VENEERS and LAMINATES

Veneers: 

Veneer is a term given to a thin layer of wood that has been shaved off the trunk of a tree. Hardwoods are the usual materials to make up veneers, because they tend to be more decorative and durable than softwoods.
Veneers are used in sheet form to provide a more decorative surface to inferior quality woods. For example, a veneer of yew could be applied to a piece of chipboard that would be used in the manufacture of a hi-fi or television cabinet.

 

Paper Back Veneers-

• These are very thin, typically 0.8mm, natural wood veneers supported on a paper backing.
• The advantage of paper backing is the avoid the veneer splitting due to its delicate, thin nature. The paper backing also helps prevent glue seeping to the surface of the material.
• The use of veneers can reduce the cost of a product by enabling the manufacturer to use lower-cost materials for the main structure, and then finishing the veneer. This reduces the need to purchase solid timber, which would be too expensive for mass-market product.

Suitable Veneers-                                                Suitable Base Materials-

--> Beech                                                      --> Medium Density

--> Oak                                                         --> Fibre Board (MDF)

--> Ash                                                         --> Chipboard

--> Walnut                                                    --> Block board

--> Yew                                                        --> Plywood

 

Laminates:

A laminate is a material that has ben placed in layers with the same or other materials. Examples of laminates include surfaces for kitchen worktops or laminate flooring.

Kitchen Work Surfaces:

...are made up of layers of paper in a melamine resin (a plastic used chiefly for laminated coatings, made by copolymerizing melamine with formaldehyde), the top layer of paper gives the required decorative finish while a layer of hardwearing, heat-resistant polymer is the final layer. The base material for the whole worktop would be a particle board such as chipboard. 

Laminate Flooring: 

...is made up of layers of printed materials in a resin on a supporting material, such as MDF. The final top layer is a very hardwearing thermosetting polymer.

 

 Plywood:

 

• The previous two examples show how polymer-based laminates can be used with wood products. Plywood, on the other hand, is a good example of the use of laminated veneers to produce large sheets of stable material with a natural wood finish.
• Layers of hardwood veneer are bonded together, the grain direction in each additional layer is laid at 90 degrees to the previous layer. The result is a sheet material that is very stable against warping.
• The veneers are held together by layers of resin, there is always an odd number of layers, ensuring the grain on the outside layers is in the same direction