Lauan plywood has gained prominence in the US and other countries, with woodworkers enjoying its versatility the most. It is sometimes called Luan plywood but features many different pseudonyms depending on the area, including Philippine Mahogany and Red Lauan. The plywood is obtained from the lauan tree, which grows around the South Pacific rim.
Its popularity spans across different countries, with its usefulness remaining intact. Lauan wood is lightweight but strong and offers an option for many indoor projects. If you’re among its new admirers, you may wonder what lauan plywood is all about.
Lauan plywood is a lightweight interior plywood type made by compressing several hardwood layers of different species. Originally used to make some ship parts, it features various indoor projects today. It’s primarily obtained from the Shorea tree and is stainable and paintable.
However, there is more to lauan plywood than mentioned above, and it’ll be vital to understand the plywood before using it. If you want to learn more about lauan plywood, its applications, and its features, follow the journey down this piece.
Origin
Lauan plywood is a reasonably new board that started in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, among other Southeastern Asian countries, in the early 1950s. It helped build some of the interior sections of ships. By 1990, lauan plywood production had expanded to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
However, there needed to be more proper management, leading to overharvesting of the Shorea trees. Veneer-making companies exploiting the vast supply of lauan plywood unchecked led to a depletion of available Shorea trees. Within a short time, this uncontrolled Shorea tree usage caused much damage. Thankfully, sustainable Shorea tree plantations started to spring up to provide support.
It gained a lot of negativity as some Shorea tree species became extinct. This plywood has remained relevant and has grown helpful to other industries, including plywood DIY projects. The US, Japan, and China are among its most prominent producers.
It comes in extensive sheets, requiring dedicated shipping channels and delicate handling to move it. Depending on your location, you may also need to wait a while after ordering as it is shipped to your site.
Types of Lauan Wood
Lauan is manufactured wood with Shorea lumber among its composition, so other engineered wood with this lumber is classified under Lauan.
Many lauan wood varieties have properties suitable for various purposes; however, we’ll consider the most prominent five. Their differences cut across their appearance, strength, and characteristics.
- Light Red Meranti: This Lauan is arguably the most popular type and features a light red hue. It is lightweight and robust, making it suitable for furniture and cabinets.
- Dark Red Meranti: Although similar to the light red Meranti, this Lauan is darker, more robust, and denser than the previously mentioned type. It helps make decking and sidings.
- White Meranti: It may surprise you that this Lauan is not white but features a light yellow hue. While it features reduced strength, it is resistant to decay and rot, making it suitable for marine applications.
- Yellow Meranti: Flexibility is the most significant attribute of the yellow Meranti, making it helpful in creating unique furniture and cabinets. It has a yellow hue.
- Balau: This plywood is used to make flooring, decking, and even exterior applications because it is the strongest and heaviest among the types of Lauan. It is resistant to decay and rot and features a dark red color similar to the dark red meranti.
Uses
The peculiarities of lauan plywood make it suitable for specific projects, and understanding what these projects are will help you decide if lauan plywood is suitable. Considering that this plywood is known for its versatility, it is little wonder that its uses span a wide range of industries, some of which may be surprising.
1. Boat And Marine Projects
Some lauan sport impressive rot and decay resistance making them useful in marine projects, including boat underlayment. Using exterior-grade Lauan allows you to create shelves, sitting areas, and subflooring in water-based projects. This way, accidents will not damage the plywood.
Considering that ship parts were some of the first uses of lauan plywood, it is fitting to mention this among the first uses of lauan plywood. You can use some of its types around moisture-prone areas. Remember, you have to choose the rot and decay resistance types.
2. Cabinetry
It is suitable for use when making cabinet sides and areas not offering structural support to the cabinet. Since the plywood is generally pliable and in a thin sheet, it is best to be used as cabinet dividers rather than support. Select the right color so painting or staining is easier to achieve.
3. Flooring And Underlayment
You can use lauan plywood underlayment under a vinyl floor as it is thin, lightweight, and can fit into small spaces. Surprisingly, Lauan can also be used as a substitute for more permanent flooring. Since it accepts paint wood and stains well, this plywood makes an appealing flooring.
4. Veneers
Lauan features different colors, but its red and white hue types are the best choices for making appealing veneers. Their grain patterns and overall structure forms incredible surfaces when used at the back of a bookshelf or to cover entertainment boxes.
5. Toys And Craft
Lauan helps build hobby projects like dollhouses, toys, and crafts; you can bend some of them, and they feature appealing grain patterns. The wood is often under ¼” thick making it highly flexible for projects requiring several bends. You can hang your finished product on the wall, as it is lightweight.
Pros And Cons
As with other materials, consider the benefits and drawbacks before buying. Lauan plywood is popular, so they must be getting something right; we’ll see what these are and what you may not like.
Pros
- Durability: Lauan may have reduced density, but it features extreme strength making it one of the most durable plywood when compared to the thickness.
- Aesthetics: Its grain pattern makes for exciting viewing, plus it accepts stains and paints well when used with a primer.
- Versatility: Lauan is widely recognized for its versatility as you can use it for a variety of different applications, including in boat making, veneers, furniture, cabinets, and toys.
- Easy to Work with: Lauan is easy to work with when compared to high-end hardwood plywood. The knots and holes on Lauan make it easier to cut and shape, while its surface structure makes it easy to absorb stains and paint.
- Lightweight: Despite its strength, Lauan is still lightweight, partly due to its reduced density. It means you can quickly move the dense plywood.
Cons
- Thin: Lauan is considered too narrow to act as support, meaning they are unsuitable in areas that require additional support.
- Poor Packing: There are often damaged pieces after shipping lauan plywood due to inadequate packaging. It’s surprising, considering this is how it has been supplied to specific regions for several decades.
- Blemishes: You’ll likely find marks and knots on the lauan surfaces, making it unsightly.
How to Work With Lauan Plywood?
You may be excited about using lauan plywood for your project. Still, you must learn to correctly utilize this wood to prevent wastage and damage and encourage sustainability. Here’s how to work with Lauan to avoid widespread problems like splintering during crosscutting:
1. Cleaning
Like most wood types, the first step to using lauan plywood is cleaning the surface. Thankfully, Lauan features a smooth surface, requiring only warm water, soap, and a rag to clean. Wipe the plywood surface using a damp rag from the soap and warm water solution. Allow to dry before cutting.
2. Cutting
Cutting lauan plywood involves cutting curves in wood, trimming, and shaping the wood to the desired size. Due to the plywood’s several layers and thin nature, some cutting patterns can lead to splintering. Use a knife to carve a small incision along the cut line to prevent splintering, especially with a power saw.
3. Finishing
Before finishing with the desired material, you must ensure the surface is ready to receive the finish. It’s where things get tricky, as sanding a thin material like Lauan can be highly delicate. Slowly sand with only fine-grit sandpaper of 120-grit or higher.
4. Maintenance
Lauan plywood is easy to use and maintain, with only the occasional cleaning required to keep the wood in good condition. Periodically cleaning with warm water and soap will remove dust and grime buildup on the surface. It would help to keep the surrounding area clean and free from dust to reduce the damage to the wood.
Problems With Lauan Plywood’s Sustainability
Lauan is manufactured primarily from Shorea trees, so it is understandable for its sustainability to be in question. Even more so as the market in Southeast Asia, where it started, experienced an almost extinction of some Shorea tree species. So is Lauan plywood sustainable?
Interventions through sustainability plantations may have reduced the pressure on Shorea trees, but there are still worried about overexploitation. So while Lauan can be sustainable, it is not currently in a sustainable phase. Trees take up to 10 years to be ready for lumber, so it requires careful planning and patience to turn this dangerous overharvesting into a sustainable venture.
FAQ’s
Get some answers to your questions about lauan plywood inside this FAQ section. It involves some of the most popular questions and answers from woodworking enthusiasts about lauan plywood.
Ans: Lauan plywood is typically around ¼ inches, with some going as thin as ⅛ inches. The wood is thin, helping with its flexibility and versatile uses.
Ans: Lauan plywood is not waterproof; however, some species have decay and rot-resistant properties that make them suitable for use in light moisture areas.
Ans: Lauan is different from mahogany, even though it is often called Philippine mahogany. Instead, Lauan is made from Shorea trees with strength, the property it shares with mahogany.
Summary
Lauan plywood, or any of the diverse names available, is a lightweight plywood made primarily from Shorea trees. It features a thin and dense structure and is easy to work with, increasing its popularity.
If you’re considering this plywood, you’ll be pleased with its versatility, making it suitable for boat projects, subflooring, cabinets, and furniture making.
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