Question about plywood

[Moondog55]

I know the arguments for and against plywood have been done to death
This is a query on plywood construction.

Is there or has there ever been another method of making plywood ; other than the standard grain crossing at right angles??

I was watching a program on the space suits used by US astronauts and the weave of the fabric was mentioned as contributing to the strength vs weight issue.
The space suit fabric was woven with dual warps at an angle to each other of 45 Degrees and the weft crossed them ( I think that is how it was described)
So here is the idea I have had and I was wondering IF it has been tried.
Instead of laying up the plys at right angles to each other it may be beneficial to lay alternate layers at 45degrees, so that each "LAYER" of the finished ply would be 7 layers thick or more
So like this
First layer 0
second layer 45
third layer 135
4th layer 90
5th layer 45
6th layer 135
7th layer 0

What are peoples thoughts possible? prohibitively expensive?
you know the reasonable measured thought experiment sort of thing

[AllenB]

An interesting idea. How about cutting your panels at 45 degrees to the sheet, and adding full length vertical braces to the panels?

[Andy5112405]

Doesnt Marine Birch Plywood use randomly oriented grain ?

[Moondog55]

Andy I live in Australia our marine ply uses the normal lay-up alternate layers at 90 Degrees

I thought that the whole idea of plywood was that the grain orientation was anything BUT random

Hi Allen, that would mean an extra stage in the woodworking process, my thought was would the orientation I suggest have benefits ??

[Brett]

If you want to test whether 45* or random orientation, you could easily lay up multiple layers of say 3mm 3 ply how you want them.

[Andy5112405]

Originally Posted by Moondog55

Andy I live in Australia our marine ply uses the normal lay-up alternate layers at 90 Degrees

I thought that the whole idea of plywood was that the grain orientation was anything BUT random

Hi Allen, that would mean an extra stage in the woodworking process, my thought was would the orientation I suggest have benefits ??

You might call it differently in Oz. Here marine ply is the stuff that the police use to board up broken windows and it is anything but regular. It looks like the wood eating monster has sneezed at the wood press.

3/4" MDF is certainly VERY RANDOM and good for cabinet buidling.

Sandwiching boards together is not really practical unless you have access to some means of applying consistent pressure ove the glued area during the drying process.

[Moondog55]

OK I know the stuff OSB Oriented strand board
Horrible stuff
Nope marine grade ply uses totally void free wood and a very water resistant glue and is over here usually made from hoop pine

[Andy5112405]

Originally Posted by Moondog55

OK I know the stuff OSB Oriented strand board
Horrible stuff
Nope marine grade ply uses totally void free wood and a very water resistant glue and is over here usually made from hoop pine

I agree, I wouldn't use it for cabinet building unless it was sandwiched (on the outside anyway) with something more presentable. They do make it 1" thick though, I used it during the build of my house extension.

[kevinahcc20]

The orientation of the strands in the astronaut suits is likely set to optimize the strength characteristics of the material with the need for flexibility in the garment. Most things constructed of plywood are intended to be rigid so the requirements are not consistent.

[AllenB]

Originally Posted by Moondog55

would the orientation I suggest have benefits ??

I would cite cross-ply tyres as a potential demonstration. Radials were adopted due to their supple sidewalls. Cross-plys were just too stiff.