Birch Veneers Over Hardwood Solids

While laminate is usually made of a synthetic material veneer furniture features a thin layer of real hardwood.

Birch veneers over hardwood solids. However i am converned for the weight of the project. When birch plywood veneers are used to build cabinets another species of hardwood is often used as a substitute for solid birch on the face frames and drawer fronts. That hardwood layer covers the lower quality wood base such as cheaper wood mdf or particleboard creating the look of solid wood furniture with a lighter core. Older manufacturers used a hardwood core under the veneer such as oak gumwood fruitwood or poplar.

Another good choice is finnish as in the country of finland plywood not baltic birch. Finnish plywood is more stable than baltic plywood. Around 1900 highly prized quarter sawn or tiger oak was often veneered over regular cut solid oak. My advice is to use unibond 800 and vacuum press the veneer to mdf their is no other wood product more stable than mdf to veneer over.

Veneers in general are made by sawing slicing or shaving wood into very thin sheets. A solid will be anything over say a 1 4 inch thick while a veneer will be a 1 32 or less that you would glue ont. The veneer layer is usually less than 1 8 inch thick. Travis is right from a floor layers perspective but from a cabinet furniture maker it is different.

Typically veneer is bonded or glued with adhesive to a cheaper surface that is hidden below. Solid wood veneers and medium density fiberboard mdf. Birch veneer is a wood product made from birch trees. Solid wood is lumber that has been harvested and fashioned into solid slabs unlike plywood and mdf which are made by pressing together.

A less expensive wood or particle board can often be found underneath. The thin sheets of wood are overlaid over a thicker backing and used for things like making furniture counters cabinetry and so forth. Many people mistakenly assume that veneered furniture is inferior to or cheaper than solid wood. Because the global furniture market can be overwhelming it is easy for shoppers to become confused or otherwise misguided into misunderstanding a few terms.

This practice allows furniture makers to design and build beautiful pieces at a lower cost. Beginning in the 1800 s veneer was employed to make valuable woods like mahogany or walnut go farther by gluing them to less prized species like maple or birch. However veneers are often used for high end furniture pieces and can be more costly than solid wood. Veneer is technically a thin layer of hardwood usually thinner than 1 8 of an inch.

The difference between today s furniture and that manufactured in the first half of the 20th century is the core over which the veneer is placed.