The actual thickness of common types of plywood Nominal Thickness Our board footage calculator can help calculate how many board feet you need if your plywood is sold using that measure. Board footage is a measure of the volume of wood in the sheet. Plywood is usually sold by the sheet, but in some rare cases it may be sold by the board foot. Our plywood calculator can estimate the number of 4′ x 8′ sheets needed for a project. Plywood is most often sold in 4′ x 8′ sheets, but may also be available in 4′ x 10′, 4′ x 12′, or 2′ x 4′ sheets. For this reason it is very common to see actual thicknesses on the thinner side and rarely thicker than the nominal measurement. Plywood is almost always thinner than the nominal measurement due to the fact that most tooling in furniture and cabinet factories and manufacturing facilities can accommodate plywood that is thinner than expected but not thicker than expected. These different grades have different manufacturing tolerances and may vary more or less from the 3/ 4” nominal thickness. Sheets are available in hardwood or softwood veneers, and in varying grades including sanded and unsanded. It’s not just plywood, other types of lumber are smaller than the advertised nominal dimensions for this reason as well.Īnother reason for varying plywood thicknesses is a range of manufacturing tolerances. This means that a sheet of plywood that started at 3/ 4” may shrink slightly after manufacturing. First, wood shrinks as it dries and moisture leaves the wood. There are a few reasons why the actual thickness of plywood varies. Why is a 3/ 4” Sheet of Plywood Less Than 3/ 4” Thick? For example, a groove for the base in a cabinet needs to be the exact thickness of the plywood or the cabinet will not be stable due to the loose fit of the parts. A 1/ 4” sheet is actually 7/ 32” thick.įor most applications the 1/ 32” difference is not important, but for fine carpentry it may be critical to get grooves and cuts to be precisely the thickness of the plywood.A 1/ 2” sheet is actually 15/ 32” thick.A 3/ 4” sheet is actually 23/ 32” thick.Because the actual thickness may vary measuring the plywood is the only accurate way to determine its thickness. Plywood is often sold in 1/ 4“, 1/ 2“, or 3/ 4” nominal thicknesses, but the actual thickness is often 1/ 32” thinner. What is the Actual Thickness of a Sheet of Plywood This introduces challenges when precision measurements are needed, such as when selecting a router bit or sizing a dado saw blade. While the length and width are often the actual dimensions, the nominal thickness is usually different than the actual thickness.įor example, a sheet of plywood with a nominal thickness of 3/ 4” is often less than 3/ 4” thick. It comes in various thicknesses and sizes, and is typically sold by its nominal thickness. Plywood is a wood panel that is composed of several thin layers, or plys, of wood veneer. Save on Pinterest Save Share on Facebook Share Share on Twitter Tweet
0 kommentar(er)
