Plywood for Tabletop

**MawkHawk** · 10-28-2003, 10:31 AM

Hi, all.

Can someone please tell me if hardwood plywood is suitable for use as a dining tabletop? Why or why not?

Thanks.
Mark

**ASLNROX** · 10-28-2003, 11:37 AM

Mark,

First, welcome! Glad you are here. Great group of folks around these parts, gald to have you a part of us.

Second, Sure you could. Do it all the time, but get a GOOD grade of plywood--NOTHING at one of the big box stores. You will need the better grade to get thicker veneers as that will be the #1 issue you will confront--dents and abuse a table top gets.

Also you might want to build up the edge as that helps the top take the abuse.

Blessings,

--Mark

[link:home.earthlink.net/~maspaulding/ | Mark's Garage Shop]

**Tom Hintz** · 10-28-2003, 11:37 AM

Lots of factory-made tables are plywood but that doesn't make it right.
Table tops can take a lot of abuse, and the hardwood veneer is very thin on the plywood. I would be very concerned because of that.
I would rather use solid wood on a table top if at all possible.

**MawkHawk** · 10-28-2003, 12:41 PM

Guys, thanks for the info.

I was thinking about plywood because it would be faster and easier than a glue up. Not to mention that I don't have a big bunch of clamps and have never done a glue up before.

Would there be any concern about the veneer separating due to heat from warm dishes, bowls, etc?

**Sawduster** · 10-28-2003, 01:53 PM

I recently disassembled an old dining room table that we used for years after getting it 4th or 5th hand. What I thought was a regular oak plywood top with solid oak skirting/edging, turned out to be something completely different after I got the edging off. It was actually a sandwich type construction with 1/8 " thick veneer for the bread and 1 X 2 " solid poplar boards edge glued (on the 1" nominal edges) to each other as the meat inside. The 1/8" veneer was plenty thick to handle some dings and such to be sanded out, and the solid wood core gave it more strength than ply.

**RandyS** · 10-28-2003, 05:44 PM

I have made several tables using plywood for the top. On an everyday use kitchen table thats going to take lots of abuse it would work but may not be the best choice. For tables in a more formal dinning room where the physical abuse would be much much less it would be a good choice. And it could keep the price of the project more reasonable.

There are times when plywood or even MDF may be a better choice than solid stock. A table that is going to have some kind of fancy veneer on the top a stable substrate such as plywood is the best choice. Of course these types of tables don't generally see much abuse.

Randy