Chapter 10

1. Chapter 10 Panel Products

2. Objectives • Identify the different types of panel products • Understand the composition of the various panel products • Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using panel products

3. Introduction • Panel products are important building materials in today’s construction of cabinetry and furniture • Frequently used panel products are: • Plywood, fiberboard, particleboard and melamine • These products have advantages such as: • Being able to create large surfaces quickly • Being more stable than solid lumber because of not having a continuous grain pattern

4. Plywood • Cabinet grade plywood may replace lumber in cabinets or furniture • Provides the look of solid wood • Less time consuming to work and therefore less expensive to use • Fabricated with fine veneer faces over a core

5. Figure 10-1 Cabinet grade plywood.

6. Plywood (continued) • Cores used to create cabinet grade plywood • Lumber core • Veneer core • Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) core • Particleboard core • Type of core used determines degree of stability and the ability to hold fasteners

7. Plywood (continued) • Veneer that is placed on the front and back of the plywood is cut in one of three ways • Plain sliced • Quarter sliced • Rotary cut • Possible to buy cabinet plywood that has already been finished

8. Fiberboard • Created by mixing wood fibers with resin and bonding them together by radio-frequency adhesion or heat • Has no grain at all, which makes it very stable • Comes in high, medium, and low densities

9. Figure 10-4 High-density fiberboard, or hardboard.

10. Fiberboard (continued) • High-density fiberboard (hardboard) • Good choice for drawer bottoms and cabinet backs • Extremely rugged • Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) • Provides a very smooth and stable surface • Excellent choice for jig material • Great base material for stained, printed, painted, or laminated applications

11. Fiberboard (continued) • Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) (continued) • Commonly used for furniture tops, drawer fronts, moldings, and shelving • Can be shaped easily • Has some drawbacks: • Hard on cutting edges of tools • Very heavy • Should not come into contact with water • Does not hold fasteners well

12. Fiberboard (continued) • Low-density fiberboard • Not used by cabinetmakers • Primary use is in upholstery industry

13. Particleboard • Not as dense as either hardboard or MDF • Is an adequate and less expensive alternative • Composed of small wood flakes, chips, and shavings bonded together with adhesives • Often used as a substrate for laminates • Frequently used for plastic laminate countertops

14. Particleboard (continued) • Hard on cutting edges of tools • Heavy • Does not hold fasteners well

15. Figure 10-6 Particleboard.

16. Melamine • Thermally fused, resin-saturated paper finish applied over a particleboard core • Highly stain and mar resistant • Comes in a wide variety of colors and wood grain looks • Often the major component of inexpensive furniture

17. Melamine (continued) • Requires no finishing; resin-saturated paper acts as a finished surface • Since it has a particleboard core, its disadvan-tages are same as those of particleboard

18. Figure 10-7 Melamine.

19. Advantages and Disadvantages of Panel Products • Advantages • Stability • Reduced production time in building cabinets • Their use makes good ecological sense

20. Advantages and Disadvantages of Panel Products (continued) • Disadvantages • Edges of the sheets must be covered • Poor fastener-holding ability; specialty fasteners have to be used • Have only a thin veneer covering the core; deep scratches will reveal the core and give away the fact that they are not solid lumber

21. Summary • Manufactured panel products are widely used in the cabinet- and furniture-building industries • Panel products include cabinet grade plywood, fiberboard, particleboard, and melamine • Panel products are far more stable than solid wood • Primary drawback to panel products is that the core is visible on the ends; edges must be covered