Does plywood split easily?

ALTHOUGH plywood is a wood product that is worked much like ordinary lumber - cut, drilled, smoothed and shaped with conventional woodworking tools - it is more prone to splintering than solid lumber when you cut it with an ordinary saw, or when you have to drill holes through it.

nytimes.com - HOME CLINIC; HOW TO CONTROL SPLINTERING WHEN WORKING ...

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This same technique is also useful in preventing splintering on either side when you are cutting plywood with a hand saw or portable power saw - especially when working with thin sheets that are one-quarter inch or less in thickness. Clamping a scrap piece of wood along the line of cut and then cutting through both pieces at once will insure a clean cut without splinters - again, because any splintering that does take place will be on the back side of the scrap wood. When this method is impractical, there is one more trick that professionals sometimes use: On the side where the splintering would normally occur, place a wide strip of masking tape along the line of cut, then cut through the tape and wood at the same time. If you use a sharp saw with reasonably fine teeth, and if you don't try to cut too fast or push too hard, the tape will hold splintering to a minimum, and may even prevent it altogether. Answering the Mail Q. The wooden saddles under the doors leading to the kitchen and bathrooms in my house get a lot of abuse because of the frequent washing of the adjacent linoleum floor in the kitchen and the tile floors in the bathrooms. Waxing the saddles every week restores their appearance and luster, but this is very time- consuming. Can I apply a polyurethane finish to help keep them attractive looking without having to wax them each week? - Mrs. K.G.D., Forest Hills, N.Y. A . Polyurethane will definitely withstand frequent washing better than wax alone will, especially if you use a finish that is designed for exterior use. However, remember that no finish will withstand constant scrubbing with strong detergents or those containing ammonia - those chemicals will kill the gloss of any finish in a short while. I recommend applying at least three coats of the polyurethane, then coating with wax after the polyurethane is fully cured. This will help to keep the chemicals from attacking the finish, and will help it to retain its gloss. Also, when washing the adjacent floors, try to avoid splashing the detergents or cleaning solutions onto the wooden saddles. Wetting them with plain water before you start will also help. Q. Our old house has a wood shingle roof and over this hangs the branches of an old, tall maple tree. The shingles have become covered with a greenish, mossy growth. Short of cutting down the tree, how can we get rid of this fungus and prevent its recurrence? - M.E.D., Kent, Conn. A . The moss can be washed off and killed by scrubbing the roof with a fungicide solution, such as those used around swimming pools. Or you can scrub the shingles with a solution of bleach and water - mix one part liquid laundry bleach with four parts of water. Scrubbing a sloping roof can be dangerous if it is covered with moss (this gets quite slippery), so you may want to hire a professional for this. If you decide to do it yourself, tie a line around your waist and throw it over the peak of the roof down to the ground on the other side. Then have someone stand on the other side and hold the other end of the line in case you slip. Scrub the solution on, let it dry, then hose it off thoroughly. To keep it from coming back, apply a couple of coats of a shingle stain or clear wood preservative that contains a mildewcide. Questions about home repair problems should be addressed to Bernard Gladstone, The New York Times, 229 West 43d Street, New York, N.Y. 10036. Questions of general interest will be answered in this column; unpublished letters cannot be answered individually.

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