What plywood is suitable for applications

When choosing plywood sheets for applications, it should be chosen based on its purpose. When choosing, consider:

  • Thickness. Usually, thin plywood with a thickness of 3 mm is used for applications. But for some types of work, a material with a thickness of 1-2 mm is required. Thicker sheets up to 10 mm thick are suitable for decorating door frames and facades.
  • Grade. For applications that will be located inside residential premises, use sheets of grade FC. For outdoor work, use moisture-resistant plywood. When a thin material is needed, aviation plywood of grade BP-A is used.
  • Quality. Determined by the grade of the material. Grade 1 plywood has no defects, so it produces the best applications.
  • Type of surface treatment. For applications, only sanded plywood is chosen, which can be purchased from us at a low price. In the case of purchasing unsanded sheets, they need to be processed with a sander before use.

The type of wood from which the plywood is made also matters. It is easiest to work with birch or pine sheets. Chinese plywood is not suitable for applications, as the surface of dry poplar wood is rough. It will be difficult to achieve smoothness.

Technologies for creating applications

To make the simplest plywood application, you need to:

  1. Sketch on paper and transfer it to plywood. Ready-made stencils can be used.
  2. Cut out individual elements with a jigsaw and smooth their edges to make them perfectly smooth. The application will look particularly neat if the edges of the parts are slightly rounded.
  3. Apply PVA glue to the base and the bottom of the cut blanks. Wait for them to dry. In this case, the glue is used as a primer to increase the adhesion of the bonded surfaces.
  4. Apply glue to the parts and the base again, place the blanks in their places and press them tightly.
  5. Press the application and let it dry. After drying, cover the work with varnish.

Plywood application in intarsia technique

A more complex method of application is called intarsia. It involves creating pictures from pieces of very thin plywood of different shades. Different shades of wood can be artificially achieved using varnish, aniline or natural dyes. An sharp knife with a thin blade is used for precise cutting of blanks.