Veneer Production

Wood Figures & Species

Hard Maple Black Walnut Cherry D. Fir

Teak Maple Burl Mahogany Rosewood

 Veneer Production & Usage

Veneers cut from various

Crotch

stem portions
• (1) crotch
• (2) trunk
• (3) burl Burl

• (4) stump or butt

Stump
Veneer Manufacturing
Procedures
 In the Log Yard
• Logs tagged and tallied
• Calculate volume
• Species
• Inventory (tracking number)
• Butts painted

• All logs must be kept wet

• Sprinkler systems
• Protect from drying out &
cracking
• Cracks = degrade = lost profit
At the Veneermill:
• Logs debarked
• Debarker or water jet
• Smooth out taper, Ring Debarker
remove imbedded
rocks

Debarker
At the Sawmill:
• Logs processed
• Faced
• Ripped parallel to or through heart
• Halved or Quartered
At the Veneermill:
• Logs transferred to saw
– Ripped with band or circular saw

Band saw
At the Veneermill:
• Logs transferred to saw
– Ripped with band or circular saw

Circular saw
At the Sawmill:
• Logs processed
– Faced
– Ripped parallel to or through heart
– Halved or Quartered

• Flitches banded together, heart to heart

 The Cooking Vats:
• Banded Logs & Burls cooked in hot
water vats
– Soften fiber
– Equalize color variation
• Temperature and schedule
– Depending on Species (Hardness)
– Volume specific (size of the log)
– Temperature – 80 to 120º C
– Cook Time – 12 to 72 hrs

For example: White Oak (Quercus alba)

Cook Time: 72 hours
Water Temp.: 120º C
 Flitch & Burl Prep.:
• After cooking….
– Burls pressure washed
Remove mud & rocks
QC inspection
– Logs planed
– QC inspection

• After cooking…. Cutting logs to veneer

with hours as they are still in wet
condition
 Different Veneer Cutting Methods
• Vertical/Horizontal Slicing
– Flat slicing
– Quarter slicing

• Rotary Slicing
– Rift cutting
– Half-round slicing

• Peeling – Rotary Cutting

• Sawing Method
Vertical Slicing

Flat Slicing
Vertical Slicing
Slicing (vertical):
• Flitch clamped on
movable platen
• Held in place with dogs
Quarter Slicing
• Pressure bar and knife Flat Slicing
fixed, perpendicular to
platen stroke
• Slicing done in up or
down stroke

Quarter Slicing Flat Slicing

Vertical Slicing

Flat Slicing Quarter Slicing

Picture Source:
http://www.placagesmultiflex.com/cuts
 Horizontal Slicing
• Slicing (horizontal):
• Flitch placed on fixed platen
• Held in place with stays or dogs
• Pressure bar and knife move over flitch
• Knife and bar skewed….shear veneer from wood
Horizontal Slicing Method

Flat grain

Vertical grain
Rotary Slicing
• Another type of rotary cutting...
• Eccentric (elliptical) rotary cutting
• Called “rotary slicing”
• Flitches are mounted on log beam
• Elliptical rotation can be varied/adjusted
• Produces extreme variation in grain
Rotary Slicing

Rotary Slicing
Rotary Slicing

Rift Slicing Half Round Rotary Slicing

Picture Source:
http://www.placagesmultiflex.com/cuts
Rotary Slicing cont.

Flat grain
(Flat slicing)

Vertical grain
(Rift cutting)

Flat grain
Peeling
Peeling (Rotary Cutting):
• Similar to a giant softwood lathe

• Plywood production, burls, quilts and

figured wood

• Unripped log or burl held between dogs

• Rotated around central axis…concentric

rotary cutting

Picture Source:
http://www.placagesmultiflex.com/cuts
Peeling cont.
Veneer Sawing:
• Veneer cut from cants
• Employs a veneer re-saw, similar to band saw
• Not usually used in high production environments
• Low yield, but usually very high quality slices
Conditioning & Drying:
• Once cut, moisture must be removed from the
veneer
• Done to avoid warp, checks, color change and
bacterial attack
• Process is dependent on species
• Final moisture content specified by customer
• Dryer is divided into three distinct sections:
1. Conditioning
2. Drying
3. Cooling
Conditioning & Drying:
For example:
Walnut burl requires 24 hour “breathing” before drying
If not, veneer turns green in the dryer!
Conditioning & Drying:
• Conditioning (Can be Natural or Slow Drying):
– Veneer is placed in environmentally controlled
rooms
– Individually shelved
– Lengthy drying periods
– Very gentle to veneer
– Results in high yield and quality
Conditioning & Drying:
• Drying (Synthetic or Forced Drying):
• Normally dry in minutes
– Veneer is feed through dryer on a metal screen
conveyor
– Dried under pressure and forced air
– Operator can vary feed rate and final moisture
content
Conditioning & Drying:
• Synthetic or Forced Drying:
• Conditioning
• Initial moisture removed by high velocity air (90º to 120ºC)
• Screens “hold” veneer...only contact pressure
• Drying
• Veneer heated with high velocity & temperature air (110º to 130º
C)
• Screen press veneer flat to keep from warping
Conditioning & Drying:
• Synthetic or Forced Drying:
– Cooling
Veneer cooled with ambient high velocity air
Screen pressure maintained

At out-feed...veneer piled in packs of 16, 24 or 32

Trimming & Packaging:
• Operator grades untrimmed packs
– Assesses best trim and highest yield
– Must be informed of grade rules
– Grade rules depend on customer
Trimming & Packaging:
• Piled veneer is trimmed in packs
• Usually done with:
• Large guillotine slicer
• Veneer Saw
• Bundled & tagged

Veneer Saw

Veneer Guillotine
 Trimming & Packaging:
• Veneer Products
• Flitch Veneer
• Veneer Sheet
• With Different Backing Material 4ft x 8ft Veneer Sheet
• Paper Back, Wood Veneer Back, Adhesive Back
• Veneer Edgeband

Flitch Veneer Veneer Edgeband

Trimming & Packaging:
• Once trimmed, packs bundled & banded
– Packs inventoried according to log tracking number
Storage & Transportation:
• Shipping
– Shipped packs shrink wrapped and banded on skids
(pallets)
– In some cases, packs banded between porous woods
(poplar) to draw moisture away

• Packs usually shipped in sealed containers to

ensure dry environment
 Pictures and GIF Sources
How wood veneer is made...

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdYDsIhy2VU

Welcome to Oakwood Veneer: Wood Veneer Manufacturer

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kld6p0jczbg

Logging and Veneer Process

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsoxUosUG-s