It's made from powdered wood which is bonded with glue and compressed to form the sheets. 

• for interior projects especially cupboards and shelving. 

• It's quite soft and very easy to work with. 

• It cuts and sands very easily and you can get a good paint finish on it. 

not particularly strong when cut in thin strips for shelving so it needs a support if you want long lengths.

• It gets very dusty while the sanding process.

• It absorbs moisture and will swell up if it gets wet. Not fot outdoors using.

• Can be covered with a wood veneer like cherry, oak, etc. These are quite expensive but do make the MDF more attractive.

Maplex is a relatively new material designed to replace MDF since, although it is made from wood fibres, it does not contain potentially toxic resins. It is made from 100% pressed wood fibres with no binding agents and has similar working properties to MDF. 

It is also recyclable.

Chipboard is similar to MDF but made from actual wood chips and is used widely by kitchen manufactures who cover it with a laminate.

It is also used widely for low cost flooring. If used for shelving, it's fairly weak so needs to be well supported. 

It doesn't paint very well and the edges are quite rough. 

Rarely used for shelving now as there are better alternatives.

It is very cheap.

Plywood is made from thin laminates of wood glued together with each layer at a right angle to the grain of the other. 

It is very strong but also quite flexible, especially if you get thinner sheets.

• It's used widely in the building industry as it's so strong. Examples include things like boxing in, sub floors, and general construction.

• It doesn't paint very well due to the wood texture. 

• It's quite expensive, especially if you buy the most expensive, marine ply,which is very good quality and relatively water-proof.

Aero ply is a modern plywood which was developed for the aircraft industry as its name implies. 

It is very thin yet very strong and flexible and is still used in glider and airplane construction. 

It can also be laser cut for use in jewelry or other more delicate applications.

FlexiPly is a relatively modern development of Plywood and consists of two outer layers of wood which are scored to allow them to flex without splitting. The two layers sandwich a thin layer of silicon which allows the whole sheet to flex without damage. 

Flexiply can either be fixed to a curved or shaped frame where it will follow the contour of the frame or it can be laminated (two or more layers of FlexiPly) with glue in between the layers. If wrapped around a former and left to dry the FlexiPly will keep the shape of the former when removed. 

It is much more expensive than traditional Plywood.

Hexaboard is an exterior quality birch plywood with a hard phenolic resin laminated surface. 

This hard-wearing surface has been embossed with a hexagonal pattern making it safer to walk on making it particularly suitable for flooring in commercial vehicles and aircraft etc.

Veneers are thin slices of natural wood but are often put on manufactured boards to make them look more expensive. 

They are ‘peeled’ off the trunk of a tree much like you peel toilet paper off a roll! 

They are also used to make laminated plywood for products like skateboards.