Hello there
A question about the history of veneer can span most of the history of
civilization. Even though I imagine your question is related to "wood
veneering," just in case it isn't, I will try to cover as much as
possible.
Both stone and wood veneers have been used since ancient times. The
Roman Emperor Octavian stated he found Rome a city of brick and left
it a city of marble. Well, at least he did on the surface. He also
left the city of Rome as one of the largest scale projects based on
veneer in history. The city was still largely a city of brick with a
veneer of marble applied to the surface. The Romans also used stone
veneering extensively over concrete structures. Even the banks of the
Tiber River were veneered with marble during the city's glory days.
In ancient Egypt, wood veneering was common. Since Egypt had no large
timber from which to cut boards (such timber had to be imported) many
wooden items were assembled from smaller pieces of local wood such as
acacia and covered with a veneer of more expensive wood to create a
uniform finish. Mummy coffins and furniture were the main items for
this kind of treatment.
In fact, the Egyptians took veneering to the point of being an art
form. They were the earliest known veneer craftsmen in "marquetry"
which is the art of creating pictures using a variety of wood veneers
and other materials. Imported African ebony, and ivory, sometimes
color-stained, provided two sources of veneer among several others
In ancient America, the concept of veneering was also known. The
Anasazi of the Southwest used stone veneering in their construction
techniques. The core of their walls were made from big, rough stones
set in mud mortar. The tapering walls were then fitted with a veneer
of hard rectangular sandstone sheets on both sides.
Veneering has a long and elegant history. Through the centuries from
ancient Egypt, Imperial Rome, ancient Persia, Japan, etc, wealthy
patrons employed veneer craftsmen to create beautiful works of art. I
doubt if any real date for its beginnings can be established. It is
already an established technique for handling wood in Old Kingdom,
Egypt, the age of the pyramid builders.
About the end of the 16th century an anonymous German clockmaker
invented the jigsaw blade. That made possible new mass-production
methods. From the 17th century right through to the end of the 19th
century, tools improved, and techniques became increasingly efficient
and more refined. By the end of the 19th century, thin inlay veneer
was an extremely popular and accessible form of furniture decoration.
The early 20th century heralded a revival of interest in special
high-quality, exotic wood veneers, with designers, hobbyists and
artists creating excellent works of art.
As to "why" veneers are made and used, especially in the modern sense
when there is a common thought that solid wood is better. But wood
veneers offer certain advantages over solid wood and in fact are used
by some of the best furniture makers. Wood veneers are thin slices of
wood that are applied to a stable base such as plywood or even medium
density fiberboard. That means furniture makers have the ability to
create more diversified styles which are not only stable but cost
effective.
And is that "plywood" used as a base a modern invention. Not at all.
Egyptians and Romans both manufactured it. But with the coming of the
Dark Ages, the technology was lost for over a thousand years.
_______________
There are several ways of manufacturing veneers. In one method, a log
is turned on a lathe and a long knife blade peels the veneer. Other
techniques include:
"Slicing veneers - This accounts for approximately 5% of veneer
production and is mainly used to produce radially orientated, fine
figured, hardwood veneers for furniture or wall panel facing.
Longitudinal Slicing - The log to be made into veneer is cut into
flitch slabs usually between 50 and 100mm thick. The slabs are drawn
under the stationary slicer blade end on, and the veneer is peeled off
down the length of the flitch.
Crosscut Slicing - Over the years, more decorative veneer has been
produced by this method. It is fast and very efficient, with wastage
from each bolt being minimal. In crosscutting, the flitch or full log
is locked into the machine. Systems have been developed with
stationary or moving knives but the principle is the same. The knife
moves across the width of the flitch at a slight angle, and because of
its short travel, quick cycle times are achieved with high output. As
the flitch is sliced away the carriage gradually moves closer to the
blade with a pressure bar controlling the knife position.
Staylog Lathe Slicing - This technique can accommodate the quarter cut
slicing, crown cut slicing, semi rotary peeling, or highly decorative
difficult timbers such as burls, butts, ripple and fiddleback. Because
of its flexibility it can maximise the yield of these timbers and is
particular suited to cutting smaller logs such as regrowth."
The quoted sections above are from "Veneer Slicing and Peeling" -
http://sres.anu.edu.au/associated/fpt/plywood/lathes.html
_________________
Websites used to compose the above include:
http://www.ancientegyptmagazine.com/netfishing10.htm - "Ancient Egypt Magazine"
http://www.dmhardwooddesigns.com/do.HTML -"DM Hardwood Designs"
http://www.artmarquetry.com/Books/art-bk06.html - "Veneer Craft for
Everyone" - This is a book review but contains some interesting
information, especially about ancient Egyptian veneer.
http://cfdstudios.com/veneers.html - "Custom Furniture Design - Wood
Veneers Come of Age" - some additional information about ancient
veneering and some reasons for using it.
http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/mpm/composit/natural/laminant/plywood.htm
- "Plywood" - you will find information about ancient Egyptian and
Roman plywood here.
http://www.hpva.org/story.htm - "The Story of Hardwood Plywood" - more
about ancient and modern plywoods and veneering.
http://natural-resources.ncsu.edu/wps/wp/lecture.htm - "Wood Products,
Department of Wood and Paper Science" - From North Carolina state
University
http://sres.anu.edu.au/associated/fpt/plywood/lathes.html - "Veneer
Slicing and Peeling" - see quote in answer.
Search - Google
Terms - veneer, veneer history, veneer manufacturing technologies,
plywood veneers, plywood history.
In case you are wondering about my search for plywood information,
plywood itself is a veneer product.
If I may clarify anything, please ask.
Cheers
digsalot |
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