The Luan plywood has actually originated from the species of the genus Shorea, it's some group of woods growing in the United States. Philippine mahogany is another name given to it, which happens to be an average (medium) density type of wood having amicable properties and features.
History of Luan Plyood
Since the name is originated from Philippine mahogany, it doesn't necessarily mean they are mahogany in nature or are imported from the Philippines. Neither quality wise they can be compared to mahogany. It's just that the derivation of the name comes from dipterocarp timbers and perhaps there shouldn't be any grave issue about its name.
The name lauan which actually means, a mixture of woods of many species belonging to one common area, is at times referred to a plywood in the construction field. Such a type of a plywood is commonly called mixed hardwood ply.
What is Luan Plywood
As mentioned earlier, it belongs to mid ranged plywood grades mainly consisting of mahogany veneer plywood. In other terms, it is also called, subfloor type of plywood which is created from the cheapest plywood material ever available. In some places, the quality of this plywood turns out to be really good, but then that all depends upon different manufacturers. This plywood is chiefly used to construct cabinet drawers, shelves, doll houses, pad flooring and so on. Sometimes, workers who have to install a subfloor in a given area, essentially lay the luan plywood underlayment on top of another sturdier plywood layer as a routine building material.
It is made from the wood of Southern Pacific rim trees due to which it bears a quality of being softer, lighter and flexible in nature as compared to other plywood types. Moreover, this plywood is really inexpensive and poses a better alternative to fir or pine plywood too. If you look at luan plywood as a whole, it is quite a solid piece of wood generally having one side very smooth. Speaking of the standard sizes it is available in, the figures are 1/8'' and ¼'' thick. Well, there are other sizes as well, like ½'', ¾'' and 5.5mm thick, but their uses depend on different kinds of constructional projects to be undertaken. The size of ¼'' thickness is very common to build small toy projects. Whereas, the 5.5mm thick luan plywood is a bit thicker than the 5.2mm thick lumber and is often used to build shelves and cabinet drawers. In addition, the 5.5mm thick lumber happens to be coated with an exterior glue making it look all strong and solid. It suits best for small outdoor constructional projects in a home or office. If one happens to consider prices, as already mentioned, it is inexpensive and flexibly could work cheap for many home construction projects.
Uses
The ease that this piece of lumber provides is very smooth because one can cut it easily into desired sizes and pieces, perhaps extremely small pieces as well. If a father wants to build a pretty functional doll house for his loving daughter, he could comfortably use these small pieces of luan plywood to assemble tiny rooms and structures in the house. Many folks are comfortable using it for building boats or kayaks, just because of its light weight, softness and flexibility. They bend and twist very easily which helps to place the luan veneers of this plywood under significant stress and tension.
Luan plywood isn't all perfect. It has voids, patches and flaws in its built. But that doesn't make its quality goes to waste. On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to make since it is a tropical lumber, the availability of it to hit the market takes a while. Many consumers have to place special orders over the internet and deal with various suppliers for the same.
