The beauty of wood veneers can be used to enhance the design of residential and commercial areas. Natural wood veneers offer the aesthetics of real wood without the hefty price tag of hardwood. Understanding the common terms in veneering will help you have precise knowledge about wood veneer sheets.
The following are some commonly used veneering terms.
Architectural Grade
The veneer used is of high quality, and there are generally special requirements for balancing, sequencing, components width, and so on.
Ambrosia
Ambrosia beetles bore small holes and introduced two different fungi to maple trees, resulting in a maple veneer with a beautiful pattern in the grain. A fungus called Ambrosia lines the walls of the tunnels drilled by the bug and provides it with food. Moreover, the colors in the grain are created by the second fungus.
Burl
A burl is a cluster of dormant buds, rings, or eyes surrounded by swirling grain. This product comes in Olive Ash, Carpathian Elm, Myrtle, White Ash, Mappa, Maple, and Walnut.
Balance Veneer
The back of a veneered panel is usually veneered with low-grade veneer to balance the plies and prevent warping.
Blue Stain
The surface of the veneer becomes blue due to inadequate water extraction during slicing because water remaining on the surface turns blue from oxidation.
Barber Pole
Knife blades cause distortion of the grain, resulting in color variation. As the knife blade impacts the wood, it creates a “loose” side where the blade opens up the cells and a “tight” side where no opening is made. Due to the way the “tight” and “loose” veneer faces alternate in book matching, they may react differently to stain.
Bleed-Through
A sign of veneer glue migrating to the veneer surface from the glue line. In many cases, it can be prevented and repaired.
Bird’s Eye
A dense area of wood cells, naturally found in maple, that resembles circles or “eyes”.
Crotch
A tree’s crotch figures are made from its main branches and trunk and may include flames, plumes, rooster tails, feathers, or burning bush figures.
Cold Creep
In a veneer, undesirable movement will occur when the humidity changes over a season, allowing the wood cells to expand and contract.
Check Valve
Devices that only allow one direction of air or water flow.
Fiddleback Figure
A narrow band of figures runs across the width of the veneer leaf, unbroken from edge to edge. When books are matched, chevrons are formed. The most common ones are Maple, Anegre, English Sycamore, and Makore.
MDF
An application of veneer to a substrate. It is usually made of finely ground paper, glue, and wood.
Mottled
The shimmering of angular rays of light with sharp and abrupt edges that are found in some wood veneers.
Melamine
A particle board laminate that is scuff and chemical-resistant.
Softener
This liquid temporarily reduces the brittleness of the veneer.
Spalting
This is a pattern of dark lines that often appear on veneer due to fungus or partial decay.
Veneer Saw
A hand tool used for cutting veneer when two pieces are to be joined together.