maderawoodworking's Profile

I, too, had the typical response about veneers many years ago. That was before I entered the luxury yacht interior building trade over a dozen years ago. Working with real wood veneers became my specialty and thus I have worked with a multitude of exotic and domestic species of wood, creating some of the most amazing designs you could imagine. Works that could never have been created out of solid wood.

Reading this thread has been very satisfying to see that so many folks are realizing the benefits over solid wood.

One benefit that hasn't been dealt with enough is the ecological benefit of veneers. Seattle has a P.A.C. called Benaroya Hall - home of the Seattle Symphony. It is a world class music venue. The entire interior of the main auditorium is veneered from just one tree, anigre. You could never get that kind of yield from solid wood. With veneers we can appreciate the world of wood without needing to deforest it.

As an added benefit many of the typical substrates used under veneers are sourced from sustainably managed forests and produces in sustainable manners (i.e. no added formaldehyde!). And also realize that today's MDF is far from the material manufactured just 10 years ago. Most brands are made from 100% recycled content with denser, harder surfaces and no formaldehyde.

To Michael Dominic, wrong, many boo boos to a veneered surface are fixable, just as they would be with a solid wood table. If you had a dent in a solid wood table you can't just sand it out - unless it's an un-finished table. Remember you must deal with the finish as well. And it is usually much more finiky that the wood! Sure you could sand the whole table - but really, for a small dent or scratch.

Veneered furniture isn't necessarily less expensive.

Oh and yes, you can veneer over solid wood. Sometimes (rarely) it's necessary. When you do it is best to use a 2ply face (bi-directional grain direction) and always, always, always veneer both sides of the core.

BTW I still LOVE working with solid wood.

www.maderawoodworking.com