Veneer is a thin slice of wood that gets glued to some sort of sub-straight to create the various plywoods and architectural panels that are used in every day applications.

At Vision Woodworks, we have the advantage of picking out flitches (large blocks of wood cut from a log which then get sliced into “leaves”) to get the grain pattern and color tones we’re after.  Since it all comes from one block of wood, there is consistency.  This is as opposed to off-the-shelf products where the veneer can be sourced from completely different trees from sheet to sheet.

Since we can buy it in leaf form, we then have complete control over the way it’s matched.   Examples of different matches are:

Book matched:  the “leaves” are folded open like a book for a mirror image.  Book matched tends to lend itself more to a traditional look.

Slip matched: “leaves” are placed in a subsequent repeating pattern. Slip matched tends to lend itself more to a modern look.

What are some advantages of veneers?

Stability: The beauty of veneers is that you can do what you can’t with raw lumber.  Veneered panels tend to be a lot more stable (less movement) from a solid wood panel.

Maximum Use:  Veneer allows  you to get a lot more square footage of viewable area from a smaller piece of wood, thus maximizing use of a beautiful piece of wood.

Availability: Some cuts and exquisite grain patterns of wood are only available in veneer form  and not in solid form.

 What are some of Adrian’s favorite veneers to work with?

Some of Adrian’s favorites are English sycamore, quartered cherry, wenge, and sapele pomelle, to name a few .

Enjoy these short videos that further explain veneers.

Advantages of veneer:

Veneer match options:

Examples of veneer:

Adrian’s favorite veneers: