What is this material?!

Question

I saw some oak furniture on the curbside for the trashman, so I stopped to scavenge.

Most of it was veneered particle board (oh well) but the drawer sides looked like oak, so I knocked them out and took them home.

At home I saw that all the wood (1/2") thick had five layers, so I presumed it was plywood. I cut the dovetails off and sanded it up and got thoroughly confused. There are five layer and they are too regular to be natural, so it must be plywood; but it sanded up like real wood and takes a close look to see that it isn't.

It looks like plywood made of 5 layers of oak, but that is silly; why would they make plywood out of oak. Any idea what I have here? It will be fine for drawers, but I would like to know what it is.

I also got a nice oak 3 panel mirror my wife wants to put in the dining room, so it wasn't a total loss.

Lawrence L'Hote · Accepted Answer

Good Job!I got some of that stuff from a junk desk beside a dumpster.  Wish I hadmore.Don't even suggest a loss.  You only gained and the stuff isn't engorgingthe landfill.Larry

Frank McVey · Answer

Hi, Toller,It sounds like DSP - drawer side ply.  It used to be quite popular for thatpurpose - it was actually a laminate, rather than a ply.  I've seen it inoak, as well -  5 or so oak laminations - all with the grain in the samedirection - glued together to form the material that they made the drawersides from.  If it was well done, you actually had to inspect it veryclosely to determine that it wasn't solid oak.  It gave you the benefit ofhaving a very stable material to work with for hidden parts - like drawersides and backs, without the disadvantage of the usuallong-grain-cross-grain plywood appearance.  I don't know whether it is stillavailable, but like you, I've salvaged quite a bit of it over the years, andit really is terrific stuff for its purpose.CheersFrank

What is this material?!

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