Customize thickness for plywood and particle board

By choosing the appropriate thicknesses, you may make the end product much easier to put together and possibly avoid some future hassles. Nobody enjoys discovering midway through a project that the plywood board they purchased is too thin and will not hold its shape, or when they purchase a large quantity of plywood panels only to discover they are too thick and will not fit!

What is the Thickness of a Sheet of Plywood and particle board

Plywood is most commonly offered in 4′ x 8′ sheets, but it is also available in 4′ x 9′ or 4′ x 7’sheets.

Softwood plywood

Softwood plywood is created from softwood veneers such as cedar, pine, and Douglas fir.

This plywood is used for applications that require a high load capacity, regardless of the surface finish.

General-purpose softwood plywood, on the other hand, is a 3mm thick 5-ply board used for home repair and DIY tasks.

It is suitable for general-purpose shelves, attic flooring, roof and wall sheathing, laser cutting, and other applications.

Softwood ply, although its high strength, is not suitable for outdoor applications since it wears quickly in severe conditions.

Particle boards

Particle boards is most commonly offered in 4′ x 8′ sheets, but it is also available in 4′ x 7′, 4′ x 9′, 7’x8′ and 7′ x 9′ sheets.

The size of particle boards varies depending on the manufacturer. For home applications that need for strong load-bearing capacity, it is advisable to utilize particle boards with a thickness greater than 18mm.

Fancy plywood

Beautiful hardwood veneers like cherry, beech, walnut, pine, red oak, ash, white oak, birch, maple, teak, and others are frequently used to embellish fancy plywood. Fancy plywood is widely used in woodworking, cabinet manufacturing, and interior design in Europe. Typically, 18 mm is advised for interior design and cabinet manufacturing.

Chart showing the actual thickness of common types of plywood.

Nominal Thickness	Actual Thickness (inches)	Actual Thickness (mm)	Plywood No.of Plies
1/8“	7/64“	3 mm	3 ply
1/4“	7/32“	6 mm	5 ply
3/8“	11/32“	9 mm	7 ply
1/2“	15/32“	12 mm	9 ply
5/8“	19/32“	15 mm	11 ply
3/4“	23/32“	18 mm	13 ply
7/8“	13/16“	22mm	15 ply
1	15/16“	25mm	17 ply
1-1/8“	1-1/8“	28 mm	19 ply

Thickness Chart

Panel	3 mm	6mm	9mm	12mm	15mm	18mm	22mm	25mm	28mm
plywood	√	√	√	√	√	√		√
Softwood	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Hardwood	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Particle Board			√	√	√	√	√	√
Fancy plywood				√	√	√
OSB Board						√
Sample						√

Selecting the Right Plywood Thickness

Application	Recommended Plywood Thickness
Walls Sheathing	3/8″ to 1/2″
Roof Sheathing	1/2″ to 5/8″
Sub-Flooring	5/8″ or 23/32″ for OSB
CNC Cutting	According to the machining capability of your router
Laser Cutting	3/16″ for 20W diode laser