In case you didn't know, wood veneer is a real wood! It is a thin slice of wood cut from a log with a slicing, peeling, or sawing machine. It is used on plywood, fine furniture, and laminated shapes for decorative and architectural purposes.
Before a log is cut into veneer, it is often steamed or soaked in a bath of very hot water. This "cooking" process softens the log so that veneers can be sliced without tearing and splitting. After the veneer is sliced, it's pressed flat between heated platens and bundled into stacks in the same order that it was removed from the log.
Thin Is In
Veneer opens a whole new world of woodworking to even the most experienced craftsperson. With an exotic veneer, simple projects can be turned into works of art. In fact, a highly figured veneer can often be the qualifying characteristic that makes one project stand well above the rest. Veneer gives you a unique opportunity to work with some of the most beautiful and exotic woods in the world without having to dip into your retirement account.
Wood veneer has several distinct advantages over solid lumber that can't be overlooked. It is these advantages that have brought the art of veneering into most professional cabinet and furniture shops. The good news is that with the right tools, veneering is relatively easy and it's now becoming a mainstream technique used by weekend warriors to turn even the most mundane projects into heirloom quality masterpieces.
The True Beauty of Veneer
Stability - Some species of wood are simply unstable in lumber form. The unorganized grain in burl wood is beautiful but horribly prone to warping and splitting. By slicing a burl into veneer, wood movement is kept under control by the adhesive and substrate. Even the most unruly woods can be sliced into veneer and used to make a stunning, yet stable panel.
Economy & Availability - Many wood species are so rare and valuable that in lumber form, are simply unaffordable. There's a marked scarcity of fine logs available world-wide. Couple this with the idea that there is an ever-increasing demand for fine wood and you have a formula for a log that is worth ten times what it was 5 years ago. By slicing a log into veneer, the square foot of "face" material is increased by over 4,000% and a new economy is created for these forest products.
This increase in value is certainly not limited to straight grain wood. Figured wood is subjected to almost unimaginable increases in value and as these logs are sliced and exported, wood users are going to see prices rise, quality drop, and large sizes become extreme rare.
Practicality - If you've ever seen a classic serpentine dresser, you probably understand the practicality of using veneer for curved work. But it's certainly not limited to fancy projects. Oak, cherry, walnut, and other hardwood plywood are more than just practical. They're often considered indispensable for many woodworking projects.
A Bad Wrap, Literally
The term "veneer" often brings to mind an idea of inferior quality. This is especially true of projects created in the early to mid 1940's when fine lumber was scarce. Because of World War II, there was also a dearth of good craftsman and the adhesives used for veneering during this difficult time were less then perfect. Twenty years later, the worst of these veneer pieces became obvious and by the mid-70's, the term veneer became synonymous with shoddy quality.
Fortunately, this stigma has faded and veneering has become one of the top interests among woodworkers. This is largely due the costs and scarcity of exotic wood. However, there's no denying that veneering techniques have become much more mainstream. The processes which were once considered to belong to an exclusive group of craftsman, are now readily available on the Internet, at the library, and through woodworking classes.
Veneer adhesives have improved by leaps and bounds too. By the late 70's, veneer adhesives had been nearly perfected. No earth-shattering improvements have been made since then but several tweaks have been introduced by companies such as Borden and Franklin to make these glues more affordable, durable, and easy to use.
It's All In The Grain
There's a multitude of words to describe the various figures that are found in veneer. Here's a brief list of what you'll find when searching for exotic veneer.
A Little More About Burls - Often considered the holy grail of fine woods, burls are the knobby wart-like growths that typically grow in the sides of certain trees. Some believe that the growth is caused by disease, injury, or damage to the tree during its budding years. This distress causes the wood cells to over-react by growing seemingly indiscriminately for an indefinite period of time. Often the distressed areas are prone to severe budding which suggest that a burl is nature's way of making a patch or band-aid. If you've ever tried to split a burl with a wedge, you know how strong the interlocking grain can be. Clearly, a stress induced burl is an effective means of patching... courtesy of Mother Nature.
- Burls veneers will show any one of three orientations in grain. The most common is frequently referred to as "cat's paw" because of the circles of grain which sit side by side. This figure is the result of slicing the veneer from the outside face of the veneer on a rotary slicing machine.
- The same burl can also be cut to what appears to be "rays" of grain. This is done by slicing from the side of the burl.
- Cluster burl is sometimes considered a lesser quality veneer. In this case, the veneer has patches of burl figure which are rotary sliced from the log. These veneers can often be used to on projects where a true full-figured burl veneer would be too outlandish. When a subtle grain variation is required for a project, cluster burl will often do the trick.
Types of Veneer
Generally speaking there are only two common types of veneer. Raw wood veneer is the most common for high-end wood species and figures. It can be applied to a substrate with cold press veneer glue with a vacuum press or clamping press. If you prefer the traditional approach, raw wood veneer can be applied with hot hide glue and a veneer hammer. Raw wood veneers are considerably less expensive and of course, they are available in practically every species and grain pattern.
Backed veneers are also available though not as widely as raw wood veneers. Some veneers have foil, wood, or phenolic backing which are used for specialized applications (usually in industrial facilities) but the most common are those which are backed with paper. Paperbacked veneers are usually available in 10 and 20 mil thickness. This measurement is a reference to the thickness of the backing, not the wood face. In most professional shops, the 10 mil backed veneer is used on vertical applications and the 20 mil is used for horizontal projects. To apply a backed veneer, you can use a cold press veneer glue in a vacuum press for a very durable bond. Contact cement can also be used but it's somewhat prone to delaminating if it is not applied correctly.
Paperbacked veneers are typically available in 4' x 8' sheets and consist of several veneers matched side by side to make up the full width.
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