Page 129 of 339

05
PRECISION-FIT
PLYWOOD JOINERY
In many ways, plywood can be the perfect material for your CNC projects.
As a natural material with an inconsistent thickness, however, it can also
be challenging to work with. As enticing as it is to jump right into cutting a
CNC project, digital craft results from understanding material properties
and taking time to prepare. Perfectly executed plywood joinery does not
happen on its own. However, by carefully measuring your plywood, adjust-
ing your CAD files, and then testing to make sure that you’ve got every-
thing right, your job will go smoothly and yield perfect results.
PLYWOOD
Plywood is a nearly ideal material for CNC fabri-
cated furniture. It’s available in big sheets and
comes in a multitude of styles and species. Ply-
wood is easy to find, and it’s relatively inexpen-
sive compared to other materials. It can span
large distances, but can be flexible if needed. It
can be left plain or covered with paint, clear
coatings, veneers, laminates, solid wood, and
other finishes. It can be easily glued or joined
with mechanical fasteners.
Plywood’s advantageous properties stem from
its composite, manfactured origin. Plywood is
an engineered material comprised of numerous
layers, or plies, that are stacked and glued
together into large sheets. Within a sheet, each
ply grain is rotated 90 degrees to form an espe-
cially strong material. This process gives ply-
wood an excellent strength-to-weight ratio.
127
    "