To make a veneer, the wood is sliced about 2 to 3 mm and glued to panels to make products such as furniture, doors, or flooring.
The process of making a veneer is by cutting large blocks of wood or a process called peeling. The appearance of the veneer depends on the angle at which the blocks are cut based on the wood grain and shape requirements.
Many product variations can be achieved when using veneers. For basic products that do not have a strong emphasis on style and design, a basic machining process is used for manufacturing. For more complex furnishing products, true state-of-the-art technology. Machines are used to achieve the various effects in appearance. Veneers can even be done to make them look old or worn.
Veneers can provide benefits by reducing the cost of manufacturing some furniture (ie, to produce large panels at a reasonable cost and to make plywood, MDF, and chipboard look like hardwood). In contrast, high-grade veneers can be used in the manufacture of high-end fine furniture/cabinet.
Veneers can be used for a variety of parts in furniture making and are popular on cabinet or cupboard sides or for complete furniture including table tops and legs etc. As a customer, you may not be an expert in wood, so here are some tips that you may find useful when selecting new furniture and how to tell if it is solid or veneered:-
Ask if it is solid solid, part solid/part plated, or fully plated.
Take a good look at the cabinet for any signs of veneer (you can see the thin layer of veneer around the edges of tops, panels, doors, drawers, etc.)
Look under the article, is the wood the same as the top?
Look inside the drawers to see if the wood is the same as the outside.
Test the weight of the item, solid oak products are extremely heavy (but also note that some veneered products can be heavy if, for example, a large amount of MDF is incorporated into the item.
Does it look and feel solid and precision manufactured to a high standard?
If you’re still not happy, type it into a search engine if the product has a brand.
Remember that an expensive piece of furniture may not mean that it is 100% solid oak and of the best quality.