Nowadays there are different types of engineered wood available in the market such as plywood, blockboard, hardboard, MDF, particle board, etc. Blockboard is an engineered wood, which is used in making furniture as substitute of plywood. It is wood based board which consists of a core made of softwood wood strips between the two layers of wood veneer (generally one layer of ply). They are generally used to make bookshelves, benches, doors, shelves, tables, wall panelling and partition walls.
Courtesy - Chianglenghup
Wooden Strips
In blockboards, the wooden strips are placed edge-to-edge and are enclosed between hardwood veneer sheets which are glued together under high pressure. The wooden strips in the core run lengthways in order to achieve the maximum strength. They are most preferred choice when lengthy pieces of wood are required for furniture, as they do not tend to bend or sag in the middle. Thus for long bookshelves and benches blockboards are preferred over plywood, as they are more stiff!
The wooden strips which are used for core of the blockboard are generally cut from seasoned timber, which has moisture content not exceeding 12 percent. The width of each wooden strip is generally less than 30 mm. For achieving maximum strength, gaps between the wooden strips are avoided. They are usually available in two grades – BWP grade and MR grade.
As softwood strips are used, blockboards are light in weight, and are easy to cut. They have good screw holding capacity as compared to particle board and MDF. They also are stronger and have good resistance to warping. Blockboards are available in various finishes such as laminated, veneered and melamine.
The popular manufacturers of blockboards in India are:
