tech&des- manufactudes boards

• Manufactured boards


  Timber sheets produced by gluing wood layers or wood fibres together
• Manufactured boards


  • Often made use of waste wood materials
  • Developed mainly for industrial production as they can be made in very large sheets of consistent quality
• Manufactured boards often made use of waste wood materials
• MDF and hardboard


  Made from saw dust held together with glue
• Manufactured boards do not look as good as real woods in appearance
• Veneer


  A thin layer of real wood used to cover manufactured boards to improve their appearance
• Advantages of manufactured boards

  • Available in large sizes of uniform thickness
  • Available in various thicknesses
  • Not prone to defects like solid wood, such as humidity
  • No grain structure
  • Easily worked
  • Very cheap compared to real wood
• Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)


  • Smooth, even surface
  • Easily machined and painted or stained
  • Also available in water and fire resistant forms
  • Used mainly for furniture and interior panelling due to its easy machining qualities
  • Often veneered or painted
• Chipboard


  • Made from chips of wood glued together
  • Usually veneered or covered in plastic laminate
  • Used for cheap kitchen and bedroom furniture, shelving and general DIY work
• Plywood


  • A very strong board constructed of layers of veneer or piles glued at 90 degrees to each other
  • Interior and exterior grades available
  • Used for strong structural panelling board used in building construction and furniture making
  • Some grades used for boat building and exterior work
• Blockboard


  • Similar to plywood but the central layer is made from strips of timber
  • Good for shelves and worktops
  • Used where heavier structures are needed, common for shelving and worktops