Chapter 11

1. Chapter 11 Veneer

2. Objectives • Define veneer • Discuss the production of veneer • List the different methods of cutting veneer • Identify the different types of veneer • Explain the different thicknesses of veneer and what they are used for

3. Introduction • Veneer: thin slice of log or timber • Was used extensively in classic furniture of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries • Used now: • In the production of manufactured panel products • In making curved shapes • To enhance plain surfaces

4. Veneer Production • Best logs (select logs) that are cut are sold for veneer production • Veneer logs are debarked, cut to length, and then softened by immersion in hot water or by steaming before veneer is cut from them • Called peeler blocks • Highly decorative veneers are also cut from burl, crotch, and butt, or stump, wood

5. Figure 11-6 Veneer cut from burl, crotch, and stumpmaterial is highly decorative.

6. Veneer Production (continued) • Veneer cut from burls has a circling, wavy, knotty pattern • Veneer cut from crotch wood exhibits a highly figured V-grain, sometimes called a flame pattern • Veneer cut from the stump has a wrinkled line pattern

7. Veneer Production (continued) • Three ways of cutting veneer • Rotary cutting, slicing, and stay-log cutting • Rotary cutting • Log is turned on a lathe and rotated against a stationary knife • Fastest method of cutting veneer • Produces the greatest amount of veneer from any given log • Used to make ninety percent of all veneer

8. Veneer Production (continued) • Slicing • Method by which most hardwood veneer is cut • Two types of slicing: flat slicing and quarter slicing • Flat slicing: • Peeler block is cut in half lengthwise • The two halves are known as flitches • A flitch is attached to a flitch table that moves up and down against a stationary knife

9. Figure 11-14 Flat slicing veneer.

10. Veneer Production (continued) • Slicing (continued) • Quarter slicing: • Same as flat slicing except that the log is quartered rather than halved • Results in a far different look than plain slicing produces

11. Veneer Production (continued) • Stay-log cutting • Log may or may not be cut into flitches first • Either the log or the flitch is mounted on a lathe with an eccentric chuck and swung against the knife • Three different patterns may be produced: rift, half round, and back-cut

12. Figure 11-18 Stay-log rift-cut veneer cutting.

13. Veneer Production (continued) • Stay-log cutting (continued) • Rift cutting: • Cutting at a 45° angle to the annual rings • Log is first quartered into four flitches • Results in a very straight-grained veneer • Half-round cuts • Produce a large U-patterned grain • Peeler block is halved, and cuts are made from the rounded side of the flitch

14. Veneer Production (continued) • Stay-log cutting (continued) • Back cutting: • Peeler block is cut in half lengthwise • Cuts are taken from the flat part of the flitch • Produces grain pattern very similar to that found in flat-sliced veneer

15. Veneer Production (continued) • After veneer is cut, it is clipped to various widths; defects are cut out • Next, veneer is dried to less than 10 percent moisture content • Once dry, it is clipped to length

16. Veneer Production (continued) • Veneer thicknesses • 1/10˝ to 3/16˝ thick: thickest veneer; used as plies in plywood • 1/28˝ to 1/40˝ thick: used to enhance plain surfaces or used as face and back veneers in the production of cabinet plywood • 1/40˝ to 1/100˝ thick: thinnest veneer; used to make reinforced veneers

17. Summary • Veneer: thin slice of wood ranging in thickness from 1/100 to 3/16 of an inch • Veneer is produced from the highest quality logs • Veneer is cut by one of three methods: rotary cutting, slicing, or stay-log cutting • Veneer is sliced in different thicknesses for different applications