1".