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Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



April 10, 1917 



The Art of Judging Veneer 



Some of the Wrinkles That the Purchaser Should Try to Understand 



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i;.J-> 



F YOU CONTEMPLATE BUYING HORSES, 

 whether you buy them as an individual, as a 

 corporation, or as a government, the logical 

 course to follow is that of either informing your- 

 self on the subject of how to judge horses, or deputizing 

 some one who understands the art, and let him conduct 

 the purchase. Moreover, those posted in horse lore have 

 certain specific points to judge animals by. 



It is just as reasonable to argue that in the purchase 

 of veneer one should have knowledge of the essential 

 points in judging veneer as it is to turn to specialized 

 know^ledge in case of buying horses. Too often, how- 

 ever, there is a disposition to consider that veneer is 

 veneer and that the main point is to specify certain grades 

 and sizes and then to see how shrewd a bargain can be 

 driven by shopping around and playing a sort of psycho- 

 logical game with those who have veneer to sell. 



Aside from grades and sizes, there are several inter- 

 esting features to study if one would qualify to judge 

 veneers intelligently. 



In the matter of defects there are checks and worm 

 holes that are so minute that they may be overlooked, 

 and these call for a little special attention. There are 

 wrinkles; there is the matter of dryness, casehardening in 

 the process of drying or what might be termed harsh dry- 

 ing; there is a factor of roughness in the face of sawed 

 veneer which tells its own story to the expert — really 

 there are as many points about judging veneer as there 

 are points for judging horse flesh. It is simply a matter 

 of coming to know them and to understand their signifi- 

 cance. 



Wrinkles, for example, in such veneer as I /20th cross- 

 banding, are likely to be misleading to those not well 

 informed. A veneer manufacturer who prides himself 

 on the quality of his product related an incident that is 

 fairly illustrative here. He said that in calling upon one 

 of his customers, the custmer took him to task about the 

 wrinkles in his veneer, and asked him why he couldn't 

 furnish smooth, flat dried stock, like he had been obtain- 

 ing recently from some one else. He took the veneer 

 man out and showed him the stock, which, as has been 

 stated, was flat and mighty neat and smooth-looking as 

 compared to his own stock, which showed considerable 

 wrinkles. 



After examining the stock awhile this veneer man told 

 his customer that the thorough dryness of his stock was 

 the cause of it having wrinkled and that the other stock, 

 while seemingly dry, was not thoroughly dry, ard if it 

 should be put in a kiln and thoroughly dried he would 

 find that it too would show wrinkles. 



In this case the veneer man proved his point and easily 

 saved the standing of his veneer in the eyes of the cus- 



tomer. It is a mistake, however, to assume that wrinkles 

 are an essential indication of dryness. Veneer, when 

 thoroughly dried, suspended in kilns or laying in racks, 

 will generally show wrinkles, and in such a case they are 

 a sign of dryness. It is practical to thoroughly dry ve- 

 neer, however, by several different methods and have it 

 flat and smooth and comparatively free from wrinkles. 

 So the man who would insist upon wrinkles as earmarks 

 of dryness might fool himself just as badly as the man 

 who mistakes wrinkles as representing poor stock. 



1 this matter of studying the elements of dryness in 

 veneer, it is v^rell to take some notice of hov^f the stock has 

 been dried, whether it has been made harsh or case- 

 hardened as some call it. Manufacturers of hardwood 

 lumber have learned during recent years that the condi- 

 tion of the lumber for working after it is dry often de- 

 pends materially upon the process followed or the care 

 exercised in the kiln-drying. They call it drying lumber 

 hard and drying it soft, because in the one case the 

 lumber comes through very hard and shelly, while in 

 the other case it may be just as thoroughly dry and very 

 soft and comparatively easy to work. The drying has 

 not materially added to the hardness of the stock. We 

 find this same element in the drying of veneer, and it is 

 a thing that merits some study, because when one be- 

 comes expert in judging the moisture condition of the 

 stock he has a knowledge that is of value in buying 

 veneer. 



In judging savvied veneer, usually the first point for 

 consideration is that of the figure appearing, especially 

 if it is quartered oak or quartered gum. In the case of 

 quartered oak, the next point of interest is that of the 

 texture of the wood, and accompanying it is the matter of 

 the smoothness of the face. 



Presumably all veneer should be smoothly sav^^ed. 

 What is in mind here, however, is a species of rough- 

 ness which sometimes develops in veneer that has been 

 smoothly sawed. When from a rapid growing timber, 

 with wide variations in texture between the summer 

 growth and the winter growth, careful examination will 

 show that the surface of the wood is wavy, that in dry- 

 ing out the softer streaks have shrunk more than the hard 

 ones, making a series of waves and producing a species 

 of rougness in the face which indicates plainly a lack of 

 even texture in the wood. 



Attention has been directed here more specifically to' 

 these points in judging veneer because they are among 

 the things likely to be overlooked by the inexperienced 

 buyer, or passed over lightly without enough significance 

 being attached to them. The fact is, they often play an 

 important part in determining the value of veneer for 

 some specific purpose. So the man who is in a position 



