What is veneer?
Veneer (also known as veneer) is a thin board, sliced from a natural round tree, with a thickness of about 0.3mm-0.6mm and usually not exceeding 3mm (1/8 inch).
Veneer panels can be used to serve high-end decorative needs such as car interiors, musical instruments: violin, guitar…
In Vietnam, veneer is widely used in the production of interior products or flooring by gluing veneers to industrial wood panels such as MDF, MFC, Plywood, composite wood, wood chips, etc.
The wood used for veneering will usually undergo a steaming or boiling process before, making the wood softer and easier to manipulate during the manufacturing process and preventing the veneer from cracking or breaking.
Some common veneer manufacturing methods today:
Round slicing: to make it easier to visualize this method, imagine a round log like a roll of paper, people will use a sharp blade to “peel” the veneer from the outside to the inside of the log until the end.
Flat slicing: the log will be cut in half, the blade will cut straight parallel to the wood core, from the outside to the inside, resulting in veneer sheets with a mountain pattern, also known as “Cathedral” in English
Quartering slicing: as the name implies, this method cuts the log into 4 parts, then proceeds to slice veneer. This method produces straight, striped veneers.
In essence, wood veneer has a natural wood surface that has all the properties of the wood used to create that veneer. In the situation that wood becomes scarce and the need to protect resources in the world – including forest resources is increasing, it is no exaggeration to say that veneer has brought an optimal solution for production needs and wood use in general. Developed countries in Europe, America and some Asian countries, have used furniture products made from this material 30-40 years ago to create a more friendly living environment.
Advantages of wood veneer:
- Reasonable price – cheaper than natural wood.
- Shiny surface, anti-warping, anti-termite
- It is possible to adjust the arrangement, grafting in many ways to decorate, creating products with high aesthetics.
- Environmental friendliness
Disadvantages of wood veneer
- Because the core is industrial wood, the veneer is not water-resistant.
- It is susceptible to chipping and cracking when subjected to too strong impact force.
- Can only be used in a place where it is not exposed to water all year round, and is rarely moved