Veneer use grows: as raw materials shrink

VENEER USE GROWS AS RAW MATERIALS SHRINK

Veneer is often cut soon after a tree is felled because the wood is more pliable wet than dry. Moisture contents stand around 50 to 60 percent, and it is advisable to carefully check veneers with a moisture meter before applying them to the substrate to eliminate problems associated with high moisture content veneers.The Minton Co., a Top 25 company for the past two years, no longer provides millwork but has become a door distributor. Three former Top 25 companies were not active in business during 1990, and their current status is unknown. Officials could not be reached to verify rumors of closings and/or Chapter 11 proceedings. A spokesman for another former Top 25 company said, "Our policy has changed," and declined to provide information.A number of tour packages to Ligna and Interzum are available, including one arranged by WOOD & WOOD PRODUCTS in conjunction with Koch International Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.HOLDING THEIR GROUND IN A LEAN ECONOMY"Thinner veneers are being used by overseas producers because manufacturers use more particleboard, which has a homogenous surface that is less likely to telegraph," he said.Because his work varies from finished cabinetry, case goods and millwork to upholstery and store fixtures, and encompasses solid wood, particleboard and MDF, glass, stone, leather, fabric, metalwork, plastic laminates, solid surfacing and veneers, the architectural woodworker has had to become a jack-of-all-trades. This may be a clue to his survival."That's where the architectural woodworker can come in. People already look to him for direction. As an interior contractor, he can be there for questions and make decisions regarding grey areas between trades," Morante said. "He can install the glass, the marble and the pre-machined doors as well as anyone else -- and pocket the markup, too."As the world's largest international trade fair for machinery and equipment for the wood products and forest industry, the biennial Ligna Hannover trade show at the Hannover Fairgrounds (May 8-14) occupies an exhibition area the size of almost 30 football fields devoted to indoor and outdoor space showcasing new and time-tested woodworking products, tools and equipment.The following is some of the veneer equipment available on the marketplace. For more information, circle the corresponding number on the Reader's Service Card. Another valuable source of information for veneering equipment or veneer species is the WOOD & WOOD PRODUCTS 1991 RED BOOK.* Those who buy price, not quality, are burning the industry, according to Joe Sorelli, executive vice president of Creative Woodworking. "Companies are out there who say they are woodworkers, but are not. They are merely brokers, who know basically nothing of woodwork, but will take a job and farm it out or buy it out from various small woodworking shops they can pressure into the lowest prices."W&WP offers tour packagePHOTO : The Interzum Trade Fair at the Cologne Exhibition Center is the world's largest supply event for the forest and furniture industries.To deal with the shrinking thicknesses of veneers, sanding equipment manufacturers are meeting the veneer sanding challenge by supplying product manufacturers with sanders that are capable of precision sanding. With less material covering the substrate, the sanders can work within millimeters or hundredths of an inch.Veneer usage is also growing because customers of wood products manufacturers are accepting veneers over solid woods because of price and improved quality in veneer products. Lewis Buchner of Buchner Design Studio Inc. thinks customers in the design community have become more sophisticated by including veneers over solid wood in their plans. "This is because we're seeing more traditional patterns in architecture," he said.Registration ends March 29. For more information regarding this package, contact ProFairs Atlanta at (800) 241-0051.PHOTO : Ligna officials expect more than 90,000 attendants and 1,163 exhibitors at this year's show.Making the gradeIf a typical architectural woodworking company were to be selected on the basis of its 1990 projects, it would be Nacoma Consolidated Inc., Nacogdoches, Texas. According to figures in this year's survey, the average architectural woodworking company's projects, like Nacoma's, were 85 percent commercial, 10 percent institutional and 5 percent residential.Large-scale residential architectural woodworking projects seem to be at the end of the spectrum where the state of the economy is not a critical factor. Last year, projects by Mayta & Jensen comprised $5 million in residential work; Midhattan Woodworking of Old Bridge, N.J., $4 million; Parenti & Raffaelli of Chicago, $3.5 million; and Creative Woodworking of Brooklyn, N.Y., $2.8 million.The individual architectural woodworker does have strong concerns, however, about the economy's effect on bidding, securing and financing jobs:For decades, the woodworking industry has experimented with veneering to try to obtain higher yields, minimize waste and produce high quality appearance to compensate for the loss of shrinking resources. With fewer lumber resources than the United States, the increasing demand for improved veneering technology in Europe has become even more significant. "If it's flat, Europeans will veneer it. But Americans don't think that way," said George Force, president of Force Machinery Co. "The quality of wood has gone down tremendously here, and veneering is the answer."Since veneering is such a demanding process that is done in tenths, hundredths and thousandths of an inch, quality control and machinery adjustments must be carefully controlled. At the same time, the machines must give product manufacturers good quality, durability, low maintenance and affordability.Major technological advances in adhesives and veneer machinery have produced veneers with excellent seams as far as strength, hiding ability and high quality finishes. But proper guidelines must be followed in order to achieve satisfactory results.WOOD & WOOD PRODUCTS attempted to learn the answers to these questions in our fourth annual survey of the architectural woodworking industry. Fifty-six major companies were contacted and 34 responded. From figures supplied by these companies, W&WP's Top 25 list was compiled.A trend in overseas markets is the use of thinner veneers to get higher veneer yields from logs. "Some species like walnut and cherry are indigenous to North America and are highly prized by overseas manufacturers," said Bill Groah, technical director of the Hardwood Plywood Manufacturers Association. He said the standard thickness for most domestic veneers ranges from 1/32 inch to 1/42 inch and the thickness for export veneers can range from 1/36 inch to 1/50 inch.Sales of $482 million

Adwood Corp. offers a variety of Kuper hand-held veneer tools that include the Papertaper which allows the operator to apply paper tape quickly and avoid spots on the veneers. The Kuper hand veneer splicer applies a straight line of glue thread onto veneers and can be applied toward protection of veneer sheet ends, repairing split veneers and patching short faces of fancy face veneers. The mini veneer splicer pulls veneers tightly together and automatically applies a thin line of glue, the company says.

Author: Sean Derning