Wood veneers
about veneer
Making wood veneers is the most decorative, and at the same time, economic way of producing high quality, genuine wood facing materials. Modern production technology makes exploitation of wood to veneer possible in a magnitude of ways. Between 800 and 1000 sqm of wood veneer is produced from one cubic metre of lumber. No other kind of woodworking renders such a yield.
The veneer log used depends upon the following factors which have to be assessed in the round log form:
- Heart and tension cracking
- Visible faults (knots, pin-knots, decay)
- Dimension
- Colour
- Texture
- Shape
After arrival at the veneer mill, the log has to be made ready for slicing. Firstly, the bark is stripped away, and then, depending on the method of production to be employed, may be sawn into flitches in preparation for being mounted onto the slicing or peeling machine.
In order to make the slicing operation easier, most logs, with the exception of the whitest species such as Sycamore, have to be softened by steaming or 'cooking' in large tanks of hot water. This process may take anything up to three weeks for certain very dense timbers, but usually lasts between 24 and 48 hours. The length of time, together with the temperature and even the hardness of the water, all affect the ultimate colour of the veneers. The log is then ready for conversion into veneer.