The Shy Plywood and the Humble Pine

Plywood and pine are two of the most Underappreciated, Underestimated Materials among woodworking hobbyists. With good reasons. However, they are not to be undervalued all the time, relative to hardwood or  rare exotic species.

A sheet of good quality Plywood is stable, flat and its thickness dimension is consistently true all throughout.  Cabinet makers love them and when the face veneers are from hardwood  or  exotic species, the finished product is undeniably precious. 

Concert pianos have a lot of thin veneer plywood, laminated to the desired thickness, bent and curved to shape, lacquered to a gloss and voila, a Steinway, Yamaha or a Bosendorfer (the grandest of all grand pianos).

I give plywood its "shy" description because it is either hidden from view (as in the case in piano construction) or it does need a lot of make up or dressing up to hide its edge (one disadvantage with plywood). But, there are instances where it is best to just simply leave the edge exposed: I used plywood to make a cover for the compost container (where fruit and vegetable peelings go before the compost bin in the backyard); and cover for the kitchen trash can.

And: below, the manufacturer of these kitchen table chairs simply left the edges exposed. giving them their own little quirky character. These chairs when we bought them in the early 80's were not that cheap either but they held up very well, structurally.

The first project shown below is the second version of an earlier "model". The shy plywood in this case was given a heavy, albeit glossy paint job.

The thin quarter inch plywood now looks like it's made from a thicker material.

And now for the humble pine.  Another version, same theme, both went to the in laws.

Pine, fast growing trees, if allowed to grow up, spared from becoming a Christmas tree, is soft wood, hence easy to work on.  If they are not made into pallets, they are a beginner's choice to practice woodworking. Most of all, pine is in every home construction - from rafters, joists to framing materials, etc. 

I ripped a board into thin quarter inch strips and laminated them edge to edge into a thin board.  Constructed the same way as before, the unique grain patterns made for a different look.

 

The butcher-block-look is what I was looking for.

Earlier projects using pine:

Where it all started was this (below) first project from a laminated combination of pine and mahogany strips.

All pine construction:

My ultimate homage to plywood and pine, below, is this rotatable planter stand - plywood center column and base and planters of pine.

It's also all pine, below, including the massive 8X10 center post

 Well, there you have it - the shy plywood and humble pine projects.