Wood veneer

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Veneer, in woodworking, refers to thin slices of wood, usually thinner than 3 millimetres (1/8 inch). Veneer layers are usually glued and pressed onto core panels of different materials (such as wood, particle board or medium density fiberboard) to obtain doors, tops and side panels for cabinets, parquet floors and pieces of furniture. They are also used in marquetry. Plywood is made up of a number of layers of veneer, each layer glued at right angles to the adjacent layers.

Veneer is obtained by 'peeling' the trunk of a tree, which is the predominant area used for architectural veneers (see also inlay). The appearance of the grain, or "figure", in wood comes from slicing through the growth rings of a tree and depends upon the angle at which the wood is sliced. There are three main types of veneer slicing equipment used commercially:

A rotary lathe in which the wood is turned against a very sharp blade and peeled off in one continuous or semi-continuous roll. Rotary cut veneer is mainly used for plywood as the appearance is not desirable.
A slicing machine in which the flitch or piece of log is raised and lowered against the blade and slices of the log are made.
A half round lathe in which the log or piece of log can be turned and moved in such a way to expose the most interesting parts of the grain.

Each slicing processes gives a very distinctive type of grain, depending upon the tree species. In any of the veneer slicing methods, when the veneer is sliced, a distortion of the grain occurs. As it hits the wood, the knife blade creates a "loose" side where the cells have been opened up by the blade, and a "tight" side.

Traditionally, veneers were also sawn but this is more wasteful of wood. Veneering is an ancient art, dating back to the ancient Egyptians who used veneers in some of their furniture.

External links

[How Bad Is Wood Veneer on Furniture?] at The Harp Gallery

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