All you need to know about decorative veneer cuts and veneer matching
Let’s start with a proper definition of veneer. Veneers are thin sheets of woods that are extracted from trees. They are in high demand among home renovation companies. The two methods commonly used to obtain veneers by home renovation companies are Rotary cuts and Slicing or flat cuts.
A sharp knife or blade is rotated against a wooden log to extract a sheet of rotary veneer.
They are usually broad and bold grained and have random shapes. This process is not at all expensive and very convenient for home renovation companies. Maple and oak trees are mainly used to produce rotary veneers. ‘Whole-piece-faces’ are only obtainable, when this process is applied.
Sliced Veneers have different shapes and are cut along the width in a variety of ways- Flat cut, Half-Round cut, Quarter cut and Rift cut.
Flat Cut veneers - also known as Plain Sliced or Crown cut veneers, are widely used by home renovation companies.A steady knife is rotated in up and down motion to obtain this kind of veneer. These veneers can be identified by its straight grains mixed with cathedrals texture. The flat cut method is relatively cheaper, and any tree can be used. This category of veneers is used for wood panels and furniture as they have a uniform grainy texture.
Half-round cut - You can say that this is just another name for the rotary cut. Here the flitches of logs are cut diagonally, and they are placed in the centre amidst sawdust. It is an advanced version of rotary cut. Burl and Maple trees are mainly used to obtain this category of veneer. Flitch or paper is basically the uppermost layer of a wooden log.
Quarter-cut veneer - It is pretty similar to the flat cut veneers. The only difference is that they are sliced into four parts, before getting extracted. This process is pretty expensive, and Walnut, mahogany, teak and oak trees are mainly used in this process.
Rift-cut veneer - They are mainly produced from red and white oak trees. They are sliced across the medullar ray, and this process is very expensive.
Only the best variety of wooden logs are used to produce veneers. Firstly, the logs are thrown in water so to strengthen them and avoid any damage due to cracks. After drying, the uppermost layer is removed. It is then cut into a 8 feet sheet, and the widths vary. After this, it undergoes stitching, tapping and cutting. After getting cut, it is again left to dry completely. The sheet gets glued to the plywood using a pressing machine. It is then sent for finishing touches. The sliced veneers are then joined to make bigger pieces. Various methods like Book match, Slip Match and Mismatch (random match) are used to join the pieces. Mismatched veneer sheet is in vogue nowadays.
Do choose your veneer design and talk to your decorator for more information.