Pressboard vs. Plywood

[Donnie B]

I am planning to build a rather large bed and entertainment center for my wife.My qeustion is,which materials would be better for construction?I need for it to last for years. Thank you very much.

[John Hines]

Plywood, especially furniture grade, is the preferred method for anything you want to last. You can get it with a hardwood veneer, for any style of wood you want. Good plywood works as easily as real wood.

Particle board is for cheap furniture.

Except speakers, those can and should be made of MDF, cause it is heavy and dense.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Damn, I want to see this in use when done!

Plywood is best, IMO. Use sold wood for trim, edges, etc. One advantage of plywood is stability compared to solid wood, and rigidity compared to any of the particleboard or mdf materials. Ed

[DS]

I built a fairly large desk out of plywood with great results. I used 3/4" poplar Aa grade (I think). Not sure on the grading scheme, look it up before you head out if you want to avoid lots of sanding.. and do a thorough visual inspection of each piece before paying for it, once again to avoid lots of sanding. The other alternative is to buy whatever you want and then adhere a melamine or banding to the surface when done. Regardless, you will need "edge banding" to cover up the exposed edges.

Good luck.

-Dan

[Donnie B]

Ok,thanks for the help guys.Just to clear it up a little,the bed and Entertainment center are two seperate pieces.Althought the one piece is interesting.hmmmm

[AJScott]

Most guys here would probably say that a bed of nails is the most suitable bedding material for our wives' beds, but plywood's probably OK. Just make sure you leave a few exposed edges for her to catch her ass on just to show her who's boss.

IMO and probably from a purist's view, unless you're actually using REAL solid-wood sheets, both plywood AND pressboard constitutes "fake" wood. Plywood is less fake than pressboard, and anyone who would like to argue publicly that plywood is REAL wood ought to try arguing the same question with those who are convinced that Pergo is the only "real" laminate flooring out there.

But getting back to the question at hand, plywood and pressboard will last "for years" equally. Now, if you get into the matter of which of the two is more durable when you have kids jumping all over it or easier to repair when it breaks or separates or something, then plywood wins hands down. But that's not what you asked, so ...

AJS

[John Hines]

I've not had any problems using Baltic Birch plywood, 13 plys for 3/4" material and no voids. Your not going to find birch boards in 4x8 foot sizes. (yeah surprised the heck out of me, I'm used to 1.5m sheets)

Good furniture grade plywood is far different than the el-cheapo stuff sold at the home center. Find yourself a good hardwood lumber yard, and shop there.

Plywood is also used extensively in wood boat building. You can also get stuff that bends, for curved surfaces.

I'm not trying to sell plastic as wood, but plywood is a very good wood building material, if you get the right stuff for the job.

[David Combs]

In article , AJScott wrote: snip

What I've learned, by experience:

Under NO circumstance use pressboard for a bed-board (ie, under the matress). HORRIBLE -- cracks, breaks, edges turn to dust, ...

3/4 inch plyood -- far and away the best.

David

[EvoDawg]

Don't get it wet or it turns to Oatmeal

Rich

[Impunity is Mine]

Comparing Pressboard to Plywood is like comparing Old Arttie Boy to a Trade Professional. The is NO comparison.