Buying genuine and authentic plywood is not always easy, like picking a rose for the vase in the dining room. There are so many plywood manufacturing companies that one can always be overwhelmed when considering buying plywood and end up buying a low-grade, not much useful plywood. Plywood can be brought for various purposes, be it roof sheathing or furniture making, but one thing remains constant when buying plywood: we all need the plywood to be long-lasting and beautiful. As per requirements, we can choose from different types of plywood, be it softwood or hardwood.
When going for buying plywood, it is always advisable to have a rough sketch of the construction for which one is considering buying plywood. One should also be sure of whether the construction is for interior or exterior as for different purposes, different types and qualities of plywood are required. Buying the same type of plywood everywhere would not always be beneficial for an individual in the long run.
There are various methods to check whether the plywood is original plywood or not. We are listing a few steps one can use to know the authenticity of the plywood.
How to check plywood quality:
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Look for core gaps:
There should be negligible/no core gaps in the plywood. Plywood should have a straight parallel order and at most have some amount of pinhole only. If there are too many core gaps in the plywood, it simply will degrade the quality of the plywood.
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Nail holding test:
If considering buying the plywood for furniture building, then always do the nail holding test. Simply hammer a 1.5 inches nail to the side of the plywood, and if the plywood is not able to hold the nail, then probably this is not the plywood you should use for furniture building.
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Boiling test for marine ply:
An authentic marine ply can withstand getting boiled in a pressure cooker till 4 whistles without any damage to the sample ply. In case they are not able to, then it is time to check whether the given plywood is marine ply or not and whether they are water-resistant.
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Always ask for S-cut samples:
When getting a sample of the plywood, always make sure to ask the dealer to provide you with an s-cut sample. This will help in understanding the withstanding ability, glue properties as well core veneer. In comparison to a plain cut sample, an s cut sample is better when understanding these properties.
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Weight is important:
As the saying goes, the heavier the weight, the better the plywood. In some cases, this is true and beneficial as heavier plywood simply means a better core density which makes the plywood construction easy and beautiful.
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Warranty:
Warranty will give you an insight into the company’s faith in the quality of plywood. In some cases, plywood dealers would give a lifetime warranty for some plywoods. This kind of Warranty says a lot about the manufacturer’s faith in their product. So always look for a warranty when buying plywood.
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ISI mark:
Buying a product with an ISI mark can simply mean that you are buying an authentic certified product and are not being cheated or convinced into buying plywood of low quality at expensive rates.
While looking at these, also look for certificates from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and CVI (Conformance Verification International), which simply would help you in buying eco-friendly and doing your bit in protecting the environment.
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Buy from wholesalers:
As with every product, buying from a wholesaler will give you a less expensive quality product, but the benefits do not stop here. Buying plywood from a wholesaler will give choices like they have so many different types of plywood available at any point in time, like water-resistant plywood or fire retardant plywood. At any retailer, one has to look and understand from a sample and would not have many variants in terms of plywood, while at a wholesaler, one gets to see the whole sheet of plywood with so many different variants of the same plywood.
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Century Promise App
One of the best ways to authenticate plywood sheets is by using the CenturyPromise App. This app allows you to scan the unique QR code on the plywood sheet and it reveals all the details of the plywood like manufacturing date, which factory it was processed in and many more. With this app, you can differentiate between an original plywood and a duplicate one.
Conclusion
It is not always possible for an individual to choose quality grade plywood from a dealer or manufacturing company. Instead, one can look for a trusted plywood manufacturing company and buy the plywood from them. This way, a person can get a quality product with minimum effort. Durability and smoothness are factors that should always be looked upon when buying plywood. One does not want to have plywood that deteriorates soon after construction. For quality and varied options of plywood, one can always look into CenturyPly & make use of the benefit offered by the CenturyPromise app.
